Variable Direct Debit from Energy Companies
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Only another £3.18 cashback needed and it'll pay your £5 monthly fee
That isn't my only cashback DD and it will soon just be £10 -
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Igloo also pay interest on credit balances, 3% which is better than even regular savers these days!0
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I made a really stupid mistake today when working out my current balance on my energy account with e.on; about the most basic one you can make. Just wanted to share this in case any newbies feel a bit intimidated by our constant "send your meter readings and work it out for yourself" preachings.
I still blame e.on's website at least 10% for this because, if their "Request a bill" button actually worked, it would not have happened; the other 90% is completely on me.
I was looking at my last bill, which I request every month when I submit meter readings but forgot the (very unprofessional) damned "Oops, something's blown it" message I received the last time. Consequently, I used 1st November's readings instead of 1st December's when working out what we have used so far in January and gave myself a nasty shock.
It made no sense because the weather has been so mild that we had somehow used 40% more energy than I was expecting but, once I figured it out, we are still in credit two thirds of the way through January. If that does not prove global warming, I don't know what does.
Will carry on kicking myself for at least a couple of hours... :doh:0 -
When I was looking to switch back in July, I was told by more than one of the Big 6, including EDF that, if I insisted on providing monthly readings, I would be charged on a variable, monthly basis i.e. pay for what I had used in the previous month. They insisted they wanted only bi-annual readings (without a smart meter) S0d that.
The whole point for many is we want to pay the same amount every month, be it January or July, so we can budget. Given my experience, Gerry1 (with whom I usually agree) I cannot believe you cannot arrange with your supplier to bill you the way you would like.
I work out my usage and what it should cost at least every month, then submit readings and, back in the halcyon days with nPower, checked my calculations against their graphs. Now I am with Eon, I fly blind because their website is woefully inadequate by comparison; oh, the irony when Eon now own nPower. This does not alter the fact I always know within a couple of quid what my balance should be.
As we keep on saying to newbies, it is not difficult. Clearly, there is no one size fits all as I would prefer to receive a statement every month just to confirm what I think my balance is. Eon are supposed to offer this option but, the last twice I have requested this, it has not worked; rubbish website, imho.
Not sure what the difficulty is here Smodlet. You can use the online 'Real Time Billing' tool to issue a statement. Pop in readings and choose 'request a bill.' It'll be ready within 24 hours and you can either view it online or download and print it off if you want a hard copy.An energy company pay interest on your credit balance? I think I have just entered an alternative universe, which is not to say I don't believe you, nickod.
Back in the day, before The Word (:money:) came to Planet Smodlet I was, on rare occasions, in credit to nPower to the tune of 4 figures.:o:o I know, I know but we all have to learn, right? It will never happen again while I retain my faculties (such as they are)
Had I earned 5% on those balances, which were quite frequently in 3 figures, I would have been laughing. I do remember telling nPower on several occasions that I did not bank with them so they should reduce my DD. They usually did but I should not have had had to ask them... I am pretty sure I got more compo out of them for various things than I would ever had earned in interest so not such a daft Smodlet, after all.
Still miss their graphs a whole lot. Malc, is there anything you can do to suggest Eon use some of what they appear to have bought for the benefit of customers? I hope some (most) of nPower's customer service staff have kept their jobs and will be available to Eon customers before too long; many of them were really good: Some were appalling. So it goes, I guess.
We have the E.ON See tool we spoke about on another thread at the link below.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=76578271#post76578271
This shows the energy you're using and how much you're spending in graph form. We're always looking to improve our services including E.ON See and I'm sure our website people will take on board any learnings from npower.
The actual acquisition of npower is well beyond our level. There are some details in the Media Centre part of our website. What happens in the future will also be advised on our website and via press releases at the relevant time.I made a really stupid mistake today when working out my current balance on my energy account with e.on; about the most basic one you can make. Just wanted to share this in case any newbies feel a bit intimidated by our constant "send your meter readings and work it out for yourself" preachings.
I still blame e.on's website at least 10% for this because, if their "Request a bill" button actually worked, it would not have happened; the other 90% is completely on me.
I was looking at my last bill, which I request every month when I submit meter readings but forgot the (very unprofessional) damned "Oops, something's blown it" message I received the last time. Consequently, I used 1st November's readings instead of 1st December's when working out what we have used so far in January and gave myself a nasty shock.
It made no sense because the weather has been so mild that we had somehow used 40% more energy than I was expecting but, once I figured it out, we are still in credit two thirds of the way through January. If that does not prove global warming, I don't know what does.
Will carry on kicking myself for at least a couple of hours... :doh:
Again, not sure why you're struggling with our 'Real Time Billing' tool unless the problem happened during a website outage. Other than these outages, it's been working consistently for quite a time.
Please let me know if I'm missing something here Smodlet. I'll do my best to explain.
Malc“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Nope ! We're talking about two different things. I'm talking about a Variable Direct Debit which means that you read the meter each month and you are then billed by DD for that exact usage, not a penny more, not a penny less. That's the industry definition, e.g.
https://help.shellenergy.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360001033877-The-variable-Direct-Debit
https://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/monthly-variable-direct-debit/
https://help.cheapenergyclub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000355288-What-does-monthly-variable-direct-debit-mean-
You're talking about a Fixed Direct Debit where the expected annual usage is divided by 12 and the same fixed amount is collected every month. Of course, the amount will have to be recalculated after 12 months if the expectation turns out to be different from the reality, but that doesn't make it qualify as a Variable Direct Debit.
