Direct debit is lower than reimbursement

[ItsABrandNewDay]

My direct debit is currently below the monthly payments that are being made, so I've only received a refund of what I've paid.

(I'm paying £60, but the reimbursements are £67, so it's £7 short)

I can't get hold of my energy company at all.

But is anyone else in a similar situation or does anyone know if my direct debit being lower means I'm not entitled to the remainder? I just want to know so I'm aware of what I'll have over the winter!

Is the £7 not going as a credit on your account?

Which company?
I assume the extra money is being applied to your energy account as it would have been sent there first before being refunded to your bank account

I had this with my mum's BG account.

They refunded the actual DD amount ...and the rest ( upto the £66 amount ) went directly into her electric account .

So she did / does get all the amount in a roundabout way.

They can't refund more than the DD .

I'm with Scottish Power.

Its definitely not gone as credit onto my account.

I appreciate they can only refund the direct debit value, but I just wasn't sure if I was able to receive the rest in some way or if I was only able to receive the same value of the direct debit.

Change your monthly payment to £70 then, you can do this online

I get this can be done, but there are now two credits partially missing from my account still.

Not sure what the answer is to your question, but seems a bit mean if you're not getting the full amount - I thought we were all entitled to it. If you're not used the full amount as you're being careful, surely it should be there to benefit you in the winter months as you'll extra lighting, possibly meals that take longer to cook, any heating.

My Direct Debit is less than the Government £66.00. My supplier have taken my DD as usual, but paid back £66 into my bank. My friend is with a different supplier, but is in the same situation. Her supplier has refunded the amount of her DD instead. She is waiting for her latest statement to upload on line in order to see if the £66 has been credited to her account. No luck trying to speak to the supplier due to long waiting times.

Thanks for all the replies.

It sounds like I'm supposed to get the full amount back so I'll keep trying to chase my supplier about it. I just didn't want to be chasing if i was only allowed up to the amount of my direct debit. My energy usage is low, and I've not turned on the central heating yet, but I can see its starting to creep up now.

Have asked for an up to date bill and looked there rather than the information in the app? That is the only place my excess showed up. Scottish Power as well.

I havent actually tried that, my last bill was before the reimbursements started. I'll give it a try and see if it appears.

We're with British Gas. Our electricity useage for October and November was less than the £66 credited each month, so no electricity to pay those 2 months and we have a credit to c/f of £35.

I assume this will continue until the £66 credits stop and my useage exceeds the credit.

My Monthly DD is £72
I am refunded £66 back into my bank account
I would chase them for the extra then see if you can increase your DD slightly
You shouldn't be losing out, it should be credited to your account

Scottish Power pay the entire £66 into my bank account and then retrieve it by way of a humongous direct debit

Also with Scottish Power, and as pp they’re putting £66 directly in my bank account, seems to be independent/regardless of direct debit to them.

Scottish power are crediting to the electricity account and then debiting it again to send it to your bank account. The payment is sent to your bank a couple of days after your direct debit payment has been made.

From Scottish Power website:

We’ll send your November £66 monthly discount as a refund to your bank two working days after your Direct Debit collection date. It can then take up to five working days for your bank to process the refund so it may not appear in your bank account immediately. Remember, if your Direct Debit is normally taken at the end of the month, you may receive your discount at the start of the following month.

If your Direct Debit value is less than £66, we’ll refund the value of your Direct Debit to your bank account and provide the remainder as a credit to your electricity account. For example, if your Direct Debit is £50, we’ll refund £50 to your bank account and credit the remaining £16 to your electricity account.

If we’re unable to collect your Direct Debit payment, we’ll apply the full monthly discount to your electricity account, so you won’t miss out.

Hi everyone, just wanted to update as I've finally received my latest bill.

The extra amount towards the reimbursements has been applied directly to the bill, so although it's not showing as a credit on my account, it is on the bill. At least I know what's what now!

Thanks for all the help 😊