Can you ask for an Energy refund to be paid into your bank account

ahll

I am due a refund from EDF because I left and had credit. They want to send me out a cheque but I would prefer it to be paid into my bank account since I paid them directly not by cheque.

They keep insisting they want to send a cheque out, so is there an option for me to decide the way I want to receive my refund?

I looked on OFGEM but while they said they had to give me the money back it didn't go into if I could request the means.

MikeJXE

Did you cancel your direct debit with EDF ?

sammyjammy

As asked above did you cancel DD?  If you did then the only way other than cheque for them to refund you is at their cost, faster payments are not free for large companies.  By the time you've finished arguing the point with them you could probably have paid the cheque in and had the funds cleared.

vacheron

If it is the inconvenience of cashing it which is causing you the issue most bank apps allow you to pay in cheques of around £750-£1500 using your phone. Have you checked to see if you have this facility?

GrumpyDil

 sammyjammy said:

As asked above did you cancel DD?  If you did then the only way other than cheque for them to refund you is at their cost, faster payments are not free for large companies.  By the time you've finished arguing the point with them you could probably have paid the cheque in and had the funds cleared.

Yes there is a cost involved in sending a refund via faster payments but there is also a cost involved in issuing a cheque.

OP, I'm surprised that they are insistent on issuing a cheque given I doubt that it is any cheaper to issue a cheque rather than direct credit payment. That said as others have said a number of banks do support paying cheques in online which is how I pay any cheques I have the misfortune to receive in. 

ahll

The account is closed and has been for a while. I took me 4 months to get them to pay up and they did send a cheque. I paid it into the bank but because it was issued in the name I have always been called (my middle name not my first name) the Bank Refused to cash the cheque. I went down to the bank and spoke to them they would not give me the cheque back and they would not put the money back into my back account! [I am less than impressed with the bank my full name is on the account so they knew it was me!] 

They told me I had to go back to EDF and get them to issue me a cheque in my full name! Hence my question about the options I can have for re-payment... 

TheSpectator

You cannot insist on the payment method and playing devils advocate the name issue on the original cheque is down to you.