Whenever I switch I always ask the new company whether I can pay by Variable Direct Debit, and they usually say they don't offer it. I've been with umpteen and the last one that offered VDD was First Utility (now Shell Energy), probably 10 years ago. Eco7, Avro and Yorkshire Energy didn't offer it.
It may well be that VDD is offered only by the big boys such as E.On and EDF because the smaller, cheaper, leaner & meaner companies have more critical cash flows and can't negotiate such long payment delays.
Happy to confirm that Gerry1.
We offer Variable Direct Debits as a payment option. These arrangements collect the full amount from a customer's bank each time a bill is raised. This is around 14 days after the bill date. We'll put a message on the bill with the actual collection date.
Customers paying this way also receive the same lower prices as those who pay with a Monthly Direct Debit.
Malc“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Not sure what the difficulty is here Smodlet. You can use the online 'Real Time Billing' tool to issue a statement. Pop in readings and choose 'request a bill.' It'll be ready within 24 hours and you can either view it online or download and print it off if you want a hard copy.
We have the E.ON See tool we spoke about on another thread at the link below.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=76578271#post76578271
This shows the energy you're using and how much you're spending in graph form. We're always looking to improve our services including E.ON See and I'm sure our website people will take on board any learnings from npower.
The actual acquisition of npower is well beyond our level. There are some details in the Media Centre part of our website. What happens in the future will also be advised on our website and via press releases at the relevant time.
Again, not sure why you're struggling with our 'Real Time Billing' tool unless the problem happened during a website outage. Other than these outages, it's been working consistently for quite a time.
Please let me know if I'm missing something here Smodlet. I'll do my best to explain.
Malc
Hi Malc and sorry if I did not make myself clear. The last three sets of readings I have submitted prior to requesting a bill have resulted in the "something's blown it" message so the only bill I have is out of date. My bad for not noticing instantly but I am so used to my usage figures being bang up to date from nPower's website, I missed that fact.
When I raised this with two different chat operators, the first one blamed my browser; yeah, must be my fault, mustn't it? The second wasted my time asking if I were viewing my account online; how else did they think I was engaging in an online chat with them? Surely it is obvious if the contact is via Facebook or whatever; I would not know as I do not do social media. However, the second one did actually manage to provide a bill; it really should not be this difficult, should it?
NPower's website updated in real time i.e. you put meter readings in and seconds later, the usage graph showed another month's usage including costs; it also showed it in kwh and, if you were interested, tonnes of CO2; admittedly, a bit OTT but I prefer too much information to not enough.
Eon See takes weeks to update; my December usage appeared only in the last three days; nPower's site takes three seconds from input of readings. You can choose three different views of your usage on their website, bar graph, line graph or table; all show last year's usage next to this for each month. Do you now understand why I miss their website so much? It is like comparing LIDL to Harrod's, again.0 -
Hi Malc and sorry if I did not make myself clear. The last three sets of readings I have submitted prior to requesting a bill have resulted in the "something's blown it" message so the only bill I have is out of date. My bad for not noticing instantly but I am so used to my usage figures being bang up to date from nPower's website, I missed that fact.
When I raised this with two different chat operators, the first one blamed my browser; yeah, must be my fault, mustn't it? The second wasted my time asking if I were viewing my account online; how else did they think I was engaging in an online chat with them? Surely it is obvious if the contact is via Facebook or whatever; I would not know as I do not do social media. However, the second one did actually manage to provide a bill; it really should not be this difficult, should it?
NPower's website updated in real time i.e. you put meter readings in and seconds later, the usage graph showed another month's usage including costs; it also showed it in kwh and, if you were interested, tonnes of CO2; admittedly, a bit OTT but I prefer too much information to not enough.
Eon See takes weeks to update; my December usage appeared only in the last three days; nPower's site takes three seconds from input of readings. You can choose three different views of your usage on their website, bar graph, line graph or table; all show last year's usage next to this for each month. Do you now understand why I miss their website so much? It is like comparing LIDL to Harrod's, again.
Hello Smodlet and not sure why you received this message on three separate occasions.
This message usually appears when there's a website outage. We do have these from time to time when we're doing website maintenance or if there's a specific technical issue. If there was a difficulty with the readings entered, you would've seen a different message.
Have you tried again since our advisor issued a bill? If you have, did the readings go through okay? Have you been able to produce a 'Real Time Bill' since the advisor's bill? Have you seen any other messages other than the one mentioned?
Sorry for all the question. Trying to understand why you're having this difficulty. You're right, it shouldn't be such a problem and, usually, it isn't. We've been looking at the 'Real Time Billing' tool here this afternoon and all's fine. I'm wondering if there's something in the background causing this.
If you're still having problems please try the Live Chat service again. Totally understand you weren't impressed before and, I agree, the advisor should've known you were online. The benefit here is they can use what's known as a 'co-browser.' This lets the advisor see what you're looking at on the website and is a good aid in helping to see what you're seeing.
Take your point about E.ON See. It takes around two weeks to pull the information from your bills to the online graphs. This is nowhere near as quick as you're used to so I can understand why you don't see any benefit.
Sorry again for all the questions Smodlet and have a good weekend.
Malc“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0
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