Calor Gas automatic delivery caused debit balance-Then they almost doubled my Direct Debit

Fritton15

Im wondering how many other Calor customers this is happening to.

Before a recent automatic delivery, which we did not need, as our tank was nearly 60% full, my account was not in debit. Calor then delivered 646 litres of LPG, which pushed the account to around £619 in debit. Shortly afterwards, I received notification that they wanted to increase my monthly direct debit from £145 to £289.00— double.

We did not need the delivery, did not ask for it, and was not aware they had delivered until a week later when a letter came through the post

I rang Calor and was told that this is simply what they do when they review direct debits every few months, and that customers can ring to discuss it. They then agreed to put mine straight back to £145.

Add to this that this delivery added an additional £23.00 to the cost due to the ‘temporary surcharge’ imposed my Calor.

What concerns me is that the large debit balance was created by Calor’s own automatic ‘top up’ delivery, and then that same balance appears to have triggered a huge proposed increase in the direct debit.

I had worked out that we would not have required a normally delivery for another 4/5 months

I can challenge it, but how many customers simply accept these increases because they assume the company must be right? For some people, particularly older or vulnerable customers, suddenly being told their energy payment is going to almost double could cause enormous worry.

There must surely be thousands of customers affected by automated systems like this. I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience with Calor or another energy supplier.

QrizB

Are you in-contract with Calor, or out of contract?

If you're in-contract, how long until it ends?