Energy Prices

[Clown Job]

5 hours ago, resk said:

Some (all?) energy suppliers charge a higher tariff if you don't pay by DD

That should be illegal 

[TxRover]

22 minutes ago, Clown Job said:

That should be illegal 

What should be illegal is double dipping by charging a percentage higher for non-DD AND adding a non-DD fee. One or the other, OK, it can be justified as the cost of dealing with the non-DD accounts, but the percentage is pretty clearly graft even then.

[Jamie_B]

11 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:

They were previously paying nearly £400 a month. At that level of use, and with the price rises they would have been facing if they were still on a cheap fix, that £1,400 that was likely being put aside to soften the immediate impact of the cap rise would have disappeared very quickly without a DD increase.

It's all relative.

Can I just say that your hypothetical is my exact situation. I have about £850 credit in my account. The majority of that has accumulated over the last three months as my usage has been drastically lower than their estimates. I had a hot tub running last summer which is, for obvious reasons, now very much off. I’ve also replaced a fucked old boiler that was probably about 40% efficient when it went with a brand new condensing boiler that’s 90% efficient. I’ve also cut usage in various other ways eg adjusting boiler temps, adjusting the thermostat timings/temperatures and just in general using less power.

The problem is your power company won’t let you knock the DD down until they actually see that effect hitting in the meter readings, which is only really kicking in now. They’ve let me drop my direct debits by about 20% in the last two months but I fully expect it to come down even further next month. If I leave the £850 with them I could probably pay nothing til February and not go into debt with them but that’s not an option.

[Todd_is_God]

11 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

There is an option. You can cancel your direct debit until your credit expires and then restart it with a new set of usage figures.

Or am I missing something?

Yes - they will still try and take it, at which point it won't go through (and you can deal with the associated charges etc).

If you cancel your DD with the energy company you'll lose the discount for paying by DD.

Energy companies have a respinsibility to ensure that customers are not hit with a huge bill for payment shortfalls, so I don't really know what people expect them to to differently in these situations.

At least, unlike most it would seem, the poster above understands why this has happened, depite having to pay more in a DD in the short run.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Todd_is_God

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

I get 5% from Ovo on my Credit Balance.

[BFTD]

On 27/11/2022 at 18:48, Melanius Mullarkay said:

DD up another £80 per month. Robbing french c***s.

Might want to talk to Oaksoft, m9. Apparently a direct debit payment isn't necessarily the same as the bill for, like, what you've actually used?

Huge if true. This is a real Woodstein moment.

[beefybake]

2 hours ago, BFTD said:

Might want to talk to Oaksoft, m9. Apparently a direct debit payment isn't necessarily the same as the bill for, like, what you've actually used?

Huge if true. This is a real Woodstein moment.

Not really.

A common practice in the industry, certainly prior to energy price guarantees etc,  was to give a DD quote on comparison sites to attract

a customer in.   Then a few weeks later announce to the new customer that after reviewing usage figures etc, the DD would in fact be substantially higher.

Basically, customers money was being used to build the supplier a cash buffer.

Edited November 30, 2022 by beefybake

[Soapy FFC]

50 minutes ago, beefybake said:

Not really.

A common practice in the industry, certainly prior to energy price guarantees etc,  was to give a DD quote on comparison sites to attract

a customer in.   Then a few weeks later announce to the new customer that after reviewing usage figures etc, the DD would in fact be substantially higher.

Basically, customers money was being used to build the supplier a cash buffer.

I seem to have the opposite problem with Octopus, they seem very hesitant to increase my DD to a level I think is realistic. I’ve had to up it myself to almost double what they are recommending.

