Contact us, we’re here to help

If you’re having problems paying your bill, please contact our Customer Service team on 0345 601 9093. Doing this as early as possible will help you avoid any unnecessary charges and give you the most flexibility with payments.

If you pay by direct debit

If you know you won’t be able to cover your next direct debit payment, call us at least 5 working days before the due date on your bill to discuss your options. If your direct debit is returned unpaid, you will incur a charge from SSE Airtricity and your bank may also charge you a fee.

If your direct debit is returned unpaid three times, you will have to:

• Pay a security deposit of £125
• Switch your payment method to non-direct debit, losing any direct debit discounts.

What you can do

There are a few things you can do to help you with your bills:

• Sign up for eBilling: If you choose to receive your bills online and not by post we’ll give you a discount, bringing the cost of your future bills down.
• Sign up for direct debit: Switching to direct debit as your payment method will also entitle you to an additional rate discount.

Spread the cost of your bill

You can spread the cost of your bill by making regular top-up payments during your billing period. These payments can be made at any time using any of our payment options (even if you’re on direct debit).

When we issue your bill, any payments you’ve made up to 5 days before the end of your billing period will be deducted from your bill amount – so you’ll only have to pay what’s left.

If you’re on direct debit, any payments made up to 5 days before the payment due date on your bill will be deducted from your direct debit amount.

Difficulty with payments

If you’re having trouble paying your bills and you’ve built up significant arrears we’ll work out a payment plan with you so you can pay off your balance in instalments.

If you have a bill query

If your bill is higher than normal, it usually means one of the following:

• It may have been calculated on an estimated reading
• Your rates may have gone up if you changed from direct debit or cancelled eBilling
• Your usage could have changed

If your bill was estimated, you should check your meter and submit a reading. After this, if you still feel your bill is inaccurate, please let us know at least 5 days before the payment due date and we won’t charge you until your query is resolved.

Free and Independent Advice

You may find it helpful to talk to Advice NI who provide a range of advice services including Welfare Reform, Money, Tax & Benefits and Business Debt. You can call their office on 028 9064 5919 or visit their website www.adviceni.net.

You may also wish to seek advice from the Consumer Council’s Support and Advice in Northern Ireland. You can visit their website consumercouncil.org.uk/energy or call 02890251600. You can contact Citizens Advice free and confidential Debt Advice Service on 0800 028 1881 or email debt.advice@citizensadvice.org.uk