E.On Direct Debit unchanged

Tiptonian

Seems like a good thing to be paying less for something but in this instance it's probably a bad thing. Back in October E.On changed my electricity direct debit from £95 monthly to £28 monthly on account of the £400 (£66 / £67 per month) government discount. I have now discovered that when the discount ended in March E.On did not increase the DD back up to £95 so my payments for the last 3 months have been £66 short. I've now increased the amount myself, but it occurs to me that for some people this could mean a deficit on their energy account building up which they might not realise about which would then require a period of higher payments to compensate and might might cause them some difficulty. Might be worth you checking.

CSI_Yorkshire

They didn't put mine back up either, but they didn't need to.  My payments now are where they should be based on how much I use.

Check what you think you should be paying, don't just check whether it was back up again.

Mobtr

Do you not check your bank account on a regular basis? Find it a bit strange that it took you 3 months to notice how much you were paying? 

victor2

I had to manually adjust mine as well. I suppose some customers don't check their statements or assume Eon Next have made an error in their favour. Maybe with the change in rates for those on the standard tariff Eon will adjust the DD payments after July. Maybe.

scobie

Mobtr said:

Do you not check your bank account on a regular basis? Find it a bit strange that it took you 3 months to notice how much you were paying? 

Totally agree.  It always amazes me that so many people seem blissfully aware of what payments they are making from their bank account, and this on MSE. Imagine what it must be like in the wider population. 

Mobtr

scobie said:

Mobtr said:

Do you not check your bank account on a regular basis? Find it a bit strange that it took you 3 months to notice how much you were paying? 

Totally agree.  It always amazes me that so many people seem blissfully aware of what payments they are making from their bank account, and this on MSE. Imagine what it must be like in the wider population. 

And then blame their energy company because they’re in debt 🤣

Gerry1

High time that dozy Ofgem instructed all suppliers to offer Variable Direct Debit, with Equal Direct Debit available as an opt out.

Similarly, monthly billing should be mandatory to eliminate the inevitable misunderstandings about apparently healthy credit balances suddenly turning into debit.

victor2

When monthly "fixed" DD started, an account would typically have a debit balance for half the year, and be in credit the other half. Sadly, many suppliers now want the account to never be in debit and set the DD to be more than 1/12 of the anticipated annual cost, plus take the monthly payment up front.

Paying just for what you use monthly is great through the summer, but how many people will enjoy that, put nothing aside for the winter, and then complain bitterly that they can't afford December's energy bill?

Gerry1

victor2 said:

When monthly "fixed" DD started, an account would typically have a debit balance for half the year, and be in credit the other half. Sadly, many suppliers now want the account to never be in debit and set the DD to be more than 1/12 of the anticipated annual cost, plus take the monthly payment up front.

Paying just for what you use monthly is great through the summer, but how many people will enjoy that, put nothing aside for the winter, and then complain bitterly that they can't afford December's energy bill?

The downsides of FDDs generally outweigh any advantages.

The word 'Fixed' gets confused with fixed tariffs, so many think it's All You Can Eat.  'Equal' would be a less inappropriate word.

Paying for just what you use applies to almost everything else; drive more miles and you pay more at the pump.

And of course, umpteen suppliers used FDDs as a Ponzi scheme, and we all had to pay for dozy Ofgem's failure to check the financial stability of 'front room' companies.

FDDs should be opt-out only and carry a health warning.

sandy700

Variable direct debit is the way to go.

No debit or credit.

Bring back the quarterly bills.

Gerry1

Quarterly billing means that by the time the bill comes through it's often too late to cut down on high consumption.  Monthly billing minimises the damage.