Economy Energy refusing Refund of Credit Balance
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I'm getting to the end of my tether with Economy Energy.
They've been billing me at almost 2p per unit more than my contracted rates since May which has led to them increasing my direct debit from £52 to £71. The customer service is none existent, I've been trying to get it resolved since Mid July and I'm getting nowhere.
Anyway I've now got £260 credit on my account which I want back, I don't trust them any more and I'd rather not have hundreds of pounds tied up with them.
I have asked for it back yesterday and today & been told I can't have it because they only issue refunds if your balance is four times your direct debit amount. There no mention of this anywhere on their site, there's no mention of it on Ofgem or anywhere else & I'm sure it's just yet another fob off.
Any advice anyone? I'm just getting sick of them and their half truths & appalling customer service. Plus I get the feeling they are nearly going bust & are just shoring up customers money.
They've been billing me at almost 2p per unit more than my contracted rates since May which has led to them increasing my direct debit from £52 to £71. The customer service is none existent, I've been trying to get it resolved since Mid July and I'm getting nowhere.
Anyway I've now got £260 credit on my account which I want back, I don't trust them any more and I'd rather not have hundreds of pounds tied up with them.
I have asked for it back yesterday and today & been told I can't have it because they only issue refunds if your balance is four times your direct debit amount. There no mention of this anywhere on their site, there's no mention of it on Ofgem or anywhere else & I'm sure it's just yet another fob off.
Any advice anyone? I'm just getting sick of them and their half truths & appalling customer service. Plus I get the feeling they are nearly going bust & are just shoring up customers money.
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Comments
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MSE to your rescue:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/
Fear not: if any supplier goes bust, consumer credit balances are now 100% protected.0 -
I'm getting to the end of my tether with Economy Energy.
They've been billing me at almost 2p per unit more than my contracted rates since May which has led to them increasing my direct debit from £52 to £71. The customer service is none existent, I've been trying to get it resolved since Mid July and I'm getting nowhere.
Anyway I've now got £260 credit on my account which I want back, I don't trust them any more and I'd rather not have hundreds of pounds tied up with them.
I have asked for it back yesterday and today & been told I can't have it because they only issue refunds if your balance is four times your direct debit amount. There no mention of this anywhere on their site, there's no mention of it on Ofgem or anywhere else & I'm sure it's just yet another fob off.
Any advice anyone? I'm just getting sick of them and their half truths & appalling customer service. Plus I get the feeling they are nearly going bust & are just shoring up customers money.
If you don't trust the supplier any more, perhaps you should just ditch & switch?
Then they will produce a final bill, and will have no excuse not to refund you.
As regards to inaccurate billing, if this is still an issue, have you followed their complaint procedure?
https://www.economyenergy.co.uk/customers/make-a-complaint/
If you don't wish to ditch this supplier which you don't trust any more, follow the same complaint procedure.
Here is an MSE article that may assist you further:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/
Edit: Sorry Hengus, I was drafting this reponse whilst you posted the above link too.
Hopefully, as we both thought of the same article, it will definitely assist the OP
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If you don't trust the supplier any more, perhaps you should just ditch & switch?
Then they will produce a final bill, and will have no excuse not to refund you.
As regards to inaccurate billing, if this is still an issue, have you followed their complaint procedure?
https://www.economyenergy.co.uk/customers/make-a-complaint/
If you don't wish to ditch this supplier which you don't trust any more, follow the same complaint procedure.
Here is an MSE article that may assist you further:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/
Edit: Sorry Hengus, I was drafting this reponse whilst you posted the above link too.
Hopefully, as we both thought of the same article, it will definitely assist the OP
Not a problem. 0 -
Economy Energy has over GBP 200.00 of my money and has stalled on refunding the credit for nearly 10 weeks. I called in September, October and today (16/11/18`) to find out what is going with the refund. They stated they forgot to start the process twice, that they have too many refunds to distribute, they don't know how long it will take and that I cannot speak to their customer service manager. They did tell me that my refund has been added to their spreadsheet. What a con .......... this is like dealing with Tony Soprano.
I recommend ALL new energy customers to stay in DEBIT and not overpay each month by direct debit. Pay as little as you can and let them chase you for the DEBIT balance
I do NOT recommend Economy Energy!!!0 -
I recommend ALL new energy customers to stay in DEBIT and not overpay each month by direct debit. Pay as little as you can and let them chase you for the DEBIT balance
I do NOT recommend Economy Energy!!!
A great strategy but you need to read the contract terms and conditions:
Quote Paying by Direct Debit means you agree to the following terms:
a) you agree to have the necessary credit in your account to pay for the supply of energy
b) your monthly amount is based on our estimated costs for your ‘estimated annual energy cost’. We will review this amount regularly( at least every 6 months) or when we feel it necessary to ensure you are paying enough to cover your usage, or offer to reduce your Direct Debit if it’s too high.
c) we won’t be able to reduce your payments unless we have up-to-date, validated meter reading
d) we won’t alter your Direct Debit when you make any extra ‘one-off’ payments, but at each review we will take account of one-off payments you have made.
e) when we review your Direct Debit, we will estimate the cost of the energy you will use (your ‘estimated annual energy cost’) up to the date of the next annual Direct Debit review date. This will be based on your past energy use, current prices, and any debt or credit on your account.
f) if you pay by Direct Debit your banking information is retained by us. This information is held by us securely, is used solely in accordance with the written instructions you give us and is never disclosed to
a third party. We will act within accordance to the Direct Debit Guarantee.
9.6 We will complete an annual review of the account, if on this date we find your account is in credit over £5, we will refund the amount you are in credit providing we have a validated read within the last month. If your account with us is in debt, we may use any credit to offset monies owed.
9.7 If you have signed up to Smart Direct Debit Tariff but after two months do not have a Smart meter installed we will:
a) move your tariff to the most appropriate Direct Debit tariff
b) where your Direct Debit has not started, move your tariff to our Evergreen product
9.8 If we make any changes to your Direct Debit we will let you know 10 working days in advance of these change being implemented.
9.9 If you pay by Direct Debit, you must continue to use that payment method to pay the charges unless you or we have made a change. If you fail to do so, we will write to you, explaining what has happened and giving you a date when you need to re-start your Direct Debit.
9.10 If we are unable to collect your Direct Debit and having tried up to three times and failed, we reserve the right to move you on to our default tariff (Evergreen) and/ or onto a cash/ cheque payment method or we may decide to install a Prepayment meter or Smart meter that we will operate it in the prepayment mode.0 -
After jumping through all the hoops over 2 months to get my GBP 249.99 credit balance refunded. I now realise that I have been conned by Economy Energy.....................wait a minute ..................... NOW I know why
e CON ME energy
Mmm0 -
I saw the previous post about reading contractual terms and not underestimating usage.
Firstly, there is normally and ANNUAL review - so you, the consumer, are in charge. Also, do NOT let the energy companies bully you into changing your monthly direct debit. You are in control as the consumer.
Finally, switch, switch and switch to get the best deal and let the energy companies chase you for the debit balance. In my case, I paid the electricity debit balance when I switched (GBP 17.00)- but Economy Energy has not paid my CREDIT balance to date......................................3 months and still waiting...... OFGEM has been advised and I filed an official complaint with E CON ME ENERGY........0 -
(Big cut, sorry)A great strategy but you need to read the contract terms and conditions:
Quote Paying by Direct Debit means you agree to the following terms:
Been there, done that, got the badge, tee shirt and diploma and my experience was virtually the same as the OP and that energy supplier had similar Ts & Cs. After banging my head against the supplier's brick wall I did a switcheroo and got my refund after the switch albeit two months later.
So that's my advice, switch.
Right now I'm also having problems getting a refund from Scottish Power. According to their FAQ blurb upon the production of my annual statement when paying by monthly direct debit if my credit is more than my monthly payment I should get a refund within 3 days. Ok I've received my monthly statement, my monthly payment is £57.64 and my credit is £142.34 but the best SP can do is bury their head in the sand and ignore me. It's kinda like shooting themselves in the foot because I'm switching lol.
But this type of credit nonsense with energy suppliers is nothing new.0 -
Surely the whole point of the Direct Debit scheme is to build up a credit balance at this time of the year(mid Nov). This credit balance will reduce over the winter months when bills are highest.0
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Surely the whole point of the Direct Debit scheme is to build up a credit balance at this time of the year(mid Nov). This credit balance will reduce over the winter months when bills are highest.
That's the theory but in my case at least it doesn't come to fruition: The monthly direct debit I pay is £57.64 but MSE CEC calculates my average at £38.00p per month. So therefore the credit balance just keeps on building and never reduces.
However my point in my previous post is that Scottish Power are not doing what they say they will do in the case of a credit balance. They say they will refund the credit balance which is more than the monthly payment following the annual review.0
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