Direct Debit with Shell Energy

JSmith321

I received an alert from my bank for a debit for an unexpected amount on an unexpected day in the early hours of the morning. It turned out to be Shell Energy. They seem to change the amount AND day they take money WITHOUT informing the customer. I thought this was contrary to the Direct Debit guarantee?  With all the online fraud going on this sets alarm bells ringing. How can I prevent Shell from treating my bank account like on open cheque.

[Deleted User]

Informing can include "leaving a message on your online account" - which is sometimes hidden in a strange place that you have to try hard to find.

Changing the day is a very strange thing to do though.   Normally this is only shifting for bank holidays and suchlike.

JSmith321

Thanks SparkyGrad - the DD guarantee does not seem to be worth the paper it's written on. Seems to be nothing to stop a company emptying your bank account any day of the week for any amount. No messages on my online account with Shell, I'm £700 in credit and they keep increasing my DD amount!

[Deleted User]

JSmith321 said:

Thanks SparkyGrad - the DD guarantee does not seem to be worth the paper it's written on. Seems to be nothing to stop a company emptying your bank account any day of the week for any amount. No messages on my online account with Shell, I'm £700 in credit and they keep increasing my DD amount!

Increasing DD amounts is a question we see here often.

Do you have an accurate record of your usage?  Do your statements from Shell have actual or estimated readings on them?

If we know your actual usage and your tariff, we (or you) can work out what the DD should be.

TheMilkmansDad

is there any mention of your DD on your last bill?

JSmith321

The online account shows how they calculate the DD amount based on future usage, this looks OK. They then ignore their own calculation and set a different DD amount each month, I presume this is done by a computer program. They allow you to set a DD amount but then override this with their own estimate. In fairness they occasionally decrease the amount but all without informing me of the DD change. All my readings are actual readings and I have a record of usage. Their calculations seem OK, but my main concern being is that they don't inform me of changes to the DD which seems to be in breach of the DD guarantee.

JSmith321

TheMilkmansDad said:

is there any mention of your DD on your last bill?

Yes this is on the Bill which arrives online AFTER the DD is taken so maybe that is the get out.

MikeJXE

Energy companies are a law unto themselves. I just had an email saying my DD is going up, double to be exact according to their calculations. Rubbish,  they have no history as they have just taken over SSE. I do have history and have refused, I'll see how it goes when they get back to me.