Energy companies direct debits

[Barry]

Octopus didn't, I manually raised mine a bit (I'm a few hundred in credit anyway) and then they've reduced it by £67 again to almost where it was

Same here, I let it go into slight credit as I know it'll swallow that as soon as the heating goes back on. Not DD rise though, just the £67 reduction applied for now.

[Jobbo]

This is why I love this place. Stating the bleeding obvious.

My gripe in a more blunt way is I'm quite capable of managing my own money and don't need assistance (in their favour) of how to pay my bills.

Unlike you I paid extra into my own bills Bank account which is the most sensible option.

Lots of twitter crying on the subject. Mainly about where is the 400 quid? Edf are splitting it over 6 months, again in their favour. Considering you can get 4 percent plus interest these days they're taking the piss.

As opposed to you crying on here

I just pay approximately what I owe each month, never had difficulty doing that. I don't let credit build up with the supplier and am aware that if you have built up a credit balance you can ask for it back and they have to pay it.

If youve been over paying then you will be in credit - make your mind up.

As for crying - there will be a lot of real crying for many.

Can't you read? Stupid question, there's no evidence elsewhere on here of your comprehension skills.

- If you are in credit you can ask for it back
- I don't overpay, I just set the direct debit to what I use and make sure I give readings each month

It's not difficult.

[Broccers]

I manually upped mine a couple of months ago but Bulb reduced it themselves before taking the direct debit this month.

So you upped it but werent in credit - okay.

[Broccers]

Octopus didn't, I manually raised mine a bit (I'm a few hundred in credit anyway) and then they've reduced it by £67 again to almost where it was

Same here, I let it go into slight credit as I know it'll swallow that as soon as the heating goes back on. Not DD rise though, just the £67 reduction applied for now.

I really reckon most people wont use as much this year. Sitting in your pants and socks is out

[Ascender]

Our leccy one hasn't gone up yet (£225 per month currently) and we've not switched to gas yet, so no change here.

[Barry]

Octopus didn't, I manually raised mine a bit (I'm a few hundred in credit anyway) and then they've reduced it by £67 again to almost where it was

Same here, I let it go into slight credit as I know it'll swallow that as soon as the heating goes back on. Not DD rise though, just the £67 reduction applied for now.

I really reckon most people wont use as much this year. Sitting in your pants and socks is out

To be fair, we should all make an effort to reduce gas usage by the sound of it, so it's no bad thing. That said, I'm a tight northerner so I was always stingy with the heating :

My fixed rate doesn't end till next autumn anyway, so I'm not too worried just yet. Met long term forecast said there's a higher chance of a white Xmas this year so if we get a cold winter it'll cause some real hardship for some. I'll just wear my heated bike gear

[Broccers]

Same here, I let it go into slight credit as I know it'll swallow that as soon as the heating goes back on. Not DD rise though, just the £67 reduction applied for now.

I really reckon most people wont use as much this year. Sitting in your pants and socks is out

To be fair, we should all make an effort to reduce gas usage by the sound of it, so it's no bad thing. That said, I'm a tight northerner so I was always stingy with the heating :

My fixed rate doesn't end till next autumn anyway, so I'm not too worried just yet. Met long term forecast said there's a higher chance of a white Xmas this year so if we get a cold winter it'll cause some real hardship for some. I'll just wear my heated bike gear

Its falling into the trap tho isnt it? Live your life how you want and don't be scared to unless it's really going to cause hardship.

I guess at 50ish we are all probably not in the situation of HUGE borrowings and realise interest rates arent that bad at the current levels.

For those living month to month they really need to invest in onesies and get real. Even so big corps are going to rip the piss as there is no choice at all right now for your energy.

[JonMad]

DD was put up £20 to £359/month even though I'm over £800 in credit. I tried to drop it down to £287, which I estimate will net out to £0 balance over the next 12 months assuming usage is as per the last 12 months. Their (Scottish Power) site won't let me do that without making a one off payment of nearly a grand. Grr. Best it will do is let me drop it back to £339 effective from Jan, so I've done that.

[tim]

I was with OVO at the old house, just for electric, and they were a bloody nightmare for taking my money to sit on it. My electric usage was between £120-£150 a month every month, winter or summer, yet they still kept trying to take £300 off me.

Now I've moved i'm with Bulb for electric and gas, and they're seemingly one of the few who will just put you on a variable direct debit and it'll take whatever your bill is, without trying to second guess what you'll use. I used £21 of gas in the last month, and most of that was the standing charge, so I reckon I'll be ok...

[Alex88]

With Bulb. DD dropped from £106 per month to £55. That'll do, thanks!

Only two of us in a small Victorian cottage. Quite frugal on usage, too.

MIL also with Bulb, and her DD went down to £17 pm

[Broccers]

With Bulb. DD dropped from £106 per month to £55. That'll do, thanks!

Only two of us in a small Victorian cottage. Quite frugal on usage, too.

MIL also with Bulb, and her DD went down to £17 pm

I really do find this hard to fathom. The standard charges alone are about 75 a quarter.

[Alex88]

I know. I'm almost a bit worried it's wrong, but I send them meter readings each month so I assume it's right once the £400 discount is applied.

I'm certainly not complaining. Just checked again and it's actually £52.33, down from £106.

[V8Granite]

The dogs are always warm, I’ll be using them as pillows more.

Dave!

[Broccers]

The dogs are always warm, I’ll be using them as pillows more.

Dave!

My Mrs asked for a cockapoo for her birthday to replace our old dog who kept her warm in winter. She got one of these from Dunelm - still, she does actually wear it and I survived a stabbing

[drcarlos]

FYI for Bulb customers, apparently they are now in receivership. You'll soon be with the rest of us getting screwed by over billing.

[Broccers]

FYI for Bulb customers, apparently they are now in receivership. You'll soon be with the rest of us getting screwed by over billing.

[ZedLeg]

They've been in receivership since like April. My dd went down to £95 after my meter reading last week

[Jobbo]

It's administration, not receivership - and in fact, it's special administration since November 2021 so they're being run as before, they're just effectively owned by the government now.

Suggestions that Octopus will buy them haven't previously come about, but I suspect this awful government will write off the billions and pass it on to Octopus shortly.

[drcarlos]

I was thinking of shifting to Bulb based on comments made here about the common sense attitude to DD's. It was after a conversation earlier today where someone in the office group chat mentioned that they were in recievership and I didn't bother to check. I wonder if it's worth shifting or whether Octopus will be as bad as Shell/Scottish/BG with DD's.

[Ascender]

How do the fuckers expect us to pay their exorbitant bills when its so difficult to get hold of them to talk to them about anything?

Getting a gas meter installed by OVO today who are part of SSE. Engineer turns up this morning nice and early (should have realised that was too good to be true)... has a quick look and says "nah, can't touch that mate, its medium flow. I'm only certified to do low flow supplies."

Of course he can't just swap jobs with someone who is certified on medium flow and who is working in the same area, so it needs rebooked. Its only taken three weeks to get this far and I have a boiler install scheduled..

Called OVO who advised there's wait times of 20 minutes or so. An hour later I get through to a woman, explain what's happened and she explains she'll have to transfer me. "OK, but where are you transferring me to and can you stay on the line until...."

"Thanks for calling SSE home and broadband faults."

For the love of God....