16 January 2023 , 12:10
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One woman was left “in shock” after she managed to bag an energy bill refund worth a whopping £3,832 after following Martin Lewis’ advice.
The woman, named Debbie was the Money Saving Expert (MSE) website's "Success of the Week" with the MSE team noting that this was why everyone should check if their direct debit is fair.
Debbie shared her story with Martin and the MSE team in an email sent at the beginning of the year, which was shared in the recent MSE newsletter, thanking them for their energy supplier tips and direct debit calculator.
In her email, Debbie shared how she couldn’t understand why her monthly energy direct debit from firm EDF Energy had risen “nearly three-fold” even though she was in credit for her last bill.
With energy bills set to remain high, we all could do with checking if our bill is as accurate as possible (Getty Images)She then used the MSE energy bill calculator and saw she was being overcharged and she only knew how to do this through the tips shared by the Money Saving Expert’s website.
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She said: “The only way I could get a current invoice to check was to change to a variable monthly direct debit, which seems a better option that I never knew I could do until I read your tips.
“This was easily achieved by using WhatsApp to contact EDF customer services.”
After giving EDF both meter readings, Debbie changed over to "whole amount direct debit", which charges you different amounts based on your actual usage.
It was then confirmed that Debbie would receive a refund of £3,891 which was the amount Debbie was in credit for with EDF.
She added: "I am in shock. I can't thank you enough for your excellent tips on dealing with the energy crisis.
"I can manage my whole amount of direct debit bills more carefully by watching my usage, but at least I know I am only paying for what I am using."
The last "main" energy price rise was seen in October last year when we saw energy prices rise by around 27% when the Government's Energy Price Guarantee began.
However, the MSE team noted that some bill payers saw their direct debits rise by "far more" even though they were in credit.
If this is you, the MSE website urges you to follow a few simple steps to check if the bills increase is fair or not.
If it is not, then you can follow Debbie and challenge the bill which could help you, in some cases, save thousands of pounds.
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The MSE website first says you need to make sure you are giving regular meter readings to your supplier, unless you have a smart meter which should do it for you.
If you have done this, then you can use the MSE's "is your direct debit right? calculator, which is updated frequently with the most up to date rates.
If the calculator shows your direct debit is too high, and you are not in debt then you could ask your energy provider to lower your direct debit. The MSE website also has advice on how you can approach this.
If your supplier won't budge, then you can do what Debbie did and consider moving to a variable direct debit.