Energy firm makes major change to direct debit payments and customers are FURIOUS

A major energy firm has sparked anger after it halved the notice period it gives to warn customers of a change to their direct debit payments.

Millions of Bulb energy customers will be affected when the new T&Cs come into force on August 22.

Customer who pay their energy bills by direct debit will now be told that their bill could change with only five days notice.

One person tweeted: “Wow, BulbUK. Just wow. Never felt threatened by a new T&Cs email before. Thank you for this new life experience.”

Currently, Bulb customers are notified of a change to their direct debit amount at least 10 days before the payment is due to be taken.

However, the new rules mean customers could face hikes to their direct debit amount at very short notice.

A spokesperson for Bulb said: “We’ve updated our terms and conditions to adapt to industry changes, like new faster switching rules and more frequent changes to the price cap.

“We’ve also reviewed our wider terms and conditions and have brought them in line with other suppliers where they weren’t before. 

“As part of these changes, we’ve updated the notice period that we’ll give customers if we need to change their direct debit, so that we can amend their payment amount quickly if it’s too much or too little.”

Bulb has also warned that customers who are threatening not to pay their energy bills they’ll face late fees and the use of debt collection agencies.

In response to this one person tweeted: “Amazingly sinister of BulbUK to update its T&Cs and send a threatening email about debt recovery in the event of non-payment as talk of bill payment disobedience increases.”

It comes after Martin Lewis warned that there’s momentum among some to purposely not pay their bills in October.

How do I check my direct debit is right?

Check your actual usage against what you’re being charged to make sure you’re not forking out more than you should be for energy.

You can do this by doing a meter reading and comparing it to the usage stated on your bill.

If you’re coming off a cheap fix and rolling on to a standard tariff, you could be paying double thanks to the recent price cap rise.

So if you see a similar increase to your payment, it’s not necessarily wrong.

And, if you’re paying less than you think you should be, take it up with your energy firm.

In recent weeks, it’s been announced that half a million customers are to have their direct debits reviewed after some firms have increased them by 100% or more.

How do you challenge an unfair direct debit hike?

If you think you’re paying too much, ask your energy firm to review your payments and if you’re not happy then complain to your energy provider.

Your supplier must refund you or explain exactly why not otherwise.

Always take regular meter readings to backup your claims.

A reading leaves no room for error, as it shows exactly how much gas and/or electricity you’ve used.

If it’s lower than your estimate, you can ask your provider to lower your monthly direct debit to a more suitable amount.

If you’re unhappy with your suppliers response and you’ve been waiting more than eight weeks for a response – take your complaint to the  to dispute it.