British Gas forcing me to pay by direct debit

[Mothhunter]

Received this email from Nabuh. I've had a prepayment meter for 5 years ever since I moved into this property. I currently pay about £150 per month for both gas and electric on my prepayment meters. According to the new tariff, I'll be paying £250 per month and will have to set up a direct debit or receive a quarterly bill. It says I can switch back to prepayment meters after a month but I'm sure they'll find a way to block that. I've heard of energy companies forcing people to have prepayment meters, but never taking them away? Money grabbing cunts 😡

But it says your new tariff is actually cheaper? And direct debit or prepayment you always only pay for what you actually use. So I don’t understand what there is to be upset about? You’ll be saving money.

I cant see why British Gas would stop you moving back to prepayment after the month. Prepayment is by far the best option for energy companies. Not saying it won't be a problem as nothing with energy companies is ever easy but try not to worry until its actually an issue.

I’m assuming your small supplier bought by British Gas? You can change if you don’t want to be with BG.

It's not cheaper. I've never paid over £150 for gas and electric combined. The new tariff estimates my direct debit as £250.

I'm worried that they'll demand this £250 direct debit then refuse to switch me back to prepayment meters. Or when they do it'll be more expensive.

Your tariff is going to be cheaper, not more expensive. Your DD will be higher because you'll be paying the years charges averaged out each month rather than small amounts in summer and much larger in winter.

£250 is an estimate based on a year's usage split over 12 months taking into account price rises and the fact you will use more in the winter. Set your DD at £150 and call to get changed back to prepayment as soon as you can.

Sigh. It is cheaper. The £250 is based on an estimate of what your usage will be. You can call and have the DD set lower to reflect your average actual usage. But the fact is your rates will be cheaper and you only ever pay for what you use so it is literally impossible for DD to be more expensive.

If you're paying £150 a month now - at the cheapest time of year and before the huge rate rises in Oct - you'd be paying far more than that come Winter anyway.

They also aren’t forcing you to pay by direct debit, it says they will sending you the quarterly bill if you don’t set up a DD and you just pay that.

Ah, ok I understand now. Thanks everyone.

Feel so worried about the coming winter 😔

@Discovereads No need to sigh. I'm sure there's stuff you struggle to understand.

The £250 is probably to account for the expected 70% increase in price in 2 months time, although it may or may not include the £400 account credit.

If you heat your home in winter it's probably about right. You could make a counter offer on the DD amount but the reality is that prices are going up again in October by a lot do that's what the DD is based on, not what you've paid historically. Is your account currently up to date seeing as you've been on prepayment?

If you don't want to set up a Direct Debit, then you will receive a bill every 3 months and you'll need to pay it within 14 days. If you can manage your money so that paying a large quarterly bill won't present a problem, and you don't mind the slight hassle of doing this then go for this option. You should also go for this option if you are determined to return to prepayment before October.

If you are ACTUALLY USING £150 of energy now in a summer month, then taking into account October's increase, you may easily use £450 in a mid-winter month, from which you can deduct £67 government subsidy, but you would still need to pay £383/month or £1150/quarter.

This is probably why they suggest a direct debit of £250/month so that you build up a balance before the big winter bills. If you can afford this, then I would suggest setting up the Direct Debit, or you could contact them to see if they would accept a lower amount for now, and increase it later in the year if needed.

One big benefit of monthly direct debit that you need to consider is that it does allow you to have a negative balance (ie. debt) at the end of the winter which you then pay off from Spring into Summer. Prepayment, or paying quarterly on receipt of bill do not allow anything like this.

The irony of not wanting to be on direct debit as you may end up in credit and pay for energy before you use it. Is that not exactly what you do on a prepayment meter? Give the energy company an upfront payment on a regular basis and then draw down on the energy supply?

This is why teenagers need to be taught financial education in schools.

My elderly dad has received this same letter. Although I understand, he is worried and stressed about having to change.
Why can't they just take them in as pre payment customers?

Do you think it's worth ringing British Gas and asking?

My elderly dad has received this same letter. Although I understand, he is worried and stressed about having to change.
Why can't they just take them in as pre payment customers?

Do you think it's worth ringing British Gas and asking?

But if someone goes onto prepayment they pay a higher rate and standing charge and they have to pay for all energy before it's used, which means finding hundreds of pounds extra in winter or else you're sitting in the cold and dark, unable to cook or make hot drinks.

Having this conversation after a few months of spr ing/summer makes me wonder if people have forgotten how much extra bills are in winter.

I looked at the balance forecast in my octopus account the other day. For May. June and July it estimated my total bill to be £320, but £870 for December,, January and February.

Surely direct debit makes dealing with these variations so much easier and you just have to keep an eye on your account to make sure the amount you're paying stays at the right level.

I've never been much in credit and have generally spent most of the time as far as I can remember being slightly in debt by about the same as one month's payment, so paying by DD has always worked out well for me.