No Direct Debit means bigger bills!

In the days before DDs I remember my grandma really worrying about her fuel bills once she moved away from coal (paid for when it was delivered) and electricity ( slot meter so PAYG). She would have loved DD so she could spread out the cost over the year evenly and the only caveat to this is sending in regular meter readings.

I think the capacity of elderly people to adapt to change is under estimated. In the early years of this century I had uncles heading for their 90s and more, who were quite happy using the computer and, at present, both my 90+ aunts are using computers to send email, order food and manage their affairs. As our many other friends in their 80s.

There will always be some who struggle, I heard someone in their 50s on the radio yesterday proudly boasting that he didn't use computers, ever, for anything, but the computer industry started in the late 1950s so there are more and more people in their 80s now who have worked with computers all their working lives.

Legs55: perhaps you will find the information at this site useful - paymentsystemsconsultancy.com/payments/payment-statistics-highlight-the-rapid-decline-of-cheques/

The decline in use will be the deciding factor (not the banks) as the costs will not be acceptable.

They also take the amount they want and make you wait ages for a refund or only give it to you if you ask!
Welshwife on the other hand, we owe them for gas and they haven't asked for it so presumably are happy for us to make up the amount in the summer months through our d/d.

Some of the elderly find technology quite confusing, change has been enormous in the number of years these older people have been around. Business can make allowances they just choose not to because they make more money by doing it the way they do. It's called laziness, they programmed it in that way and they can also programme in an allowance for the elderly to do it the way they are used to. It won't be many years and there won't be any of these people around who can't understand the new ways.

Thankfully my DM (she's 89) is very good at paying by DD except her oil for heating, that has to be billed when the Company fill up her tank, oil prices are not static but vary like petrol prices do.

I have also set up on-line banking for a couple of her Utilities, she is quite savvy where money can be saved. I do her on-line accounts as she doesn't have a computer or smart phone.

CardiffJaguar cheques will stay even though the banks would like to get rid of them, there are many people who still use them, not all businesses would survive without cheque payments.

It is relatively easy to understand why so many elderly people cannot adjust to changes happening around them. It is all too fast. When they were growing up nothing much changed (including most prices) and life really was simpler.

Changes have come about thick and fast and continue to do so. Elderly people cannot have time to get used to any one change before a host of others confront them. The world is not simply different but unrecognisable.

That is why they cling on to what they know and understand. The cost is almost irrelevant. It is too much for us to expect them to understand and accept changes to their settled and safe existence when they themselves cannot understand why. The fact that many of us also challenge many of those 'whys' which are never made for our benefit despite what we are told.

Banking is never going to be what we knew or expect. All we may expect is that it continues to serve as a means of money transfer plus all the insecurity inherent in electronic systems. The latter are the responsibility of the banks as long as we maintain our own vigilance. A cheque properly executed and delivered avoids electronic dangers. But cheques will not be with us for much longer.

goose1964
I beg to differ
It's 10 days notice.
See my earlier post/screenshot to janeainsworth.

Also monthly direct debits mean that the utility companies can make money from your money as you are paying in advance of the bill.

responding to post previous , the company must give you 30 days notice to change a direct debit , and you are also covered by the direct debit guarantee which gives you rights to recall your money if an incorrect payment is takne

I walk in reciting my pin number too - but silently in my head. I am always scared I will embarrass myself by forgetting it at the last moment

My aunt, when she was alive, refused to pay any bills by D/D for years because she needed the exercise, walking perhaps to the bank or a post box to post a cheque. Fine until she could no longer do this physically and she even thanked me when I set up a couple of D/D s for her.

She was a liability because she could rarely remember her credit card number so when she visited her local small supermarket she would wander in reciting her card number eg 1234 as she walked around and informed everybody at the till. How she was not robbed I have no idea.

janeainsworth

Margs
Companies have to give you due warning (post or email) of their intent to take a highter amount via DD.
Bills are electronically generated, therefore, are sometimes out of sync with your true usage.
To give an example. My water bill is that of a low user but TW computers raised my DD by £5pm from April because I'd used 1 cubic meter more. It therefore decided that my overall yearly usage would be 12 cubic meters MORE than usual and adjusted the DD accordingly.
I rang the billing dept and they reassessed it manually back to the original DD payment.
It just takes a free phone call to sort it.
If you ARE using more (of whatever utility) then one can expect to pay more but they have to notify you of their intent.
It's primarily to stop customer debt.

