On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 18:33:41 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 26/03/2021 16:36, Scott wrote:

I certainly would not agree to that. I want them to create the bill,
allow me access to check it and collect the money a suitable number of
days later. That AIUI is what variable direct debit does.

I think there is a legal requirement to inform you before changing any
amount taken on a variable DD hence a monthly bill[1]. However the time
between being informed and the DD going through may be short. It also
means that those who have signed up for paperless billing have to make
the effort to go on-line at the appropriate time.

[1]
Where the variable amounts are known in advance (council tax higher in
the first month and lower in subsequent months) a yearly bill in advance
is all that is necessary.

With my energy supplier the DD is a fixed amount every month and in
advance. To meet the DD rules I probably only have to be told this once
at the beginning of the contract because the amount doesn't change.
Perhaps this saves in admin costs and allowing the bill to be any day
from the 10th to the 15th of the month.

In other words, fixed DD benefits the supplier. On top of that, if the
monthly sum is exaggerated the supplier benefits from the account
credit, which AIUI was the point OP was making in the first place. The
concern seems to be that suppliers can benefit by holding the
customer's money. How would you propose to remedy this within the
framework of a fixed DD?