Outfox The Market Direct Debit changes

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Comments

  • hareng wrote: »
    That was two months ago maybe more, they would have sent an email asking you whether you accept the price hike think around £3.5 p/m for us. Was around £56, now £59.6 p/m

    That was from a chat today. I am on a fixed tariff so wasn't affected with the price increase. I still object to the direct debit change, do they think people get paid more for winter? I am already in credit for nearly £400, how much more do they want? And before anyone else say if I am sure that I'm in credit. I submit my meter readings every month & on time as they require it to be the last day of the billing cycle to avoid estimated bills.
    Are they going to be refunding people who are in credit?
  • poggs
    poggs Posts: 134
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    I plan to stay with then as they are still by far the cheapest for my whack tariff.

    However I going to take advantage of the new rules that state I can request a refund of credit on demand and do so every month.

    So if they go bust, I've not got £300 stuck in the administrators account!
  • I changed to OtM a couple of months ago as did my mother and her friend (both in their 80's). I'm disgusted with this and have replied to their email saying "Please note I would strongly object to this and they certainly don’t give me or anybody peace of mind - please don’t treat your customers like idiots. This isn’t what I signed up to. Evenly spread payments should mean ANNUAL as I get paid the same amount each month - not more in winter and less in summer. Funny how you are introducing it as winter approaches and not summer? Does this imply you have cash flow problems?

    This really disappoints me about OtM. I have 4 accounts I have switched to OtM and I will seriously consider changing if you implement this.

    Thank you,"

    I wonder if Ofgem would take issue with this behaviour? Has/is anyone else going to complain/made a complaint?
  • hareng
    hareng Posts: 581
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    Same here Orangesnaps i object to paying more over the winter where money is most needed, i would rather opt for an average.


    Looking back have had two direct debits with the price hike i agreed to. Still £50+ p/m cheaper than all other providers based on actual usage.
  • Last week I had an email from outfox the market advising of a price increases. My new estimated cost for the year was £402 (I'm a low user. I live on my own and only really sleep in my house as I'm out all day and most evenings). This is based on my usage for the past year. I currently pay £38.66 per month via direct debit.

    Today I've had another email from them advising that they are changing their direct debit policy to cover higher winter usage and lower usage in the summer. My new direct debits will be a whopping £67.88 october-March. This is a 75% increase!! And down to £29 from April-September. They've also re-estimated my annual costs at over £570 which is a 43% increase from two days ago!
  • I've sent an email off to OTM complaining about the policy and the timing, no reply as yet. I have inquired about charges for cancelling and moving stating that I think they've broken my contract.

    Having a look on the ombudsman website you have to let your complaint either go for 8 weeks with the supplier or have reached a deadlock as confirmed by correspondence from them.
  • sam.4000 wrote: »
    Switched this morning, can I stop them taking a direct debit of £109?

    Yes you can - cancel your direct debit through your bank but cancel at least 3-4 working days before it is due. Like you, I've also signed up to move my energy away from OFTM (did this a few days ago) and today received the shocking news that my regular £67 monthly direct debit is going up to £115 per month :rotfl: As a result, I've cancelled the DD and will just pay them by credit/debit card once my new supplier gives them the transfer readings in a few weeks. They definitely accept payment over the phone as I've paid via credit card previously. Bye bye and good riddance OFTM
  • martyp
    martyp Posts: 1,044
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    3. Now this is the interesting one she let slip, their costs have gone up and they need to increase OUR DD's to make sure they cover THEIR costs over the winter period!


    That was my suspicion, maybe they've planned out the price increases over the coming months and are charging in advance?


    We might have an increase every month or near enough for months to come...
  • toshi
    toshi Posts: 308
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    edited 15 November 2018 at 7:49PM
    I also feel that they would have some cash flow problems, suddenly they attempt to get cash in advance (before high usage Winter time) .. Our energy consumption is fairly low, but they intend to collect 15% more usage than actual use.

    They also now offer "PAY 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE AND FIX YOUR TARIFF plan...." Well same variable tariff with 6 month advance payment.. (They really try to get cash in advance here again)

    The price-wise, OFTM offers still one of the cheapest tariffs to us, it is OK to me to have winter higher DD, but (as an ex-Iresa customer lol) I rather am concerned about their desperation to get cash in advance.. as we have seen before..
  • I currently pay £148 a month, my account is £436 in credit. Had an email this morning telling me my DD was going up to £207, had one this afternoon telling me that it is now going up to £362!! That is almost 150% increase. Have increased my annual cost from £1778 to £3107. This is an absolute joke. Will be calling them, and cancelling my DD.
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