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AIBU?

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Original poster

Are your energy bills currently in credit?

62 replies

caniquitwork · 01/03/2026 21:33

I am £98 in credit, but the energy provider says I can’t reduce my direct debit - surely being in credit at the end of winter is good? I am
paying £260 on the 8th so then I will be even more in credit?
yabu - keep payment as suggested by energy provider
yanbu - reduce your payment, they are overcharging you

OP posts:
WaIIy · 02/03/2026 08:41

They can't make you go higher! Say no

Laughingravy · 02/03/2026 08:47

It's clear from all the PP that you do need to keep an eye on your DD payments and credit levels but in what way is DD a 'total rip-off' as you claim. Going from payment on receipt or pre-payments to DD will save around £10 on average per month. And I don't see how being in credit of £360 on pre-pay is any much different to being £360 in credit on DD. And is that £150 what you pay in summer or winter? Sure there are some odd examples cited on here of people with plenty of credit and the energy company wanting to increase the DD but they are just that, odd.

SmallGoddess · 02/03/2026 08:51

Another variable DD person here. I read my meter yesterday which generated a bill for £240ish to be taken on the 16th.

DiscoBeat · 02/03/2026 08:53

Yes but not by much, it's quite well adjusted. My mum has over 3k credit now with British Gas and despite asking them several times over the last year or so to send some back to her they still haven't!

SchoolReading · 02/03/2026 08:56

We are still in quarter one and as a previous employee of an energy company I would say always wait until March is over and done with. If my photo memories are anything to go by we still get snow where I am both February and March so the heating will be on more. My gas consumption tends to drop in April.

I am with Octopus and have just requested a refund of £250 which I got and that leaves me £350 in credit. It has been milder here so the heating hasn't kicked in as much. I feed the meter readings into a spreadsheet and can see the graphs overlaid year on year.

@caniquitwork If you want to take control of your monthly payments swap from the DD which they control to a standing order which you control. You should still get the same benefits of the DD ie the tariff rate you are on. With banking apps managing the standing order makes it very simple. They will notify you if they feel you need to increase your payments.

Energy companies have a duty of care to not let people get into debt so a small credit balance is good. If you look at your bills on a monthly basis your DD payment probably does not cover your consumption over several months, summer you use less, winter you use more. The vast majority of people are paid monthly so having a consistent amount is easier for most people to budget for.

pinkpony88 · 02/03/2026 09:03

I’m about £250 in credit and they keep trying to put my direct debit down and I just keep going into the app and putting it back up. I prefer to be in credit for peace of mind. If it gets to May and I have a significant amount of credit I ask for some back and then spend it when I go on holiday. So a savings plan too 😛

pinkpony88 · 02/03/2026 09:05

DiscoBeat · 02/03/2026 08:53

Yes but not by much, it's quite well adjusted. My mum has over 3k credit now with British Gas and despite asking them several times over the last year or so to send some back to her they still haven't!

That is shocking! My Dad is with British Gas and got a rebate last year with no issues at all.

FrozenFebruary · 02/03/2026 09:13

Yes, it's how I prefer it.

I'm with BG & billed 1/4ly (ish) so currently only billed to the end of January.

the next bill will probably use a chunk of it as since I became disabled I feel the cold more ! so need the heating on higher & I'm home much more.

i prefer having a set DD each month & happy to build credit over the summer months.

PocketFluff · 02/03/2026 09:23

SeaShellsSanctuary1 · 02/03/2026 05:20

I'll caveat this by saying ONLY do this if you can responsibly save money.

Variable direct debit is the way to go. This way the direct debit only takes what you used in the billing period.

My energy company refused to drop the DD below £300 a month so I requested Variable. Over the last three years my annual bill have never summed to more than two thirds of the original direct debit.

Every month the £300 gets put to one side until I'm billed.

I pay by variable DD now as well, I was annoyed at them continually holding onto my money as I was always in credit. So now I put away the same amount into a savings account each month and just pay what I've used to Eon, so the money sits in my bank account instead. It only earns me pennies every month but it's the principle of it!

MsGreying · 02/03/2026 09:35

Our direct debit was £8.
They gave us £800 back last year before winter. We're about £100 in debt with them so upped the DD to £30 a month. Well leave it like that for a few months. Solar kicks back in anytime soon and it's getting warmer.

Jaffapedigree · 02/03/2026 09:51

I'm about £350 in credit with Octopus. DD at £80 per month. I use about £200 gas and electric per month over winter, but I usually make one off payments regularly, to keep the credit topped up over the warmer months so that I'm not fretting about putting the heating or the oven on in winter. I prefer doing it this way, so that I don't have a large monthly DD.

Lovelynames123 · 02/03/2026 09:52

I'm only about £100 now but Octopus reduced my dd a couple of months ago from £149 to £80, so should be fine going into warmer months

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