Consumers in the UK are still opting to pay for their utilities using a
direct debit payment - which is one way to achieve
cheaper gas and electricity bills - despite recent comments to the contrary.
The number of households choosing to pay their gas and electricity bills using a
direct debit is increasing, one sector commentator has noted.
Mike Hutchinson, head of marketing at Bacs, said that Britons preferred to use the payment method and that there had been a 3.75 per cent growth on electricity and gas direct debits.
However, his comments follow recent research by uSwitch which claimed that the number of people paying by direct debit had in fact decreased by 7.3 per cent over the last year.
Mr Hutchinson said that 52 per cent of the population prefer to pay their bills by direct debit.
"[Some] 22 per cent are what we call 'selectors' - they're very happy with direct debit but they pick and choose more which bills they pay that way, they're selective about their use of it," he added.
Energy regulator Ofgem recently signalled that it would offer greater protection for direct debit users.
