Trivial things you don't understand/mildly annoy you

[tans]

You would think that after two consecutive months of being way out on your DD they would advise you to increase your monthly payment.

Indeed, one would have thought so

[Jimmy HaveHave]

Indeed, one would have thought so

I guess you will contest it as that does seem an extortionate amount you owe considering we've been getting the government's £66 per month handout over that period.

[tans]

Yeah i said im not paying that amount and want a full breakdown of how they have come to that conclusion

[RobertT]

I understand the current desire to tax the profits, given the companies have done noting to earn them as it stems from the vagaries of the pricing mechanisms.  However, as the pricing mechanism has all but created a cartel/monopoly situation, shouldn't the Govt be looking at price regulation at source, rather than taxing it after the horse has bolted and people have paid their bills (or not, as seems likely for many).

[Bennett]

I'd be inclined to agree, I cannot see any major party doing that though

[Berniman]

You would think that after two consecutive months of being way out on your DD they would advise you to increase your monthly payment.

They review and adjust payments on your account every 6 months, unless you ring up and discuss it with them to trigger an interim review - i know this because the same thing happened to me

[Bob's Orange]

British Gas gave us our bill this morning. Have a smart meter. Set DD that they arranged from October to March which they set based on projected usage etc.  Bill states we are now £740 in debit. Absolute cunts these companies are. Fuming!

I could pay it now but they can sit and swivel and fucking wait for it.

Do you have no way of monitoring your usage at all? We're with Octopus and have a smart meter and it's been really easy to see the monthly usage and make the adjustments where necessary. Our initial DD was too high when we moved here so have a bit of a cash cushion for those expensive winter months.

I can thoroughly recommend Octopus (not that I am after an introduction bonus or anything!)

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

As we’re moving back in a few months, is there any advantage/disadvantage in just paying your bill in full as they arrive?

[RobertT]

You usually get a discount for signing-up to Direct Debit

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

So they can hoard your money and make a few quid I suppose.

[RobertT]

So they can hoard your money and make a few quid I suppose.

Pretty much, the suppliers run at little to no "profit" in the usual sense - because they are nearly all owned by the wholesale companies and store the profit further away from the end customer.  I presume having the money in a bank enables interest/investment returns.

[Bob's Orange]

Sorry to wade in on all things financial and I know there is a mortgage thread or two, but...........

Our Fixed Rate of 1.56% is ending today and I just got notification from Halifax about what they are switching me to, a 6.99% variable rate which obviously shoots my monthly payments up. On their 'offers' I can switch to a 2,5 or 10 year Fixed Rate of 4.73%-4.15% depending on the length. I'm fortunate to have been in the position that I have quite aggressively overpaid the mortgage in the first 2 years and so these fixed rates actually slightly reduce my monthly payments but I can't help feeling that there might be a way of getting lower rates?

I've read that we have likely hit the peak of interest rates and so locking into a Fixed Rate for anything over 2 years maybe seems naive. What do do, what to do?   

[Nemo]

Sorry to wade in on all things financial and I know there is a mortgage thread or two, but...........

Our Fixed Rate of 1.56% is ending today and I just got notification from Halifax about what they are switching me to, a 6.99% variable rate which obviously shoots my monthly payments up. On their 'offers' I can switch to a 2,5 or 10 year Fixed Rate of 4.73%-4.15% depending on the length. I'm fortunate to have been in the position that I have quite aggressively overpaid the mortgage in the first 2 years and so these fixed rates actually slightly reduce my monthly payments but I can't help feeling that there might be a way of getting lower rates?

I've read that we have likely hit the peak of interest rates and so locking into a Fixed Rate for anything over 2 years maybe seems naive. What do do, what to do?  

Samdy is obviously your man here, but as a considerably less qualified ex-mortgage sales bod, the markets seem to expect another rise or two, peaking in the middle of summer and then starting to come down again after this relatively quickly. Personally I wouldn't take anything longer than a two year at present, presuming that you can bear the additional expense. Obviously worth shopping around, but I suspect today specifically a bunch of mortgage lenders are rejigging their rates with the BOE change so you may see deals coming and going quite quickly. MSE is usually good for this sort of thing - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-buys/

The 6.99% SVR seems absolutely extortionate though, so you'll probably benefit from going onto some sort of deal even if it's a variable rate or shorter term one.

Overall, it's just shitty timing to be coming off a low rate deal - bad luck.

[4D]

Looking at that spread I wouldn't go above 2 years.

[Bob's Orange]

Samdy is obviously your man here, but as a considerably less qualified ex-mortgage sales bod, the markets seem to expect another rise or two, peaking in the middle of summer and then starting to come down again after this relatively quickly. Personally I wouldn't take anything longer than a two year at present, presuming that you can bear the additional expense. Obviously worth shopping around, but I suspect today specifically a bunch of mortgage lenders are rejigging their rates with the BOE change so you may see deals coming and going quite quickly. MSE is usually good for this sort of thing - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-buys/

The 6.99% SVR seems absolutely extortionate though, so you'll probably benefit from going onto some sort of deal even if it's a variable rate or shorter term one.

Overall, it's just shitty timing to be coming off a low rate deal - bad luck.

Looking at that spread I wouldn't go above 2 years.

Yeah I'm thinking that as the 2 year fixed rate actually reduces my monthly payments (thanks to the overpayments) very slightly that I am probably going to go with that. I did do a Compare the Meerkat type thing and there are variable rates for 3.45% initial rates on a 2 year deal out there, but then the end rate is nearer 7% as well!

Silly question, I presume if I did choose the Fixed Rate offer, once the 2 years came to an end I'll get more 'offers' similarly to this year?