[MuckleMoo]

I've always held a suspicion that company's would deliberately underestimate your DD payments in order for you to build up debt thus making it harder for you to switch. Only a suspicion mind

[Soapy FFC]

2 minutes ago, MuckleMoo said:

I've always held a suspicion that company's would deliberately underestimate your DD payments in order for you to build up debt thus making it harder for you to switch. Only a suspicion mind

Around October they gave me an estimate of how how many kwhrs I'd use in the next year, and it seemed accurate. But for some reason they haven't yet increased my DD to match that estimate. I'm not too bothered as I keep an eye on my account, but it just seems at odds with most other peoples experiences.  I do prefer it how it is, as it allows me to keep my DD under my control.

[SweeperDee]

Deleted

[Gnash]

I have a chunky credit but I've been trying to keep my DD higher, so I don't have to massively jack it up come April.  The company keeps telling me to reduce it, and once it did without me asking.  

Seems like the companies will find whatever would cause you a problem, regardless of your situation, and then do it. 

[Todd_is_God]

1 minute ago, oaksoft said:

You get around the admin fee by telling them you are going to cancel it.

Anyway, a lot of people moaning about something which is well within their power to control.

As usual.

Constant fucking moaning seems to be a national trait. 

At which point they would remove your discount for paying by DD

[beefybake]

17 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

You get around the admin fee by telling them you are going to cancel it.

Anyway, a lot of people moaning about something which is well within their power to control.

As usual.

Constant fucking moaning seems to be a national trait. 

^^^^^^    Moaning again...

 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

The more information that comes out about the Bulb bailout, the more I think it should have been allowed to sink like the other energy companies.

[steelmen]

On 30/11/2022 at 07:21, Jamie_Beatson said:

Can I just say that your hypothetical is my exact situation. I have about £850 credit in my account. The majority of that has accumulated over the last three months as my usage has been drastically lower than their estimates. I had a hot tub running last summer which is, for obvious reasons, now very much off. I’ve also replaced a fucked old boiler that was probably about 40% efficient when it went with a brand new condensing boiler that’s 90% efficient. I’ve also cut usage in various other ways eg adjusting boiler temps, adjusting the thermostat timings/temperatures and just in general using less power.

The problem is your power company won’t let you knock the DD down until they actually see that effect hitting in the meter readings, which is only really kicking in now. They’ve let me drop my direct debits by about 20% in the last two months but I fully expect it to come down even further next month. If I leave the £850 with them I could probably pay nothing til February and not go into debt with them but that’s not an option.

a lot like me... minus the hot tub.

For our Gas had over £1k in credit with EDF, as my wife was a doors open heating up full type of woman before we got our bill in 2 years ago and we owed them about £500. I have managed to get her to cut back a lot on the heating but she wanted to have the buffer coming into this winter as out cheap fixed price ended on Sept 30th.

We did ask for a refund of some of it as we are still paying £175 a month and our spend seems to have increased to around £250. so we are using about £75 a month of that credit. They refunded £110

[strichener]

5 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

The more information that comes out about the Bulb bailout, the more I think it should have been allowed to sink like the other energy companies.

None of the other companies wanted to take on the customers so there wasn't really an option.

[flyingscot]

21 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

The more information that comes out about the Bulb bailout, the more I think it should have been allowed to sink like the other energy companies.

It's an utter failure of regulation. 

[vikingTON]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/02/half-a-million-vulnerable-households-miss-out-on-help-with-energy-bills

Quote

 

A spokesperson for the business department said: “All energy bills support scheme vouchers for October and November should have been dispatched by suppliers. If customers have not received them, or are having difficulties in redeeming them, they should contact their supplier.

“Suppliers must ensure vouchers reach customers by the 11th working day of the month, and they’re working with Post Office and PayPoint to mitigate postal strikes. Customers can also speak to their supplier if they need a voucher to be reissued.”

 

Aye - good luck getting the clownshoes at Scottish Power to a) pick up a phone and b) actually solve an issue before the first voucher expires in January! 

[Suspect Device]

On 29/11/2022 at 18:15, oaksoft said:

There's a nationwide ignorance over most things.

FTFY.

 

I was going to say everything but the nationwide ignorance doesn't extend to what happened this week on soap operas or celebrity gossip.