ENERGY SUPPLIER has reduced my monthly debits

E-on were dire with me dickens had to have the ombudsman sort it all out, it went on for well over a year and I was in despair first they told me I owed £6000 enough to make you jump in the river then they realised it was £600 but still I knew I didn’t owe anything then we found out they were charging me gas on two different meter numbers an old one they had taken out and a new one but I didn’t know that at the time it was so complicated and frightening at the time
I ve stayed with them because it all seems so complex to keep changing and they ve been fine since but I don’t really trust any of them
If you stop a DD you pay more don’t you ?

My credit with Eon went up to over £1000 so I claimed a £600 rebate from them. I am again £600 in credit but letting that ride until the winter.

In isolation, £14 is far too low to cover monthly autumn/winter usage, which is what a September revision is usually about, but with the £400 credit it could be enough to see you through to the end of the year. I’m budgeting £160 for cold months but everyone’s home and needs are different. If your autumn/winter energy consumption is half that, you’ll have paid enough to see you through to March.

I’d be inclined to let it ride at £14 for now, review at the end of December and then use part or all of the winter fuel allowance to top up, if necessary.

I only pay what I owe - ever. Why should they have any extra money? Right now (summer) they are paying me (solar panels) which is nice. They tried to keep it to cover winter bills but I soon put a stop to that.

Yes, both our energy suppliers have reduced our direct debit payments, as we were in credit. I provide meter readings regularly to keep a check on how much we use.

BlueBelle

E-on were dire with me dickens had to have the ombudsman sort it all out, it went on for well over a year and I was in despair first they told me I owed £6000 enough to make you jump in the river then they realised it was £600 but still I knew I didn’t owe anything then we found out they were charging me gas on two different meter numbers an old one they had taken out and a new one but I didn’t know that at the time it was so complicated and frightening at the time
I ve stayed with them because it all seems so complex to keep changing and they ve been fine since but I don’t really trust any of them
If you stop a DD you pay more don’t you ?

E-on were dire with me dickens had to have the ombudsman sort it all out, it went on for well over a year and I was in despair first they told me I owed £6000 enough to make you jump in the river...

E-on were dire with me dickens had to have the ombudsman sort it all out, it went on for well over a year and I was in despair first they told me I owed £6000 enough to make you jump in the river...

Yikes! What a stomach-churning shock!

How could they possibly charge you for a meter they'd removed?!

Do you have a smart-meter? How could they calculate a non-existent reading - the mind boggles.

But, a salutary warning - I shall check and re-check my bills in future.

And, yes - if you stop your DD and go onto a usage-bill, you will pay more because you will lose the DD discount. A discount they owe you in fact because they are keeping your money up front and earning interest on it!

As I said, you can't win!

Only some providers offer pay as you go. Most want a fixed direct debit and will put customers who don't want one on a higher tariff.

There are horror stories about all of them even the sainted Octopus that Which keep puffing. I did consider switching to them after a nasty experience with Shell but gave up after a week of trying to get anyone to answer the phone. I think one reviewer on Trustpilot hit the nail on the head: Standards have slipped probably due to all the new customers they have gained.

I've gone to OVO now. Early days and it was a struggle to persuade them that the direct debit amount I was suggesting would be enough. Three months on, it clearly is but they wanted three times more, a number based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever.

I really feel for people who don't have the strength to fight with these companies.

EDF Energy UK - owned 100% by Électricité de France (itself owned by the French Government).

Scottish Power - owned 100% by Iberdrola... major shareholders Qatari Investment Authority and BlackRock.

E-ON - German parent company, E-ON SE... among the shareholders are Capital Group (a US asset management company) and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

CENTRICA - parent company of BRITISH GAS... major shareholders, Schroders (UK asset management firm) and New York Mellon Corporation (a US investment bank).

All profiting from our huge bills. £millions paid out in dividends which could, theoretically, be re-invested.

Anyone seen Sid lately?

sorry who is Sid?

I'm with BG I only pay when my bill comes in (I never pay it straight away) maybe after they have sent me a nice email saying " you may have accidently forgotten to pay your energy bill"

well of course it's because you were £400 in credit!

Bea65

sorry who is Sid?

The series of adverts from 1986 for the sell off of British Gas - a bunch of people telling one another to buy the shares and If you see Sid tell him. Videos on You Tube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bv_wYwJ_6Y

This comment says it all:

If you see Sid, tell him that privatisation of the national infrastructure was the single stupidest idea the Thatcher government ever had - A bill payer in 2022.

