IWNL has said it will increase my Direct Debit by 50% from July

throneofblood

Hi,

My supplier has said it will increase my monthly DD from £32 to £52 to 'prevent underpayment on my account'.

I want to tell them to foxtrot oscar and cancel my DD -  what would happen if I did?

Thanks.

Browntoa

Credit score 

Actually pay more for it for not having a,direct debit 

Sounds like a, winning strategy 

Go ahead and do it 

DE_612183

you would build up a debt and eventually if unpaid end up in court and potentially a CCJ and then I guess bailiffs - would take a while though..

If you are on benefits I think they can apply to have money deducted from these. 

throneofblood

DE_612183 said:

you would build up a debt and eventually if unpaid end up in court and potentially a CCJ and then I guess bailiffs - would take a while though..

If you are on benefits I think they can apply to have money deducted from these. 

I'm happy to pay the bill when it arrives, just not particularly happy they can just increase my DD on a whim.

DE_612183

throneofblood said:

DE_612183 said:

you would build up a debt and eventually if unpaid end up in court and potentially a CCJ and then I guess bailiffs - would take a while though..

If you are on benefits I think they can apply to have money deducted from these. 

I'm happy to pay the bill when it arrives, just not particularly happy they can just increase my DD on a whim.

In that case just wait for the statement and then pay in full.

GingerTim

DE_612183 said:

throneofblood said:

DE_612183 said:

you would build up a debt and eventually if unpaid end up in court and potentially a CCJ and then I guess bailiffs - would take a while though..

If you are on benefits I think they can apply to have money deducted from these. 

I'm happy to pay the bill when it arrives, just not particularly happy they can just increase my DD on a whim.

In that case just wait for the statement and then pay in full.

throneofblood said:

DE_612183 said:

you would build up a debt and eventually if unpaid end up in court and potentially a CCJ and then I guess bailiffs - would take a while though..

If you are on benefits I think they can apply to have money deducted from these. 

I'm happy to pay the bill when it arrives, just not particularly happy they can just increase my DD on a whim.

They aren't increasing it on a whim - it's to prevent underpayment on your account.

mmmmikey

throneofblood said:

Hi,

My supplier has said it will increase my monthly DD from £32 to £52 to 'prevent underpayment on my account'.

I want to tell them to foxtrot oscar and cancel my DD -  what would happen if I did?

Thanks.

Hi, the DD is based on an estimate and can vary a lot from year to year. If you underpay one year because the estimate was too low, then next year the estimate will go up. On top of that, you have to pay back what you underpaid last year and on top of that we've just had some big price rises. So the kind of increase you're seeing is not uncommon. If you browse through this forum you'll find lots of examples.

As far as your question is concerned, with Anglian Water (my supplier) as long as you cancel the DD through their website, which you can do at the click of a button without any hassle, all that happens is they generate a bill to square up the account. You can then pay that bill and they bill you twice a year after that. I guess it's much the same for most suppliers. With Anglian and you need to check your own supplier, unlike with gas and electricity you pay the same whether you do that via DD or when you get the bill.

If you throw your toys out the pram and cancel the DD at the bank without telling your supplier you create yourself a whole heap of trouble and end up regretting it - just like you do if you ignore any bill and don't pay it.

If you want help understanding the increase, just ask, or just make sure you cancel the DD properly via your supplier.

Grumpy_chap

Water and waste water costs have increased substantially across the board.

Also, is the OP currently in credit or in debit when the bill is assessed against actual metered usage?

dunstonh

I want to tell them to foxtrot oscar and cancel my DD -  what would happen if I did?

You would destroy your credit record as water bills are recorded on there.   And sooner or later you would end up in courts and have a CCJ registered.

I'm happy to pay the bill when it arrives, just not particularly happy they can just increase my DD on a whim.

So tell them you want to pay in full with each bill and not use a budget plan.

The monthly direct debt is not a bill. Its an estimate of the cost and use over the next 12 months (plus any arrears).  

EL_Gringo13

throneofblood said:

Hi,

My supplier has said it will increase my monthly DD from £32 to £52 to 'prevent underpayment on my account'.

I want to tell them to foxtrot oscar and cancel my DD -  what would happen if I did?

Thanks.

That's a fairly low amount to pay per month. Before using a meter we were paying £113 per month and now with a meter we pay just a bit more than you, for two adults in the house. Take the advice of the other posters and keep up your payments. 

matelodave

Generally water rates used to be a bit like Council tax/rates where the bill was presented and had to be paid either annually or six monthly IN ADVANCE. The option of of paying monthly by direct debit was a concession.

I dont know about other water companies but Anglian Water report the DD to the credit reference agencies, so any missed payments will immediate create a flag on your credit history

I guess that if you stopped your DD then they might demand immediate payment for the whole year and unless you paid it then its a default on your credit rating.

Have you actually done your sums  whether your DD should work out based on your consumption (dont forget there's been a big increase in water charges this year - mines gone up by 20% from £38 to £46

Most years my water co (Anglian) come up with some random amount which may or may not include £20-£30 of arrears from the previous year (You don't get much water for £20 nowadays - around 3.5cu.m including sewerage and standing charge where I live).

I think they base it on the average consumption of around 100cu.m a year but as we use a lot less than that. I do my own calculations based on my own average annual consumption history (which has been pretty constant over the past 15 years) and we agree a sensible DD which usually works out over the year +/- £20 or so (depend how often I wash the car or water the garden  )