Bulb decreasing my payments?

[Mrsdeeds]

I've been bracing myself for an email from Bulb telling me that they're increasing my monthly payments, they sent me a projection recently the costs were up around what I'm currently paying so I imagined that they'd ask for more.

However today they've emailed and they're reducing my payments, bizarrely to under £65 a month when I'm currently paying over £150. I do have around £400 credit but even so I thought that was surprisingly low given everything that's going on. It includes the discount that everyone is getting. So I'm not sure if I should query this? Thanks

I recently got £600 back from Bulb, still leaving £300 as a credit balance. I had to go round the houses to get it though. First £300 I got through on-line, but then I couldn't have an extra £300, because the computer said no. Then they took a further £300 as my monthly payment - back to sqaure one! So then I had to ring them. TBF, they credited me back pretty promptly, but honestly, I had been trying to reduce my monthly DD for months, and it always limits the amount you can reduce it by. Hopefully, they will reduce mine again to something more reasonable.

Has anyone not yet had any communication from Bulb? Still no email from them about payments and nothing online either.

Query it

we pay £250 a month. Was £160 and upped think March this year and emailed today to say they want another £25 a month so £300 a year so will be £3300 a year

I am with Bulb - I haven’t had any communication from them but I’ve just checked the app and they’re recommending I reduce my D/D by about £50 per month.
My account is £250 in credit but I would expect that as we head into the winter.
I’m going to leave it now just to be on the safe side.

Me too, down £15

So I seem to be the only one paying more

Maybe bulb want us using up our credit before being sold on to another supplier, don't see what difference it would make but it's strange so many of us are being told to lower the DD's.

Maybe you're onto something. Are Bulb customers def still getting moved to someone else eventually? Everything went quiet there.

Got mine today, it’s gone from £250 to £244 per month and I am around £350 in credit. I am happy with that as last week it looked like I was going to be paying another £80 per month.

My monthly payments have been reduced to £1 too. I do have a fair bit of credit with them as it is.

I believe Octopus are going to buy Bulb.

Reminder to everyone to read your meters tomorrow to get accurate readings before the new price cap comes in.

I've had this too, but I went online and changed the payments back to what they was originally as they're manageable. Watch out though if you're with bulb and have a smart meter. I (wrongly) presumed that the smart meter would be sending accurate readings, but in fact it hadn't been working since April and bulb hadn't told me - therefore taking estimated readings. And despite reporting it several times, it's still not fixed. So I wasn't in credit by as much as I originally thought.

I had not had any communication from Bulb. Monthly payment currently £250 and £1000 of credit. So I got in touch this morning via email and got a reply saying they recommend reducing my payments to £160 which will reflect both the £400 rebate and use up my credit balance. I am inclined to keep it at the current level, though - if I use the credit balance and pay a lower amount, a hike in April is going to be painful. I suspect we will use much less energy this winter than last - I've invested a lot in insulation, my partner is now working full time (she was at a home a lot last winter) and I'm back in the office more or less full time. I think perhaps I need a spreadsheet to figure it all out.

I’ve also had my DD reduced by nearly £100 per month due to having £1000 in credit. I’ve kept my DD as it is but requested a refund of the credit. Anyone else done this?

I had the same. Octopus have said they are reducing my direct debit by £60.
This is due to the government paying the £400 to them for the cost of living crisis.

So they reduce your monthly amount to ensure that you have the £400 in your pocket.

I have declined the reduction and will keep mine as it is with the £400 putting me in credit for now.

I had the same. My amount this month was reduced to £66!!

I phoned them up and got a breakdown of new unit rates and standing charges, plus our annual usage. Based on this, I have increased it to £180 a month for the next 3 months (which also accounts for the £66 pm we’ll get from the government). I’m going to keep a close eye on it and do my own calculations from now on!

Why is mine the only one to go up 🙀🥲

Im with Bulb and ours has been reduced too from £165 to £159 so not much of a reduction! Think we are about £300 in credit.

I’m having a moment here, bare with me please, I’ve been doing my finances the whole day.

My question is: should I put the DD back up again?

I live alone in a 2 bed flat that’s seriously well insulated. EPC B. Every bulb is LED, every single appliance is A+, I use a tumble dryer in the winter, the shower is not electric, I have a gas stove etc.

I genuinely don’t need to put the heating on till December, and that’s like an hour a day to take the chill/humidity off or to dry some clothes. The house is at a constant 21 degrees all year around, goes to 19 degrees when it’s minus 6 outside.
In normal times I used to pay £50 a month and always have been in credit by April by at least £300.

Now, I’m in credit by 800. When it all exploded, they doubled my DD to £100. Now Octopus is saying they’re reducing my DD to £25 from October.

Do I put the DD back up to £100?

Which would mean £1200 (£100 x6 for Oct-March+800 credit) to play with for 6 months. I don’t consume that much, never have.
In my head, I’m better off putting the difference in a regular saver, have I got my maths wrong?

@BuddhaAtSea Leave the DD at the lower amount and put the rest in a savings account, the £800 credit will carry you through winter plus the government payment.

SSE have just put mine up by £60 a month even though I’m almost £700 in credit. If I try and amend it they apparently have high user traffic and can’t do it 🙄

@BuddhaAtSea, if your average monthly payment last winter was approx. £50, you're £800 in credit and have the £400 discount also coming your way I personally would not lift the dd back up to £100.

We had this with Sainsburys. We were overpaying and built up a big credit. Since then my bills have been wildly swinging from a lot of credit to a small debit and back again. They reduced our dd drastically this month.

It makes it impossible to budget.

We’ve had the same, I thought we must be the only ones to be having our DD amount lowered! We are a few hundred in credit but have gone in and increased payments a bit. We don’t have a smart meter and we regularly send meter readings so everything is up to date.

Told you my brain was fried. 800+600 makes 1200 according to my scrambled mind. It’s been a long week.
Thank you @userxx and @MurderAtTheBeautyPageant Seems silly to leave all that money in an utility company’ s bank account, with the inflation going crazy, by the end of March it wouldn’t have accrued any interest, and will be worth less anyway.