[DebF_EONNext]

@retrotecchie, yeah so if you are on receipt of bill and variable direct debit every time we get a meter reading (doesn't matter if it's smart or manual) it SHOULD produce a bill, which is why we recommend a monthly reading when your billing period comes to an end. If you don't provide readings then our system will usually estimate and you will be issued a bill.

If you were to make a manual payment and still had a direct debit in place, it may still take the full payment as this would depend on if it has already been requested or not. I would suggest if you wanted to make a manual payment that you contact us first to check for pending payments.

Alternatively if you wanted to make manual payments you could switch to receipt of bill without a direct debit and choose to pay manually by card or at any post office or paypoint/payzone however you would lose any direct debit discount. 😊

[retrotecchie]

@DebF_EONNext

It's just that after you sorted my billing issues a few weeks ago and cleared the 'backlog' up to my last meter readings, my account was £229 in debit.

I paid it manually to zero my account but the bill states that the DD will be pulled in November. I would assume that any manual credits applied to the account, plus the £66 from HMG would be applied to the balance first, and then the balance pulled by DD to then zero the account? Otherwise, you will take the £229 by DD, putting me in credit by £229, add the £66 from the grant, making £295 in credit, then generating a bill for the remainder of October which I predict to be about £70 or so, still leaving me massively in credit as I was for a while earlier this year.

I'm not trying to 'game the system' to gain any advantage, but sometimes I have a few quid in hand that I think I'll use to credit my 'leccy account, rather than wait for a big DD at the next billing period, only to find the missus has spent the money on something else (like a £400 puppy) and I'm a bit short on the readies, if you see what I mean?

And yes, she DID buy a new puppy last month!

The other thing is, being freelance and self employed and not having a fixed salary, but periods of feast and famine (mostly famine) then I like to settle accounts when I'm having a feast, rather than have a bill come in and a DD going out when there's nothing in the pantry.

Otherwise, I think the best way to work it is have a separate bank account for my leccy bill, with the DD coming from that, and make my own arrangements to dribble cash into that account as and when there's money in the kitty.

[meldrewreborn]

@retrotecchie

My brain hurts! Bring back fixed monthly direct debits - please!

[retrotecchie]

@meldrewreborn

I wasn't even given the choice when I was migrated from Igloo, where I had fixed DD of £42.50 and a fixed tariff for 2 years. Here's your new supplier, here's your variable expensive tariff, we'll take a DD of as much as we need to.
@DebF_EONNext sorted me out and did offer me the option of a fixed DD, but it was an eyewatering amount, based on my previous five months usage. My winter use is about half of my summer use, bizarrely, but their DD estimates always assume winter use is higher. Not so, in my case.

In summer, I'm out in the barn or the grounds, using big boy's power tools from sun up to sun down. In the winter, too cold so I just sit indoors huddled round a candle for warmth. If it gets really chilly...I light it. Boom, boom!

[DebF_EONNext]

@retrotecchie, So in your case your payment was made well in advance of your direct debit being requested so this has manually adjusted your direct debit to £0. It will always use any credit on your account first then the system adjusts the direct debit accordingly.

Example 1: If you had £50 credit, your bill came to £60 we would use your £50 credit first and then the DD would adjust to £10

Example 2: If you had £50 credit, your bill came to £40 we would use £40 of your credit leaving you with £10 credit left.

Example 3: If you had £50 debit, you pay £50 manually before your DD has been requested then your DD will adjust to £0

Example 4: If you had £50 debit, you pay £50 manually but we have already requested DD of £50 we would still take that £50 you would then have £50 credit balance or you could request indemnity claim from bank to have it refunded within 24hrs.

I hope this helps 😊

[DebF_EONNext]

Also @retrotecchie what type pupper dogo 🐶 did you get? We would love to see some pics I am such a sucker for the animals!! 🐕

[retrotecchie]

@DebF_EONNext

Which all makes perfect sense, but a request to a bank to pull a DD takes three days, so don't make manual payments any closer to the due date than five or six days to be on the safe side seems to be the thing to watch. Sorted. Thanks.

[retrotecchie]

Originally Posted by DebF_EONNext

Also @retrotecchie what type pupper dogo 🐶 did you get? We would love to see some pics I am such a sucker for the animals!! 🐕

Cocker Spaniel. You can find both my boys and the girls (chickens) in @Han_EONNext 's Toofy Thursdays thread. Scroll up to see the woofers.

https://community.eonnext.com/thread...9969#post19969

In fact, it's the next post after your Max. Jarvis is the little black pup. Joe is the blue roan yearling.

[meldrewreborn]

@retrotecchie


I seem to recall having a fixed tariff with Zog for my gas, through to March 2024 for 2.65p per kWh (VAT inc!). Their contracted supplier went bust and then so did they. Got a fixed DD with EDF though and now another 2 year fix at rates that are much much higher, but hopefully less than will apply after next April. I doubt that the Government's largess then will help my unit rates., as I fall a little (!) outside of most benefit regimes.

[retrotecchie]

I remember gas at 3.3p per kWh last time I had gas (Surrey, pre 2012) and the leccy was about 9p. No standing charges on my tariff back then. In fact, very few companies had standing charges then, they were rolled in with the unit price.

That was Ovo, back then. They also paid 3% interest on credit balances and paid £50 for getting a friend to join Ovo. I went over nine months with them paying me every month.

Unfortunately, they don't cover most of Wales. Their loss.