Monthly direct debit calculation being changed by Energy supplier.

NiRo · 18 October 2018 at 5:04PM

Has anyone come across this before:
I switched recently to OneSelect because they came out cheapest per month in the MoneySavingExpert comparison site. To make the calculation, I entered my previous 12 months actual energy consumption in kWh for Gas and Electric.
Less than a month in with the new supplier, they tell me they are bumping the calculated monthly cost up by £20 per month!
I am told by them (they take a week or more to reply to messages posted via their web site) that their policy is always to be in profit per month on every account. As we are approaching Winter, they put my DD up and hopefully, in Summer it comes down.
If that's the case, what is the point of the comparison calculation showing £xx per month set Direct debit fee? I might as well revert to the old days and pay whatever the monthly bill comes to.
Has anyone else come across this and if so, have you been able to do anything about it?

Merlin139 · 18 October 2018 at 5:19PM

Welcome to the Forum Niro

You are switching at a time of the year when you will be going in to a debit balance. As you have said in your post they want you to be in credit each month. Would you want them to charge you interest on what you owe them each month?

As you have not given any details about how much you use each month its hard to say if the £20 increase would be enough to keep you in credit. I myself in 7 months have built up a £250 credit with my supplier which by my calculations and my usage over the last 16 years will cover my increased usage over the winter months.

What have you done with the credit you would have built up with your previous supplier during the warmer summer months?

Or are you one of those people who say they use the same amount every month of the year?;)

If you want to pay when the bill comes you will be paying more for the energy that you use.

System · 18 October 2018 at 6:34PM

Read clause 10.12.1 in your contract terms and conditions. The contract requires you to pay for your energy in advance of supply. As you have only just switched, I suspect that you have very little credit to call on as Winter bills start to hit the door mat. Your payments will reduce in Spring next year.

wavelets · 18 October 2018 at 8:02PM

NiRo wrote: »

Has anyone come across this before:
I switched recently to OneSelect because they came out cheapest per month in the MoneySavingExpert comparison site. To make the calculation, I entered my previous 12 months actual energy consumption in kWh for Gas and Electric.
Less than a month in with the new supplier, they tell me they are bumping the calculated monthly cost up by £20 per month!
I am told by them (they take a week or more to reply to messages posted via their web site) that their policy is always to be in profit per month on every account. As we are approaching Winter, they put my DD up and hopefully, in Summer it comes down.
If that's the case, what is the point of the comparison calculation showing £xx per month set Direct debit fee? I might as well revert to the old days and pay whatever the monthly bill comes to.
Has anyone else come across this and if so, have you been able to do anything about it?

Yes, it applies to all suppliers that require you to maintain your account in credit at all times, when you switch at this time of year.
This usually affects the smaller & cheaper suppliers.

The comparison sites simply take the estimated annual charge and divide it by 12. It's the way most suppliers operate, and in fact all suppliers do this once you've gone through the first winter (if you join just before winter)

What can you do about it? If it bothers you that much, choose a supplier that doesn't demand you keep your energy account in credit.
You could switch again come the spring, and this won't affect any supplier then, but you would get a big final bill you need to settle if you haven't kept your account in credit.

Alternatively, when you get your credit back from the old supplier (as you should have built up quite a bit over the past few months) you may be able to pay that lump sum to One Select and get them o then reduce your monthly paymennts (check the terms!)

jfl737 · 20 October 2018 at 6:44PM

Interesting. I am with OneSelect since May and they have just upped my monthly direct debit too. I am on dual fuel fixed price contract, and I gave them precise annual useage figures before the switch, so my monthly dd was based on their prices for the same amount of annual kWh use. They have collected 6 months payments during low use summer months (so I should be well in credit), now they seem to imply I may use more energy during the winter (than I actually have used in any previous winter) so have put my monthly dd up by some 60%. I wonder if they are doing this to all their fixed price customers to boost income? It would be nice to be able to ask them but you will waste hours trying to phone and never get through, and they take minimum over 2 weeks to respond to an email. The only time I got a quick response was when I put a negative comment (relating to the switch) on Trustpilot. They managed to respond to that within 24 hours. I've also found my online account is very unreliable and any gas/electric readings I enter mysteriously disappear or become 'amended'. I now always email my meter readings to ensure they have the correct figures. Also, although they promise a statement every 3 months I've never had one which makes it very difficult to track my useage versus my payments.

Monthly direct debit calculation being changed by Energy supplier.

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