Fucking bastard energy companies...

[molepom]

Got a letter a couple of weeks ago telling me SSE are not raising their prices for the next two years! yay!

Letter today say they are raising my gas DD by £9 for energy they "predict I might use in future".

This is despite a very long call with said company and them confirming TWICE that I use below average and that there is no need to alter the DD.

I'm going to have to call them again tomorrow aren't I?

WANKERS!

[YougreatPumpkinmousse]

We are £200 in credit and they have raised our DD by £30 because we might use all our credit during the winter. WTF??? We are away for the whole of January, some of Feb and the house will contain 1 cat and 1 student who will live in her bed and is always hot!

[molepom]

I'm going to tell them I am not going to authorise this change because I'm keeping the money from energy I predict I WONT be using. Then threaten to leave.

[1catherine1]

Never trust SSE... I swear they still owe me money but they refuse to reissue the bills that prove it. The numbers just don't add up - I should know, adding up is my lively hood...

I refused to give them my bank details again or allow them access to my account via DD after they lost over £200 of payments and then sent me several letters threatening me with court and cutting me off. Was 5 months pregnant at the time and the stress brought me to tears regularly and I ended up phoning up Energywatch, then phoning SSE up and informing SSE that I had been in touch with them. Suddenly they were more helpful.

Btw... I once ranted at them about me constantly paying through the nose in phone bills because of their 0845 number and their mistakes and the customer service woman gave me a free phone number to phone next time. I don't have it any more but it might be worth you asking for it. At very least tell them to phone you back. With the amount of time they have you on hold those costs can mount up quickly.

[bumpybecky]

They're all as bad as each other I'm sure. We've been with EDF since the end of December last year for gas and electricity. So far they've maanged to send one correct bill for 6 weeks of gas. That's it! no bills at all for electricity. the direct debit has been leaving each month but I've got no idea how much we owe

[ChippingInAutumnLover]

Don't get me started! Spent an hour on the phone to them today (after the 20 minute wait). EDF... sigh. At least the girl today was lovely and tried really hard to be helpful, even if common sense was a bit elusive.

I have resigned myself to seeing what offers are out there, being loyal doesn't seem to pay off - so might as well.

[ChippingInAutumnLover]

Oh forgot the best bit... EDF changed me over to their Gas & Electric plan as it's obviously a better deal , they then started to charge me for the monthly 'set fee' thingy for the gas, then wouldn't let me change it back to electricity only. They told me I'd have to get the meter taken out or change to another supplier... no amount of common sense, pleasant phone calls or kicking off worked to get this sorted out... even though... and get this.... I. Don't. Have. Gas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arghhhhhh

[jenni75]

Yes, I've had this this week, energy company wanted to put dd up by £18 a month, as you say - predicting for energy i might use blah blah. I rang them up and said it didn't need to go up and the woman was really nice and she agreed current dd amount would be fine, so it's staying as it is.

[ItsGrimUpNorth]

Have you tried Ebico?

[ben5]

we have solar panels and we are $79 in credit. know that doesn't make you feel better but have you thought of having them placed?

[mumatron]

Just tell them that you don't want to increase they cannot force you.

Do take into account the fact that the most recent price rise was 18% with sse. Dd reviews are done automatically on an annual basis.

1catherine1 I don't think legally they can refuse to issue you bills. They are yours, have you made an official complaint? Have you seen if you can access them via on line billing?

[molepom]

OK.

It's done. After a quick discussion and a look on my account they have agreed to keep the DD as it is. Their reason for the increase?

To not hit customers hard in April when they go up again! So they are hitting them a little now and a little more later on. Cheeky fuckers!

[smackapacca]

It's worth checking this site to see if you can find a freephone version of a national rate number.

It worked for Sky and another company which I now forget. (maybe HMRC?)

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

One alternative is to drop DD all together and pay the bills as they come in - old style. If you put the equivalent DD amount into a savings account where it earns a percent or two interest you may not be able to entirely offset the DD discount offered by many companies, but at least you have the satisfaction of knowing that the money is in your account and not theirs. As your account balance is always zero there is no danger of them owing you money that you can't get subsequently back. Build up a savings balance in the summer to pay for high winter bills, obviously. Increase the amount going into your savings account if tariffs rise. Many offer reductions for prompt payment.

[MyHeartBleeds2]

Best thing with Energy companies is to go solar and kick them in the {football]s.
You cannot win even if your usage drops and you go on smart meter they still estimate your usage. EDF say my predicted usage will be £17,500 thats a lot of nappies to I must have to dry.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Another one here who has gone back to having quarterly bills like we used to have before. Got so fed up with them denying they owed me money.

Now I read the meter, tell them how much I've used and pay for that exact amount. I'd never go back to direct debit they proved themselves to be greedy dishonest fuckers

[Lazypuppy]

Don't really see the issue? I'm with british gas and they always try to put Direct debit up, i ring anf ask them to put it back down which they do. All sorted, nothing to get this stressed about surely?