You can pay whatever you want to pay, I wouldn't let my utility supplier borrow £400.00 of my money, imagine the interest they are earning on all those many thousands of peoples credit

Dickens they aren’t allowed to profit from the credit on your account, so they won’t be earning interest on it.

This is from the House of Commons library 21 February 2023.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2023-0040/

Extracts:

Ofgem refers to credit balance in excess of what is required to cover winter debt as ‘surplus credit balance.’ It has estimated that, in October 2018, energy suppliers held £590 million to £1.4 billion in surplus credit.

Ofgem’s rules do not limit the amount of credit suppliers can hold or what they can and cannot do with the money.

Energy suppliers can view credit balances as a form of revenue because it is, in principle, money that customers will eventually owe them. As such, credit balances may be treated as a source of working capital that can be used by suppliers to meet short-term obligation.

Ofgem, the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, and industry and consumer groups have noted potential issues associated with energy suppliers’ use of customer credit balances as working capital, including that it permits unsustainable business models and that it gives energy suppliers an incentive to set direct debits higher than necessary and to make it difficult for customers to withdraw their credit.

Ofgem has been looking at reforms to better protect customer credit balances since 2018.

Five years later and little or nothing seems to have changed

The only thing I can find from Ofgem later than this is to do with measures to ensure energy suppliers can withstand future shocks and to protect customer credit balances in the event of company failure.

And this to do with auto-returning excess credit balances. Was it implemented?

www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-reforms-could-see-credit-balances-around-ps14-bn-automatically-returned

BlueBelle, you might save about 7% by paying with Direct Debit but you'll often be overcharged and build up credit. They assume that you want to spread payments evenly over the year. They'll try to increase even a fixed DD - giving you ten day's notice. You then have to cancel the DD, challenge it and take it to the ombudsman. It's been a real task to beat them at their own game. Where else would you pay for goods in advance?

You can also save (a little, about £30 a year) if you have the same supplier for both gas and electricity. The downside is that you can't then get the best deal for each.

I don't use gas in the summer so I close my account to avoid paying standing charges. They don't like it but that's tough. I involved the ombudsman to stop the other supplier overcharging for electricity. I had evidence too, in regular photos of meter readings.

As I'm a supplier through the summer and only a user in the winter, they soon had to change their tune.

Bea65

sorry who is Sid?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15792873

Wow so much good info above-And hadn’t thought of closing gas account during summer months- I would worry too much having to reopen the account again in October …

I have no problems with Ovo (touch wood) and they pay 5% interest on my balance so I don’t mind paying more each month. It’s better than the bank.

25Avalon

I have no problems with Ovo (touch wood) and they pay 5% interest on my balance so I don’t mind paying more each month. It’s better than the bank.

Only for customers who signed up for an eligible tariff before 27 September 2021. Ofgem put a stop to it.

I am with Eon and had email saying energy prices are going down but standing charge up but they aren't passing that on to customers. I am over £300 in credit but will still pay the same amount . I am building up credit then come winter I can have the heating on more than the 2 hours of a morning and hour at night like I did last winter. Because of not having the heating on all day the pain in my joints got worse . Never have had it on at night apart from when the children where young.

I bet that 'eligible tariff' isn't such a good deal. Supplier loyalty doesn't pay either, so it's best to check yearly for a cheaper deal.

Bea 65, it's easy to open an account again - as they always want a customer and don't want to lose you to rivals.

The best deal I could get for the solar panels is with Octopus - who pay me 15p per KwH for power sent to the grid - yet charge me 31.19p per kWh usage and 36.54p/day standing charge (the cheek of it). Still, it always pays the summer bills and I claim my profit every few months.

Caravansera

25Avalon

I have no problems with Ovo (touch wood) and they pay 5% interest on my balance so I don’t mind paying more each month. It’s better than the bank.

Only for customers who signed up for an eligible tariff before 27 September 2021. Ofgem put a stop to it.

That’s interesting Caravansea. I’m lucky then.

PaperMonster

Dickens they aren’t allowed to profit from the credit on your account, so they won’t be earning interest on it.

Ofgem’s rules do not limit the amount of credit suppliers can hold or what they can and cannot do with the money.

... and see Caravansera's comment.

I think they are earning interest on it!