E-on reducing my DD

[raybarrow]

Hi Folks,

3 bed semi, myself and Mrs B. We had an update from E-on Next telling me charges are increasing from 1st October, I'll be getting the £400 discount etc etc and then suggesting that I can reduce my monthly Direct Debit. A bit bizarre really.

I suspect with using no gas for heating in the heatwave it's skewed my comsumption. I can't refuse the discount and pay my way now rather than paying over the next however many years. Think I might leave reducing my DD for a month or so, as winter is nearly upon us, to see what actually happens rather than what is predicted.

Ray.

[Maroochydore]

I can't refuse the discount and pay my way now rather than paying over the next however many years.

I think you missed the memo. The discount is now a 'gift' and no longer has to be paid back.

It is given in equal instalments over the next 6 months.

I queried the mechanics with my supplier, Octopus, and received the following response from them:
Each account balance will be looked at on an individual basis and what is best will be decided, if your account is in debit I believe that the credit may be added onto your account balance and you will continue to pay your direct debit amount.
But the specifics around this aren't yet clear and I believe further correspondence will follow.

As I understand, if you are already in credit they will either reduce your DD for the next six months or pay the £66 or £67 directly into your bank account.

[raybarrow]

Hi,
I stand corrected. With the various 'option' floating around the election of the latest PM, I missed that little nugget.
Ray.

[raybarrow]

Hi Folks,

Realised that E-on handn't asked for reading lately (usually monthly). Turns out our smartmeters have started communicating again. They were fitted by OVO three suppliers ago. I then changed to Igloo which didn't use the smartness of the meters and finally got moved to E-on when Igloo, amongst others, went down. My smartmeters never worked with E-on and now I find they do.
Also digging the 'OVO SMETS1 Pipit In Home Display' unit out of the 'Don't throw it away it may come in useful' cupboard, I find it now works again.

On the charging side currently I pay £203 a month, on the 6th Oct 2022 E-on tell me they will reduce it to £168 a month and here's the tricky bit, on the 1st Oct 2022 (no typos by me) it will be £136 a month. Haven't quite got my head round that but I'll adopt the Doris Day philosphy - What will be, will be.

Ray.

[Bminusrob]

On the charging side currently I pay £203 a month, on the 6th Oct 2022 E-on tell me they will reduce it to £168 a month and here's the tricky bit, on the 1st Oct 2022 (no typos by me) it will be £136 a month. Haven't quite got my head round that but I'll adopt the Doris Day philosphy - What will be, will be.

Ray.

By my maths, £203 minus £136 is £67, which is the monthly amount of the £400 subsidy. I guess the £168 is what the £136 will change to when the unit price increase after 1st October.

[raybarrow]

Hi Bminus rob,

Well worked out. When I worked for a living I worked for MEB/Norweb, I dealt with custome complaint/queries for many years. Explaining the correlation between price increases/decreases dates and reading/billing dates was a re-occuring challenge. Throwing a pre-payment meter, which couldn't effectively cope with the standing charge, was a nightmare. No smart meters in those days and real money in the Pre-payment meters.

I wouldn't want to be doing it now.

Ray.

[Laughton]

What will be, will be.

They change the rules every other week but my assumption is that the "cashback" will be used up with the March "discount" so, all things being equal, April's DD will go up by £67.

[Loup321]

Replying to the OP, I am with Octopus, and they halved my Direct Debit payment last week. They didn't tell me, and I only noticed when I looked through my account area when submitting my meter readings. They project that on the halved payment, I will be several hundred pounds in debt in 12 months. I just increased it back to what it used to be, which is what they are recommending I pay anyway. I'm only one month's payment in credit right now, and winter is coming. I still have no idea why they halved it .

[staffordian]

Replying to the OP, I am with Octopus, and they halved my Direct Debit payment last week. They didn't tell me, and I only noticed when I looked through my account area when submitting my meter readings. They project that on the halved payment, I will be several hundred pounds in debt in 12 months. I just increased it back to what it used to be, which is what they are recommending I pay anyway. I'm only one month's payment in credit right now, and winter is coming. I still have no idea why they halved it .

EDF have been illogical as far as DD estimates are concerned, too. I've been with them almost a year, following Utility Point's collapse and they only bill twice yearly.

Their DD suggestions when I was first moved to them were strange, to say the least. They set it (for dual fuel!) at £45 per month starting Dec 21, this after there being nothing claimed in November because of the account switch from Utility Point. Having a good handle on usage I asked them to double it, which they did. Then I had to ask them to raise it to £150 after the April cap, which again, they did.

