Has anybody here had problems paying for their gas/electricity by direct debit?

This is our third year of paying DD for combined gas/electricity.

Initially, the supplier calculated how much per month we should pay to cover our bills based on previous consumption. We made all the payments and at the end of the year we had overpaid by several hundred pounds. The supplier would have liked us to run a credit but we requested a cheque for the overpay.

They then recalculated and came up with a fee of £43 per month, which we have paid for the last year.

Have received a letter today saying that DD payments will be increased to £73 per month from the end of September.

Bearing in mind that our consumption has not increased what a bloody cheeck to come demanding almost double what we were paying. Surely if we were paying too little then it is their fault when they have all the meter readings at their disposal.
Can I refuse to inrease the DD and offer to pay a more realistic amount off each month?
:( :( :(

It must just be me then :cry:

no! me too! i was paying £20 a month DD for gas and its suddenly goneup to £53 and its blimmin' summer. and i can't smell gas so i haven't got a leak... ringing them on monday.

I've been paying everything by direct debit for about 7 years and not had any major problems. I must say that by far the best company I have dealt with and the cheapest for gas and electric was Virgin Power.

I am currently paying by direct debit for gas. If they try to increase the amount I will simply cancel it and they can send me a quarterly bill.
I know someone who experienced this with their phone bill.
Basically they rang the phone company and told them to get stuffed, it seemed to work as they didn't increase the DD.

how much do you pay with virgin? i suppose the size/type of your house and no of people affects comparing prices.

Originally posted by Mo
Has anybody here had problems paying for their gas/electricity by direct debit?

This is our third year of paying DD for combined gas/electricity.

Initially, the supplier calculated how much per month we should pay to cover our bills based on previous consumption. We made all the payments and at the end of the year we had overpaid by several hundred pounds. The supplier would have liked us to run a credit but we requested a cheque for the overpay.

They then recalculated and came up with a fee of £43 per month, which we have paid for the last year.

Have received a letter today saying that DD payments will be increased to £73 per month from the end of September.

Bearing in mind that our consumption has not increased what a bloody cheeck to come demanding almost double what we were paying. Surely if we were paying too little then it is their fault when they have all the meter readings at their disposal.
Can I refuse to inrease the DD and offer to pay a more realistic amount off each month?
:( :( :(
Sounds like a rip off Mo,
I should go to the C.A.B. and get their advice on this one, as I would have thought that once a contract has been made it should be binding on both sides for the duration of said contract. Hal.