EDF in credit but putting up DD

Fifitrixie

I haven’t got a smart
meter but I do meter readings at the end of every month. After the last bill at the end of October I’m still £171 in credit which to me seems quite a lot of money still to carry over yet to winter.
I’ve had an email to say today that they are putting up DD which is normally £94 to £104. 

I know that you save a bit in advance for winter but £171 seems a bit excessive! 

Having had a look at last years bill they are only a bit more than an average bill in the height of summer as we live in a new insulated home.
what can I do about this? 

Can I just lower the DD? 

Any help much appreciated! 

BikingBud

Write back and tell them not to.

Swipe

Or switch to variable direct debit and pay each bill in full every month.

QrizB

Fifitrixie said:

I’ve had an email to say today that they are putting up DD which is normally £94 to £104. 

I know that you save a bit in advance for winter but £171 seems a bit excessive!

If your expected annual bill is £1250 (£104 x 12) then being £171 in credit in early November sounds reasonable.

Brie

calculate what you should pay over the years (last year's use with current prices) and see what you think your monthly DD should be.  take into account the credit balance working to be maybe slightly in debit in the spring.  tell them what you will be paying and don't take their "it's to keep your account safe" malarky.

Robin9

Online select "Manage my DD"

Assuming gas heating - your consumption is on the higher side of  average- about 4000 kWh. Why?

Bigphil1474

My gas consumption is around 12,000kWh a year which is average?

OP, they will work out how much you need to pay for your year - usually the anniversary from when you started with that company - and adjust the DD if they think you'll not meet that amount. It's not so much about whether you are in credit or not, its if you will pay off what you use in that 12 month cycle. Obviously they do this in their favour so I'm not defending them, but there is a system in theory. So if at the start of the year they thought you'd use £1,128 of energy (£94x12) but based on consumption it's looking like more, say £1,188, they'd add another £10 a month for the remaining months if you had 6 months left. I'm with British Gas and just change the DD on the app if they change it. Only happened once.

queline

Earlier this year we were in credit with EDF by £1000 +,  the credit started building both before and after our smart meter was installed.  They were very reluctant to refund any money but I persevered and eventually got it back, at the same time switching to variable direct debit.  This means they send a bill around the middle of the month, which is taken from our account at the end of the month, so two weeks or so to make sure the money is there.  We save the amount of money that our monthly direct debit was in a separate account, which was set quite high, by EDF, and contributed to the huge amount in credit, and then transfer the bill amount back to our current account in time for the money to be taken.  We had also put the refunded money in the bills account to cover the winter months when the bills will be higher.
This means we always know exactly what we're spending (electricity only as we have LPG) every month, and EDF no longer keep hold of any of our money.  Should have done it sooner. 
As others have done, I recommend switching to variable direct debit. 

dnpark38

Octopus have increased My DD by a lot and I'm in credit, think this industry is after more money.

WiserMiser

dnpark38 said:

Octopus have increased My DD by a lot and I'm in credit, think this industry is after more money.

Email or phone them and switch to Monthly Variable Direct Debit.