Roll forward to mid September, and they ask me for a meter reading. Duly given, and as expected, I was around £180 in credit. Not huge, but a tidy cushion for the approaching higher use winter season. However EDF in their infinite wisdom unilaterally decided to refund it to me so I'm going into winter with a zero balance. I'm not complaining, I'd far rather owe them and catch up in the summer than vice versa, but nonetheless, I am surprised by their business logic.

But, to confuse things further, they wanted to raise my direct debit to £215 per month. To ensure my account is roughly square in twelve months time, they say. That might sound reasonable, but I know that at the government cap, I only need to pay £161 per month to roughly break even over twelve months. And frustrating, EDF know this too because if I look at their change tariff page, that's their monthly estimate for me at the government rate...

So I've again had to ask them to change my DD amount. Hopefully, that will be it for a year or so and I can think about other things

[richlist]

I think the existing algorithms they use just can't cope with the £66/67 monthly energy refund from UK Gov Oct22-March23 inc'.

[Loup321]

I think the existing algorithms they use just can't cope with the £66/67 monthly energy refund from UK Gov Oct22-March23 inc'.

But I had an email from Octopus saying that I could decline the refund if I could cope without it, so they could target it towards people who need it more. I haven't heard anything since, though, and am still undecided on what to do. I don't need it, but should I let them decide who does or decide myself (probably by taking the money and donating it to the local foodbank)? So chopping and changing my DD when everything is still so unclear seems a bit daft. At least with Octopus I can change things myself, presumably without costing any staff time / money.

[UncleEbenezer]

Just had email from EON.

They've reduced my direct debit. Monthly cost for gas+electricity is now the cost of a pizza and a pint. And my credit balance is rising faster than that!

I could be very happy, if only I didn't know the entirely screwed up background to this.

[Howyoudoin]

I think the existing algorithms they use just can't cope with the £66/67 monthly energy refund from UK Gov Oct22-March23 inc'.

But I had an email from Octopus saying that I could decline the refund if I could cope without it, so they could target it towards people who need it more. I haven't heard anything since, though, and am still undecided on what to do. I don't need it, but should I let them decide who does.

I like Octopus but I’m not sure I trust them to give it to someone more deserving. There must be hundreds of thousands of those so how do they choose?

I’ve given mine to a Ukrainian family who have relocated to the UK nearby and staying with a kind family with a big house who have taken them in. Met them yesterday, Ukrainian husband, Belarusian Wife and two lovely girls of 4 and 6. I don’t doubt they will spend it wisely as they don’t have much until Dad finds work here (and he will, highly skilled).

HYD

[Stompa]

I was rather puzzled this evening to find a deposit of around £250 from British Gas in my bank account. But it seems that, at the end of your plan, they return any credit you have in excess of £75 - which is not something I've encountered before. I guess if they'd kept it, my DD would have fallen, but instead it's increasing by about 5%.

[mutantpoodle]

my email from Octopus simply tells me that they reducing my DD (as it happens by £67)
but I will not know how that affects my bill until I next get one

surely it would have been easier to maintain existing DDs and then credit that £67 on the bill

[swill453]

my email from Octopus simply tells me that they reducing my DD (as it happens by £67)
but I will not know how that affects my bill until I next get one

surely it would have been easier to maintain existing DDs and then credit that £67 on the bill

Easy to say when you're not desperate for the money to help with the weekly shop.

Scott.

[quelquod]

my email from Octopus simply tells me that they reducing my DD (as it happens by £67)
but I will not know how that affects my bill until I next get one

surely it would have been easier to maintain existing DDs and then credit that £67 on the bill

I complained to Octopus that they’d reduced my DD by £67 (whilst at the same time rebating £67 on my bill) even though elsewhere on their website they recommended maintaining the DD at the current level as prices were rising anyway. Left and Right hand disagreement presumably. Anyway they took a fortnight to reply during which time I restored my DD to its original level - their email apologised for the delay which was caused by an influx of similar complaints.

[DrFfybes]

Replying to the OP, I am with Octopus, and they halved my Direct Debit payment last week. They didn't tell me, and I only noticed when I looked through my account area when submitting my meter readings.

If that is the case, they are in breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee.....
If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-de ... guarantee/

However it appears they can tell you on your bill, and as few people read them properly now they're all online, I expect that is where the information is. When they tried to double mine I really only spotted it by accident - certainly no large print sentence saying "we're going to take and extra £150 out of your bank next month".

Paul