You get to choose a specific day of the month – most people opt for their pay day or a day or two after – and on that day a set amount is taken from your account.
As long as there’s enough money in your account to cover the direct debit, your bill will be paid. You make an arrangement with your provider to have a set amount taken out of your bank account once every month or on a quarterly basis. The exact opposite of having to drag a big sack of money down to a shop, paying by direct debit puts the emphasis on convenience. Luckily, things have changed a bit since then. There was a time when you received a bill every three months and had to take the whole of the amount specified down to your local gas or electricity shop and hand it over. And as with the other choices on offer (such as suppliers and tariffs) the number you get to choose from can sometimes be a bit daunting.
Because once you know that, you can start thinking about finding a tariff that’s better.īut before we do any of that, we’ll explain how to set about paying your energy bill.Īs with every other aspect of the energy market, there are a range of options when it comes to paying your bill. We can also offer tips like not leaving your appliances on standby and we can explain how to find your supplier and ask exactly what kind of tariff they’ve got you on. We can point you in the direction of help with gas and electric bills, from the Winter Home Discount Scheme to free loft insulation. We’re good, but we’re not quite that good. When we say we’ll tell you how to pay your energy hills, we don’t mean we’ll explain where to find the money. There’s not much point learning how to find out who your supplier is, how to read your energy meter and even what Economy 7 means if you then choose a payment method that leaves you struggling to manage your budget. It also means deciding which payment method is best suited to your circumstances.
In fact, how to pay energy bills full stop.Ī vital part of understanding your bill, and knowing if your energy bill is too high involves knowing exactly how much you’re going to pay and when you’re expected to pay it.
This is the page where we tell you how to pay your electricity bill.