Energy companies and direct debits

[Prestwich_Blue]

Having a barney with my energy supplier, Avro. I'm on a fixed tariff so pay by fixed monthly DD, which goes out on the 14th but my statement date in 25th. So I'm paying 11 days ahead of my statement. During the winter months I'm obviously using more than the monthly DD amount but less in the summer months.

Last month I moved into credit, so asked them to move my DD date to after my statement date and only charge me for the balance outstanding. They didn't respond, then took the full £79 and said they wouldn't do that, as I'd be in debit, which they wouldn't allow. Yet I'm in debit most of the billing year, which they have no problem with. My contract is up in 2 months so I've cancelled my next DD and raised a formal complaint.

Is anyone on a fixed tariff, paying by monthly DD but only paying the statement balance every month?

 

[hampshireblue]

Good luck. Having just taken Scottish Power to the Ombudsman and won after a 4 year battle, I can suggest that you don't get too hett up over a few £ every month. As long as it all works out correctly eventually, enjoy your life and let it go. Even the Ombudsman was pretty useless and at one time it looked like I was going to take action against them as well.

 

[crublue1]

Having a barney with my energy supplier, Avro. I'm on a fixed tariff so pay by fixed monthly DD, which goes out on the 14th but my statement date in 25th. So I'm paying 11 days ahead of my statement. During the winter months I'm obviously using more than the monthly DD amount but less in the summer months.

Last month I moved into credit, so asked them to move my DD date to after my statement date and only charge me for the balance outstanding. They didn't respond, then took the full £79 and said they wouldn't do that, as I'd be in debit, which they wouldn't allow. Yet I'm in debit most of the billing year, which they have no problem with. My contract is up in 2 months so I've cancelled my next DD and raised a formal complaint.

Is anyone on a fixed tariff, paying by monthly DD but only paying the statement balance every month?

Might be missing something here and i'm no expert but cant you just change the dd date yourself? I know I can on my online banking app.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Having a barney with my energy supplier, Avro. I'm on a fixed tariff so pay by fixed monthly DD, which goes out on the 14th but my statement date in 25th. So I'm paying 11 days ahead of my statement. During the winter months I'm obviously using more than the monthly DD amount but less in the summer months.

Last month I moved into credit, so asked them to move my DD date to after my statement date and only charge me for the balance outstanding. They didn't respond, then took the full £79 and said they wouldn't do that, as I'd be in debit, which they wouldn't allow. Yet I'm in debit most of the billing year, which they have no problem with. My contract is up in 2 months so I've cancelled my next DD and raised a formal complaint.

Is anyone on a fixed tariff, paying by monthly DD but only paying the statement balance every month?

My fixed-rate supplier prefer you to be one or two month's worth of payments in credit at all times. I'm surprised that providers don't all do this for fixed rate customers but I don't think being in debit would be a problem short term, they just up the monthly amount. I don't think they can easily just charge you the outstanding amount if you've agreed to pay the same amount monthly by direct debit as they factor in this credit buffer.

By the way, you might want to check the rates for new suppliers as they'll be significantly higher now than when you last fixed I would say.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

I’m with Octopus on a fixed rate.
I pay monthly.
If my credit gets above £50 a quick email gets the difference back in my account in days.
Don’t all energy suppliers aggregate your estimated use over the year rather than bill for energy consumed?

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I’m with Octopus on a fixed rate.
I pay monthly.
If my credit gets above £50 a quick email gets the difference back in my account in days.
Don’t all energy suppliers aggregate your estimated use over the year rather than bill for energy consumed?

Yes I suspect they do.

And to answer @crublue1 I can't change the DD date via online banking.

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Avro just went tits up along with Green Energy. Tried logging in to our account and all data has been removed.

We emailed them on the 15th September to request a refund back to account of £325 as we were showing a £360 credit balance. They confirmed receipt of the email and said they wouild get back to us in 5 to 10 days but it could be longer. They wouldn't answer the phone at the beginning of the month and said due to high call volumes please try again later and then cut our call.

I believe we will get the money back but with all our statements online on their portal we remain unsure as to how we can prove we are in credit. Hopefully the official reciever will have sequestered all the data and correspondance going forward.

Our gas and electric with Avro was very cheap at around 2.4p a kw for gas and 14p a kilowatt for electricity. I have a sneaky feeling we are about to get tampered with by our new supplier that's to be allocated to us. I'm hazarding a guess at double the price of Avro and certainly glum times ahead.

 

[Blue Mist]

Avro just went tits up along with Green Energy. Tried logging in to our account and all data has been removed.

We emailed them on the 15th September to request a refund back to account of £325 as we were showing a £360 credit balance. They confirmed receipt of the email and said they wouild get back to us in 5 to 10 days but it could be longer. They would'nt answer the phone at the beginning of the month and said due to high call volumes please try again later and then cut the call.

I believe we will get the money back but with all our statements online on their portal unsure as to how we can prove we are in credit. Hopefully the reciever will have sequestered all the data and correspondance going forward.

Our gas and electric with Avro was very cheap at around 2.4p a kw for gas and 14p a kilowatt for electricity. I have a smeaky feeling we are about to get tampered with with our new supplier that is to be allocated for us. I'm hazarding a guess at double the price of Avro and certainly glum times ahead.

The fact that all your statements are on line is a worry and perhaps we should all think about what info we physically hold. How will you now prove to the receiver you are owed money ?

 

[Two Gun Bob]

The fact that all your statements are on line is a worry and perhaps we should all think about what info we physically hold. How will you now prove to the receiver you are owed money ?

As mentioned hopefully the reciever will have sequestered all the data and our correspondance going forward. I guess it would be the same with accounts in debit because apprantly the debt will have to be repaid back after the forced switch.

I really hope we don't lose out and my fault for allowing it to run so high. This last year we have turned green and have been monitering our carbon footprints by careful use of energy both home and away. This has had an impact on our usage and allowed us to accrues a healthier credit balance. Once I sniffed trouble brewing at the begining of the month I tried in vain to get it paid back but they would not make contact.

I have proof of the email request we made for £325 to be paid to account as they have replied with a refernce number reciept. But of course all energy statements are held on line on their portal.

 

[mcfc_ms]

I’m with Octopus on a fixed rate.
I pay monthly.
If my credit gets above £50 a quick email gets the difference back in my account in days.
Don’t all energy suppliers aggregate your estimated use over the year rather than bill for energy consumed?

Octopus are great for this, their customer service has been great for me. I’m about £300 in credit now, but with winter coming up I know it will average out so I just leave the credit there