OutFox the Market raising my direct debit even though i am on a fixed price contract

EssexHebridean

recci said:

Ayr_Rage said:

The SC and Unit prices may be fixed on your tariff but if your DD is not covering your ACTUAL usage then it will be increased to do so.

The quoted DD amount does not give you an all-you-can-eat energy buffet, if you eat more the DD is increased as necessary.

I understand that, I am actually £85 in credit. Did you actually read the email i posted?  The email is saying they are increasing the amount due to the recent Ofgem Price Cap increase. This is not correct. 

The first thing you need to do is to give them a reading, that way if it IS the DD that's changing, at least they will begin to build a picture of where it needs to be set. Second - do you have an online account or portal with them? I don't know how OFTM work with that sort of thing, but most decent suppliers now have the ability to check what rates you are currently being charged online - so I would check that and see whether that matches up to the rates that you understood that your fix had set for you. 

recci

cannugec5 said:

“ If you are on one of our fixed tariffs, there is nothing you need to do. Your prices will remain the same until the end of your contract. You should provide meter readings near your usual billing date as normal.” 

Quoted directly from the email you linked to. 

Generic email. Sent to all customers. Does not apply to those on a fixed tariff. 

You have commented that people have not read your opening post properly. I don’t think you read the email before coming here to complain about it. 

It did not say that on the email itself, they even gave me an amount that my new direct debit will be. It must be a generic letter and generic process. I will phone them. And I will submit a meter reading. 

MattMattMattUK

recci said:

cannugec5 said:

“ If you are on one of our fixed tariffs, there is nothing you need to do. Your prices will remain the same until the end of your contract. You should provide meter readings near your usual billing date as normal.” 

Quoted directly from the email you linked to. 

Generic email. Sent to all customers. Does not apply to those on a fixed tariff. 

You have commented that people have not read your opening post properly. I don’t think you read the email before coming here to complain about it. 

It did not say that on the email itself, they even gave me an amount that my new direct debit will be. It must be a generic letter and generic process. I will phone them. And I will submit a meter reading. 

There is no point wasting your time phoning them. Submit a meter reading, check what tariff is showing in your online account, so long as the correct tariff is showing and you submit readings you do not need to do anything else. 

Scot_39

£85 in credit on an account going into winter on an annualised DD plan is tiny for most people for bills that include heating.

It should arguably be 2-3 times monthly average by now - maybe more if a heavy heat user.

Mines as of the latest monthly statement issued few days ago is over 2.5 times my reduced (to cover past excess credit) DD level. 
And if anything I think that might be a little tight - as on SVT so will be seeing a 10% rise unlike you on fixed rates - and last winter was atypically mild (i used 10% lower kWh total - over past year than my normal average).

Swipe

Electric heating here and mine is 3x my monthly DD amount after my bill from a couple of days ago. I also received an email yesterday to say my DD amount has been reduced by £8.

MeteredOut

Scot_39 said:

£85 in credit on an account going into winter on an annualised DD plan is tiny for most people for bills that include heating.

It should arguably be 2-3 times monthly average by now - maybe more if a heavy heat user.

Mines as of the latest monthly statement issued few days ago is over 2.5 times my reduced (to cover past excess credit) DD level. 
And if anything I think that might be a little tight - as on SVT so will be seeing a 10% rise unlike you on fixed rates - and last winter was atypically mild (i used 10% lower kWh total - over past year than my normal average).

The OP has not submitted a meter reading in 3 months. They cannot confidently state their balance is £85 in credit.

But if it is around that mark, and unless they have a low monthly DD/usage, then that would explain why OFTM has increased their DD amount.

OP, what are your old new and DD amounts, and what is your annual usage in kWh for energy (both energy and gas if you use them both).

RelievedSheff

EssexHebridean said:

recci said:

Ayr_Rage said:

The SC and Unit prices may be fixed on your tariff but if your DD is not covering your ACTUAL usage then it will be increased to do so.

The quoted DD amount does not give you an all-you-can-eat energy buffet, if you eat more the DD is increased as necessary.

I understand that, I am actually £85 in credit. Did you actually read the email i posted?  The email is saying they are increasing the amount due to the recent Ofgem Price Cap increase. This is not correct. 

The first thing you need to do is to give them a reading, that way if it IS the DD that's changing, at least they will begin to build a picture of where it needs to be set. Second - do you have an online account or portal with them? I don't know how OFTM work with that sort of thing, but most decent suppliers now have the ability to check what rates you are currently being charged online - so I would check that and see whether that matches up to the rates that you understood that your fix had set for you. 

The OFTM website is very simple and easy to understand.

The OP could answer all of their queries just by logging on and looking at the home page. The first thing you see is your tariff information. While they are there they can submit meter readings easily.

For what it is worth we had the same email as the OP even though we are on a fixed rate tariff. Our tariff details have not changed from those we signed up for in May this year.

recci

i have submitted readings, now will see what happens

MeteredOut

recci said:

i have submitted readings, now will see what happens

I'm confident you're still on the fixed tariff, and the next bill you get will show that.

But you can comfort yourself by also checking your account page on the OFTM website, as per the post above.