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jimjames

Don't cancel the DD, you'll end up paying more. Far better to have pay on bill but using DD.

Try requesting via their chat feature, that's how mine was setup

ariarnia

its called a variable dd. if you are sure you can cover the cost of winter bills when the sun isnt shining then it could be an option. but several threads have suggested that you need to be very careful about when they get a reading from you and that the dd date is set at the right time for the meter readings. someone was always paying the default dd amount as there smart meter was sending readings to soon or just after there dd payment was taken so it was never actually used to generate the bill. they were advised to phone up and ask to have the dd date moved so it was 10 days after the reading i think. 

EssexHebridean

If you do want to change to the variable DD option then EDF call it “whole amount monthly” - that might assist when asking for it, personally I wouldn’t waste time on WhatsApp at the moment either - it’s literally taking them days to get back on there, or was as of a month ago anyway - and when you do get a response they’re very keen to take you round in circles rather than actually helping in my experience. Phone calls seem relatively quick to get through though and will likely be included in the minutes you get with your phone contract if yours includes call time. 

ariarnia

if you dont want a dd set up then the general cost is about 7-10% higher paying cash or card after having a bill. the actual price you will pay will depend on the region you are in (and the price is still capped but the cap for the differnt payment methods is differnt).

spoonie posted this link to the pdf for the british gas rates on a differnt thread which will give you an idea of the different payment method costs and might also post the edf ones here if your lucky but if not you probably need to get hold of someone at edf for a quote for your region (google is failing me) 

         Standard-Variable-prices-from-1st October-2022.pdf                       

but if the problem is you just dont trust edf one option is also to move to someone else. you could try phoning around but i know octopus have been accepting people on transfer and if you know someone on octopus you could see if you can still get the £50 referral bonus. i've never been with them but ive seen good and bad feedback on here. i think you can set up a variable dd right from the start if your still keen on that. 

GlasgowExpat2

I phoned them this week and got through straight away

peter3hg

Their £185 can't be based on the figures you've quoted as they would lead to a DD of nearly £300.
I would estimate based on your previous usage you would be looking at around £162 a month so they aren't stupidly over. Energy companies aren't likely to take your word that you will reduce usage so I can understand why they wouldn't accept £126 a month, especially heading in to winter where usually you would be using a lot anyway.

GingerTim

I contacted them by a Twitter direct message and was switched to whole month variable direct debit within an hour. (during the week, I hasten to add!)

400ixl

Yes you can change supplier, you tend to have to phone the new supplier to request to switch as they have mainly stopped doing it online.

Mobtr

They open at 8am. Ring then, you’ll get through quickly with minimum wait 

ariarnia

Deleted_User said:

ter3hg said:

Their £185 can't be based on the figures you've quoted as they would lead to a DD of nearly £300.
I would estimate based on your previous usage you would be looking at around £162 a month so they aren't stupidly over. Energy companies aren't likely to take your word that you will reduce usage so I can understand why they wouldn't accept £126 a month, especially heading in to winter where usually you would be using a lot anyway.

Which is why I want to switch to paying for what I actually use. It's not the energy company's place to decide whether or not they will take my word for what energy I intend to use. I want to pay for what I use - not for what an energy company that has no clue about my circumstances THINKS I will use. 

They don't need to take my word about anything. Just as I don't need to pay them £185 a month simply because they demand it (although if I don't cancel my direct debit they actually CAN just help themselves to whatever they want). 

I really just need to know if there's any drawback (other than higher tariff) if I just cut them out of the loop (on the grounds that they are too difficult to contact) and tell my bank to cancel the direct debit. If they don't give me a bill for amount actually used by the 27th Nov (my direct debit date) I can calculate the amount I owe based upon actual usage and send them a payment (with a bit extra to cover the cost of a higher tariff). I don't see how this can lead to any problems as I won't be behind on payments at any time?

if you just cancel your dd then as far as they know the dd will just fail. that will trigger problems on there end and probably letters and trying to set the dd back up. much better to either try and get hold of them to switch to paying directly or if you just dont trust them anymore then switch suppliers and start with a new supplier paying by variable or cash (some places dont do variable but i think all of them have to offer cash or card on recept of a bill thanks to ofgem requiring them to offer payment methods for people who dont have bank accounts).