Do you pay gas and electric by direct debit?

[Lindyloo]

@Tartlet

Lindyloo, you’ll almost certainly be paying more for your gas and electricity than you need to. Prepayment meters are notorious for being more more expensive than than the normal meter no matter who the supplier is.

I don’t think you have anything to fear from smart meters.

I didn’t say I had a prepayment meter… I just pay by direct debit to the best possible/cheapest supplier…

[SilverTabby]

I don’t do direct debits for anything !

[Tartlet]

@Lindyloo

I didn’t say I had a prepayment meter… I just pay by direct debit to the best possible/cheapest supplier…

My apologies Lindy. I intended to reply to Monday’s Child. Yet another senior moment.

[Lindyloo]

@Tartlet

My apologies Lindy. I intended to reply to Monday’s Child. Yet another senior moment.

No problem…we all do it!

[Mondays_child]

@Tartlet

My apologies Lindy. I intended to reply to Monday’s Child. Yet another senior moment.

I did check before using the pre payment meter card as I had heard that pre pay was more expensive but as I have always been with Eon and moved both the prepaid meters to them they appeared to give me a good rate. That was 2 years ago so maybe I should check the rates again. I don’t appear to be paying a lot though.

Maybe I should look further into the smart meter information as well.

[Mups]

@Mondays child

I did check before using the pre payment meter card as I had heard that pre pay was more expensive but as I have always been with Eon and moved both the prepaid meters to them they appeared to give me a good rate. That was 2 years ago so maybe I should check the rates again. I don’t appear to be paying a lot though.

Maybe I should look further into the smart meter information as well.

MC, we had a whole thread on Smart Meters here if you have the patience to read it all.

Over 50s Forum

[CeeCee]

I pay mine to Scottish Power by DD. I also dictate the amount I wish to pay online. Very often when sending through my monthly meter reading it tells me that my payments will be reduced to xxxx, but I countermand that and keep the payments at the same level.

I put my winter fuel allowance straight in and the web site showed that my payments would be reduced because of the credit, but I changed their amount so that I could continue on the same payment, knowing that my £200 would allow me extra heating when needed. I live to an extremely tight budget, so do not want to worry about any rise in expenses.

[Mondays_child]

@Mups

MC, we had a whole thread on Smart Meters here if you have the patience to read it all.

Over 50s Forum

Thanks Mups I will have a read through it before I do anything.

[Bruce]

@Twink55

I am furious with N Power because last year they tried to Increase my monthly payment, even though I was in credit by around £200. I called them and said I would not make the increased payment, because I was well aware that charging people more than they should is designed to boost their coffers. They admitted they were wrong, apologized and reduced the payments to the amount I had been paying .
Please check your account with them and make sure they are not trying the same with you, if you pay by direct debit

I don’t quite understand this.

I have recently signed up for a direct debit on my electricity but they don’t take it every month. Instead of sending me a quarterly bill for the amount used on the meter they merely charge my account for the amount of the bill. I am never in credit or debit.

Personally I have always been against direct debit but I signed up because I am often away for months at a time so I don’t receive the bill and, while they haven’t done it, they can charge interest on overdue payments (I think they reserve that for constant late payers)

[Twink55]

@Bruce

I don’t quite understand this.

I have recently signed up for a direct debit on my electricity but they don’t take it every month. Instead of sending me a quarterly bill for the amount used on the meter they merely charge my account for the amount of the bill. I am never in credit or debit.

Personally I have always been against direct debit but I signed up because I am often away for months at a time so I don’t receive the bill and, while they haven’t done it, they can charge interest on overdue payments (I think they reserve that for constant late payers)

You obviously have a completely different system in Australia:!:
In the UK they divide the cost, of your annual expected usage, by 12 and take the same amount each month. Most people find it easier to budget this way, rather than have to pay much higher bills in the winter.

[CeeCee]

I like the fact that I can go online, see my usage for last year and compare it with my present usage. It goes to show that I am consistent and in line with their predictive payments. All my bills are paid by DD, always have been, and I receive no paper accounts whatsoever. I could print them off if I wanted, but that is not the object of going paperless.

[Realist]

Paying IN ADVANCE for energy usage or anything else for that matter is imho just stupid.

You are just giving away your money to other people who will generate their own money from it when in fact YOU should be making that money.

It’s a bit like those silly Premium Bonds. Buy PBs and you are giving your money to someone else to hold and they will undoubtedly invest/speculate with it to make more money, more profits.

As individuals it is US that should be investing/speculating with OUR money and thereby reaping the profits from that.

Never give your hard-earned money away to others imho.

[CeeCee]

You’ve got to be joking. Just how much interest would my £200 heating allowance generate in the three months, given the paltry interest offered by banks? Plus, I am unlikely to spend it on something less important than my heating if it is in my bank account, rather than knowing I can have my heating on during cold days.

[Tedc]

@Twink55

British Gas are as bad as the rest Julie … they have been doing it for years! Of course they can’t increase your direct debit, if you tell them not to, but I had to spend 30 minutes in the phone this morning…because N Power were so busy. Most people who work full time can’t spare that time, on the phone, just to point out that their figures are not
correct!
If they service your heating boiler beware! Every time they came out to mine they said the boiler would soon need to be replaced ( a sly attempt to sell you a new boiler). The last time they came they said it was unsafe and switched it off, because I told them that I wouldn’t be buying a new one from them. I then got 2 different expert CORGI men out to check it. Both told me it was perfectly alright and British Gas did this all the time to make money on selling new boilers. That same boiler is still perfectly safe 10 years later:!:

I had the same experience with BG who were pedalling a new boiler or, at the very least, a very expensive flushing act.

I cancelled my contract and now have annual service by an excellent local company.

[Yolande]

I don’t have any direct debits, I do not trust these companies to have access to my bank account.
At least getting paper bills each quarter in arrears I can check and query if necessary.

[Lindyloo]

@Yolande

I don’t have any direct debits, I do not trust these companies to have access to my bank account.
At least getting paper bills each quarter in arrears I can check and query if necessary.

Some suppliers offer cheaper tariffs if you pay by direct debit. If they take too much and don’t reduce the amount immediate, you can cancel the next direct debit quite easily!

[Yolande]

@Lindyloo

Some suppliers offer cheaper tariffs if you pay by direct debit. If they take too much and don’t reduce the amount immediate, you can cancel the next direct debit quite easily!

Nothing would persuade me to do direct debits, not even the small saving offered on the tariff!

[Losos]

@Twink55

and make sure they are not trying the same with you, if you pay by direct debit

We are not with NPower, but I refuse to get involved with direct debit, I calculate our annual useage and send them a cheque at the start of the year and they send me a quartely staement. It’s impossible for them to get it wrong since I also send them readings so I know before the statement what we’ve used. They keep telling me I can save £50 a year if I register with them and pay by DD, no way

@realspeed

When at the kennels we had a letter from them (NPower) saying I was dead. They regretted my demise then said they demanded payment from my estate .

So I rang them up and said “what is it like talking to a dead person”

Made me laugh that did, thanks

[Losos]

@Lindyloo

you can cancel the next direct debit quite easily!

Depends on what you call ‘easily’ if you have time on your hands and nothing to do then phoning and going through all the stupid security questions and waiting and waiting to get through to a human then fine but I have better things to do with my time. As I said above, don’t want DD ever

[CeeCee]

I dont phone anyone to cancel a Direct Debit, I do it instantly online with my bank. I check my account weekly so that I know exactly what comes in and goes out and when. Just as I pay many things by direct transfer to the recipients account.