How does monthly whole bill DD work with Octopus

jennifernil

As we had built up a lot of credit, and bills can be unpredictable as we have solar panels,  metered export , and frequent trips away in our caravan, we moved to whole bill DD with Octopus a few months back.  

Each month the bill reduced our accumulated credit and now the November bill is about £50 more than the remaining credit.   Before the bill was visible in our account we had an e mail from Octopus saying an amount, which turned out to be the whole amount, would be taken in 7 days time.

Am I correct in thinking that they will first use the outstanding credit on the account, and then take the remaining £50 odd by DD from our bank account?

Swipe

Yes, you are correct in thinking that.

pseudodox

That just happened to me with EDF.  I pay MVDD but thanks to a large credit for having smart meters installed plus a generous compo payment for an error I have not had a DD taken since April.  October usage was higher than my remaining credit balance so whilst the bill is for £x, they have deducted that credit balance & are taking the difference of £y by DD this week.  If Octopus take the full bill amount by DD you can use the bank guarantee to challenge it & claw it back.

Qyburn

pseudodox said:

That just happened to me with EDF.  I pay MVDD but thanks to a large credit for having smart meters installed plus a generous compo payment for an error I have not had a DD taken since April.  October usage was higher than my remaining credit balance so whilst the bill is for £x, they have deducted that credit balance & are taking the difference of £y by DD this week.  If Octopus take the full bill amount by DD you can use the bank guarantee to challenge it & claw it back.

Strictly the DD guarantee wouldn't apply if Octopus take the amount they've said they'll take.

Swipe

This is all hypothetical as their billing system is programmed to use any credit balance first.

KxMx

I pay by Variable DD.
I had my bill generated with payment due tomorrow of £66.
In the meantime a Warm Home Discount credit of £150 was applied.
Just noticed the £66 will be debited from my bank account tomorrow.
I called Octopus who said it's too late for them to do anything and to contact my bank to file an indemnity claim. 
I've filed a claim via my bank app but didn't have a choice that fit for the reason I'm claiming.
I suppose if that doesn't work I can request a refund from Octopus once it gets credited.

Alnat1

KxMx said:

I pay by Variable DD.
I had my bill generated with payment due tomorrow of £66.
In the meantime a Warm Home Discount credit of £150 was applied.
Just noticed the £66 will be debited from my bank account tomorrow.
I called Octopus who said it's too late for them to do anything and to contact my bank to file an indemnity claim. 
I've filed a claim via my bank app but didn't have a choice that fit for the reason I'm claiming.
I suppose if that doesn't work I can request a refund from Octopus once it gets credited.

If you can afford the £66, leave the DD to go through and you've got £150 credit in your energy account that will cover the next payment. It'll all balance out next month without any messing about.

KxMx

I'll consider it if the bank refuses my claim, but I chose VDD precisely to avoid building a credit balance so it seems counter productive giving Octopus my money when my account is in credit from the WHD. 

Alnat1

It's a one off because the £150 was credited after the DD was scheduled. If the £150 had been applied a week later you wouldn't have been bothered. 

Qyburn

Just ask Octopus to refund the £150 credit, you can do that through the app.

KxMx

My bank refunded the transaction. I now have more knowledge to deal with it properly next year, should it reoccur.