My Energy provider is upset

[Deleted member 26715]

They don't like me only being £11.56 in credit & want me to fund them by me being £110 in credit, I know I will have to up the payments later in the year, but I'd rather have to money in my account rather than theirs. Daft thing is I gave them my usage for last year & they suggested £90 before I joined them.

 

[Drago]

British Gash used to do the same to me. I responded cancelling the DD and paying quarterly, only for what i had used. Scottish Power, for all their faults, turned out to be quite good in this regard.

 

[bikingdad90]

It’s something to do with Ofgem and a rule change. You can’t be in debt with the energy provider and need to cover 1 and 1/2 month of payments as credit balance to cover winter fuel usage without changing your direct debit up or down.

I was recently in need of my credit balance and that was what they explained to me.

 

[Venod]

You can’t be in debt with the energy provider

But you can not pay monthly by Direct Debit and only pay when you get a bill. you don't have to pay up front for the energy you are going to use.

 

[Archie_tect]

If savings earned interest then this would be an issue... just treat your energy company like a bank current account and forget about it..

 

[toffee]

I currently owe my energy provider about £400 and have never been in credit with them. When I moved to them a couple of years ago they set the DD up too low and did not provide an online way of changing it. Also their contact center only worked 9-5 Monday to Saturday which, unsurprisingly is what I work.

They recognized their error over a year ago but still did not up the DD enough to cover the under payment. Why should I worry, they will get the balance when I leave in September when our deal comes to an end

 

[pawl]

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They don't like me only being £11.56 in credit & want me to fund them by me being £110 in credit, I know I will have to up the payments later in the year, but I'd rather have to money in my account rather than theirs. Daft thing is I gave them my usage for last year & they suggested £90 before I joined them.

 

[pawl]

Just had a £170 refund from EON But putting myDD up from£65 to£87

 

[raleighnut]

Just had a £170 refund from EON But putting myDD up from£65 to£87

 

[Moodyman]

If you build up a large credit balance, that will take many winter months to recoup, you can ask them to refund you.

There is flexibility in all this.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’m able to control what my monthly payments are via an app. If they thing they are getting extra they can bog off.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

They have now sent another email saying that although I am still in credit by £5, they need to increase my DD from £101 to £124, went onto the website & I cannot make it less than £110, so they had a strongly worded email from me that I will cancel the DD if they try to take more than £101 & report them to Ofgem.

 

[Notafettler]

It’s something to do with Ofgem and a rule change. You can’t be in debt with the energy provider and need to cover 1 and 1/2 month of payments as credit balance to cover winter fuel usage without changing your direct debit up or down.

I was recently in need of my credit balance and that was what they explained to me.

Sounds like bol***** to me. I did have to pay a month in advance to Yorkshire energy and the latest one Symbio but both went on my total for previous year dividend by 12. As long as I gave a reading every month they wouldn't increase it unless I was getting behind. Sounds like they are interpreting Ofgem to suit themselves.

 

[Notafettler]

But you can not pay monthly by Direct Debit and only pay when you get a bill. you don't have to pay up front for the energy you are going to use.

If you are talking about paying one month in advance that's what most good deals require. I don't know if all the energy utilities do it or its an Ofgem requirement. Would be a problem for some people.

 

[Profpointy]

If you build up a large credit balance, that will take many winter months to recoup, you can ask them to refund you.

There is flexibility in all this.

It took me over a year and a lot of hassle to get my large credit balance back. I was on the point of suing them in the small claims court. I'd not been paying attention and they'd just been taking the money each month till they were several
years worth of gas overcharged. It really was taking the piss when they try and justify it as "evening out the spend". I am now only willing to take a tariff where they take what I owe - just like my bills with every other supplier of goods and services