The biggest problem I think is families that have to use pre paid meters for gas and electricity. It's usually because they are in financial trouble to start with and then they are charged a higher rate! Keeping it charged up is just another worry you could do with out.

margs companies cannot just ‘whack up your direct debit’ on a whim.
They have to give you 3 months’ notice, which is plenty of time to challenge the new payment if you feel it is unjustified.
I agree with amma. It’s not an extra charge for paying by cheque, it’s a discount for people who are prepared to reduce the company's costs by paying by DD.

What bothers me is that those who need cheap energy the most are the ones who can't have the cheapest tariffs because they can't have bank accounts with direct debits and they can't shop around on uswitch etc. for the most competitive rate.

Handling cheques and/or cash is expensive, though. It is reasonable to offer discount for those who are prepared to make automated payments.

Managing on a limited monthly budget, I must say, that I find the DD way of paying my main bills helps me to ensure that I have the money available.
Each one of my monthly payments are listed, so I know exactly what I am paying out each month and thereby what I have left for anything else.
It also means that my fuel bills are spread out over the whole year, and my energy company always repays me automatically, if my account goes into more than a £100 credit.
All other items are paid by a credit card which is automatically paid off in full each months. I keep a running total of what I use that for, so know exactly what that bill will be.
For me, I find this a far better way of keeping total control of my costs, rather than waiting for bills to arrive and then paying them by cheque/cash, etc.

Does your mother use any ?online services? When I introduced my late mother to my PC she was hooked.
She bought herself one and soon went into online banking for paying her bills.However she did request paper statements.

I agree Amma54 - it is not more expensive to opt out of Direct Debits, online banking, etc. - just cheaper to opt in. I used to have this argument with my MIL but to no avail.

Are we discussing direct debit from your mother's current account or for a separate account that money is put into each month for paying bills?

I can well understand your mother if bills are being paid from her current account, as she probably feels she never knows exactly how much money she has in it.

If you set up a separate account, having worked out what exactly is being paid by direct debit from in in the course of a year and transferring a 12th of that amount from her current account on the 1st of each month, she might just be willing to accustom herself to is, and save the expense of paying by cheque.

Obviously, you or another family member need to discuss this at length with her, and perhaps help her tackle internet banking as well.

My mother had always paid all the bills from her cheque account, but a month after her death, Daddy informed me that on the advice of his bank, he had set up a direct debit, as thus he was certain nothing would be overlooked, which as he truthfully said was likely to happen if he had to pay the bills. It worked well for him, perhaps because it was entirely his own decision, which I heartily endorsed.
I knew only too well that I otherwise would have had to cope with his bills as well as my own! (Said the dutiful daughter!)

It's not more expensive to pay bills as they arrive rather it's cheaper to pay by direct debit etc. This may seem a bizarre argument but it is how the banks view it. So those of us who pay by DD or SO get at discount off the full price.

It gives the utilities the right to whack up your Direct Debit anytime they like by as much as they like - with that twee little note at the side of the bill: "You don't have to do anything - we'll do it for you".

Oh no you won't!

NanaMG I think banks already have a duty to ensure that new accounts are genuine but seem to fail quite often. I think it would be a simple matter for them to set up a program which would show a new account receiving money which repeatedly went out to an account abroad or an account in a different name. If money in an account is going out to pay normal household bills it looks correct but if money is repeatedly coming in and instantly going out to a suspect account I think that should be flagged up as suspicious.

Direct debits are only problem free if you know that there will always be enough money in your account to cover them! I get annoyed when people go on about them as if the only reason people fall behind with bills is forgetfulness and assuming everyone is comfortable money wise?
lots of families on low incomes, those who work for agencies or in zero hours contracts,and anyone relying on welfare benefits, find themselves living hand to mouth with no buffer room. so if an employer doesn’t pay the wages on time, or there is a hitch with benefits, they have no money in their account to cover direct debits!
I find that many people in this situation prefer to pay by payment card or cash to avoid bank charges for bounced payments?