Dr Hu

Powergen - who we use for 'leccy & gas has been hassling us for years to use DD to pay the bills.

I have always dismissed it as it really favours them, as they get guaranteed money with virtually no expense (can't give it to them easy now can we!) but just lately its been a hassle to remember to pay the bills, have to find the cheque book (who uses those now!) then you put it in a pile of other post & forget about it for ages - then you get a red bill!

If I change to DD - they take money monthly from my bank but call me a sceptic:-

A: How do they know what to take?
B: Bills fluctuate monthly/yearly?
C: Can they basically take what they like from my Bank Account ()?
D: What about overpayment/underpayment?

Anybody got good stories/horror stories of empty bank accounts to put my mind at rest (or not)

n.b it really must favour them as we get a 5% discount!

Leslie

I haven't had a problem with DD, and as you say there is a bit of a discount and no hassle with paying it.

Les

boxst

Hello

You pay the same amount each month, so you effectively overpay during the summer and underpay during the winter. They take a "best guess" based on the average bill for a house of your type. They then take a "better guess" every year depending on whether you have over or under paid the real amount.

Keep an eye on the quarterly bill, as they can be out by quite alot and your direct debit will jump too much the following year.

Steve.

sleeka

Paid british gas by DD last year.

They just estimate how much they think you are gonna use per month (mine was £40!!!) and take that every month.
Then when i closed the account when i moved they refunded me a load of money as i hadnt used as much as they had taken for.

When i do it for my phone they just take the amount that i owe out every month.
Dont know why it works differently cos i think the phone one makes more sense.
Oh well.

RB5 Paul

i pay mine by DD and its fine,the guestimate what your bills will be for 3 months and take that amount,if its too much they bring down your monthly payments for the next 3 months and if it's under they put it up a little,every 3 months you get a statement explaining everything.

I think it's much better personnally as you don't have to remember to pay anything,just remember whats comming out of your account every month.

OllyK

Use DD for all the bills - never had a problem. Powergen supply my gas and electricity as well. They will estimate how much you are likely to use over the next 12 months based on previous usage. They divide that by 12 and that's what you pay each month. In the summer they will probably owe you money, and in the winter the other way round. If they owe you loads get in touch and they will either reduce what they take or send you a rebate. They cannot just take what they want, they need to notify you if the amount is going to change.

When you sign the DD agreement it says that if Powergen **** up, your bank will sort it all out so you don't get done over.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

I use DD for everything - gas, leccy, BT, sky, pipex, council tax etc

Why the hell would I want to waste any of my free time either paying at a bank, posting a cheque, phoning up with my card details etc - I can't even be asred to pay it by internet banking

If you intend to pay anyway its the best way of handling your monthly outgoings - especially if you know your monthly income is secure for the forseeable future.

gsm1

I use DD for everything as well. But keep an eye on your statements. My gas/electric supplier took out an amount that was nothing to do with any of my bills but returned it when I queried it. The same company also went into receivership a few months later...hmmm.

Chrisgr31

Direct debit is far easier, I didn;t realise that anyone voluntarily paid by any other method.

The reason why they don't do it in the same was as the phone is that with the phone the meter is effectively at their offices, not your house, therefore they know how much phone service you have used.

With gas and elec the meter is at your house so they have to come and read it, that costs money so they only come once a year or less. Hence the estimates! No doubt before long gas and elec meters will phone their readings through so it will be more accurate.

Mitchy260

I'll swing it the other way, i absoloutly hate DD. On a number of occasions they have messed up and its me who's had to foot the bill.

1st off was my mobile phone company, they took out a bill of £156 TWICE. I just had enough in my account to cover the original £156, but as they took out 2 lots i was bank charged £30 for going overdrawn. I went mental on the phone and about 2-3 months later i was finally re-imbursed.

2nd.. They done this again just before christmas last year. Its if i weren't needing that money for xmas shopping or that.

3rd... Only last month Freeserve Broadband took out 2 lots of £30.

As soon as companies have your bank details, you open yourself up to abuse like this. I have a pin board in my kitchen, and any bills that come in get pinned to that. Once paid they get binned. I never forget to pay the bills as there always in view stuck to the pinboard.

I absoloutly hate things coming out of my bank account which i have no control over.

scoob_babe

Never had any problem with mobile phone bill on DD. I have had a paament taken twice for water and for electricity but both were refunded immediately when I called up. The only problem is that they can't put the cash BACK into your bank account so you have to get yourself down to the bank to pay it in again.
I never pay my credit card bill by DD though - at least with my utilities, I'm pretty sure nobody has cloned my meters

matt85

[QUOTE=Mitchy260] I have a pin board in my kitchen, and any bills that come in get pinned to that. Once paid they get binned. I never forget to pay the bills as there always in view stuck to the pinboard.
QUOTE]

Good idea that. I think i might do something similar as i never know whether im coming or going.

With DD its a pretty good way to pay bills as it saves hassle when all is said and done but unfortunately there will always be times when mistakes are made. I used to work for a utilities company and and any customer setting up a DD was offered a £25 introductory discount and the option of paying a set amount or a variable amount a month, depending on which would suit them better. If we ever took too much/little we would just ask the customer to take a gas/electricity read for us and we could work out what the balance would be so they wouldnt be out of pocket and we could send it straight back via BACS.

DD is definately the way to go as even if it does go wrong your bank will sort it out as a condition of The DD Agreement.

Goochie

My old man always used to say I should keep bills and bank statements for 3 yrs. Now, that was a good few years ago and I havent thrown any away - even though some are over 6 years old !

How long should utility bills be kept for? I'm thinking of shredding everything over six months.

What about bank statements? I'm thinking of shredding everything over 3 yrs.