Not changing my energy dd as instructed

[Electricalstress]

I’m hundreds in credit - yet my supplier is saying I need to increase my dd by £208 pm?

Surely I don’t need to ? I was going to just wait and if the credit gets used up then i will. We are on a fixed tariff (if that makes a difference - I have discalculia so can’t make much sense of it )

Is your fix about to end?

No it’s till jul 23

If you pay by DD then part of the benefit is to smooth out payments over time. So instead of paying a high amount each month in winter and less in summer, averaged out so you build up credit while using low amounts in summer then use that credit over winter.

If you're building up credits over winter then it will be higher because you're paying for what you're using now plus what you'll use in future - but you don't have to, you can just hold off until next summer (but then it may be a shock). As long as you're not building up debt on your account, then the DD amount is up to you not them. Might be a good idea to put that £200 a month into a savings account though, in case the increase in July 2023 does double your costs...

It’s just when it’s showing in credit by a lot now I don’t need to change it immediately do I until that credit has gone ?

OK, here's what you do.

First get 12 months of statements
Add up the number of kWh for gas and times by your current rate.
Add on Daily Standing Charge for 365 days
Do exactly the same for electricity

Divide the total cost by 12 and thats what your DD should be. It will put you in credit over the summer and that will reduce in the winter which is what the DD is supposed to do.

Contact your energy company with these figures and tell them what your DD should be, if they disagree insist that they explain why - if they say it's to account for increased energy usage insist that they explain why your usage would increase.

I got my DD dropped from £204 to £120.

It might seem unfair but your supplier wants to be sure you won’t use all your credit and then lapse into debt. To be sure there is a cushion you need to leave a few payments in the pot.
I’m not sure if I’d be regarded as discalculgic but anything other than arithmetic shuts my brain down. Something to do with conditioning as a child (book Why Woman can’t do Math explains this). But I’m sure someone here can supply the figures.

Ring them and tell them . Iirc a dd can be varied by them otherwise.

Have you actually had a bill recently. Our account site plus £500 then they do the bill and it’s wiped out again. Having credit doesn’t always mean you actually have credit.

They should provide you a projection of how many units a year they expect you to use. From there you should be able to calculate what your annual usage will be. Deduct your credit and then divide by 12 and that should be roughly what you need to pay per month.

Is there someone who can help with the maths?

I have posted elsewhere this morning that I had to argue to get my direct debit reduced.

It was only when I repeated the figures they had already given me that they agreed.

I was furious as someone less confident with maths would probably given up and accepted they needed to pay the increased amount.

I was furious as someone less confident with maths would probably given up and accepted they needed to pay the increased amount.

Absolutely this.

I will check anyone's (within reason!).