‘We cut back but our direct debits trebled'
Mrs Appleyard, her husband Mike and eight-year-old daughter Kathryn, faced the huge hike in direct debit energy payments despite cutting back at their three-bedroom home in Greater Manchester.
She said her family's "nightmare" started because her supplier cut their monthly direct debit without telling them, so when it made its annual review of their monthly payments it led to a much bigger increase than usual. He told Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show that he had asked to reduce his direct debit to a monthly amount he could afford but his supplier refused.
The aim of smoothing is to avoid sudden bill shocks by spreading the cost over the whole year so even if you use a lot more energy in a winter month, you don't get a nasty surprise. However rising energy costs - prices have doubled since last year - have left most people facing higher direct debits. If they refuse you can make a complaint to your supplier and if you get no satisfaction you can escalate it to the Energy Ombudsman.Earlier this year, an Ofgem review of how energy firms were charging customers by direct debit revealed that about 500,000 households had seen their payments double, despite prices rising by 54%.Ofgem said it had already called on firms to address the issue, but would be prepared to take further action if necessary.
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