British Gas increasing my direct debit

A question about : British Gas increasing my direct debit

I have just had my latest Electric and Gas bill as I am on Dual Fuel. My question is, they want to increase my monthly payment amount from Ј88 to Ј117 and say it will start from 1st April 2015, should I just roll over and let this happen? Martin did say something about utility companies chopping and changing the direct debit amounts, but I can't remember what it was and also can't find it on this site.
TIA

Best answers:

• Is your latest bill is based on ACTUAL meter readings?
  If could be that the higher DD reflects over usage on your part (ie; you have used more energy that your annual projected figures). In other words, the supplier may be looking to redress any under payments and cover higher use going forward.
  The bottom line is that you will only pay for the energy that you use.
• Thanks Hengus,
  I have just printed my Electric bill and it is quite a lot in debit. I have also looked back on old emails that I always keep and I notice that it is usually this time of year that our direct debit goes up and then around September goes back down to Ј88.
• You haven't answered the question-is your bill based on estimated or actual readings? If the former, submit your readings and get an accurate bill.
  The whole point of monthly DD is that it should be based on 1/12 of your annual spend and so eliminate seasonal fluctuations.
  However, if you are heavily in debit then the increase is to recover the underpayment in previous months, it doesn't mean your usage has actually increased.
• Sorry Macman, the bills are based on actual readings.