How do I pay for my energy? – Switchd Support

So we have found you an awesome deal with an energy supplier and switched you to it, hassle free! Your energy supplier will now begin charging you for your energy, just as if you had switched yourself. There are several different ways that your supplier can charge you, and this article explains them to you.

This article covers:

Who processes my energy payments?
How can I pay for my energy?
Monthly Direct Debit
Receipt of Bill
Pay-As-You-Go/Prepay Meters
What do I do if there is something wrong with my payments?
Related articles

Who processes my payments?

Your energy supplier manages all payments for your energy using their own unique systems. Whether that is setting up a new direct debit, cancelling an old direct debit, adjusting the amount or refunding you. For data protection and peace of mind, transactions involve only the customer and supplier.

Although we pass on your bank details to your new supplier so that they can manage your payments, Switchd does not have access or visibility to these systems.

How can I pay for my energy?

You can pay for your energy by monthly direct debit, receipt of bill or pay-as-you-go/prepay meters. We recommend monthly direct debit as this payment method has the lowest administrative charges, making your deal ultimately cheaper per year. With that said, you're always in charge of choosing which payment method suits you best by being able to indicate this in your Switchd settings through your dashboard.

You may refer below to a brief breakdown of how each method works.

Monthly Direct Debit

Monthly Direct Debit is a payment method where a company will charge a customer a set amount at the same time every month. The cheapest deals often are only accessible if you pay this way. Most people also chose to pay for their energy by monthly direct debit, because it is easier to manage your payments (there's no risk of forgetting to pay) and it makes budgeting easier!

Although the amount you pay monthly is fixed, you may rest assured that you'll always pay for exactly what you use. To ensure this is the case, submit meter readings every month and your supplier will calculate with these how much you've used versus how much you've paid. You will be building up an outstanding balance that can be settled at any point during your contract with the supplier.

How does your supplier set up your direct debit?

We pass on the bank details you provided us to your new supplier, so that they can set up a mandate. They will send an email notification confirming the the day that money will be charged each month, and the amount. When the day comes, the specified amount will be charged directly by your supplier, to pay for your energy.

Receipt of Bill

As the name indicates, receipt of bill is a method through which you'll be paying your energy upon receiving a tailored bill from your supplier where you'll see only accurate charges according to your energy usage. After you receive the bill, you'll be able to pay it through your preferred method whether it's cash, cheque or card.

Although this is convenient to never pay more or less than what you consume, this type of method involves administrative operations which have a cost and, therefore, the deals that offer this payment type tend to be more expensive than those on direct debit.

Pay-As-You-Go/Prepay Meters

This tariff works with a prepayment meter only. You'll receive from your supplier a top-up key or token through the post that will allow you to pay upfront for your energy usage. This way you'll never accumulate debt on the account nor overpay. However, the tariffs that support this method tend to have a higher rate per kWh used, in any case, you'll have our support to make sure that you're always paying as little as you can.

What do I do if there is something wrong with my payments?

Your energy supplier manages all account, bills and payments. They are the only people who have access to it and the ability to amend it. Therefore, if there are any issues or queries you would like to raise in that regard, the best thing you can do is contact your supplier directly. You can get in touch with them through the many different communication channels available on their website or email them from your Switchd dashboard.

To complement your reading, you may refer to the following articles: