British Gas DDM increase

SierraSue

HELP! My B.Gas electricity usage is pretty static, not using electric for heating or cooking.  At the end of February I was £107 in credit with a monthly DDM of £35.  Yesterday I received an email from B.Gas stating that from May my DDM was increasing to £90 per month!  So I asked B.Gas why?  I have spoken to two 'customer advisors' (I use that term loosely) and all I can get out of them is the 'computer reviews your payment every 3 months'.  The only thing that has changed is in March a new smart meter was fitted on both gas and electric.  I would get more sense out of talking to my cat than B.Gas.  Anyone any suggestions as to my next course of action.  I'm an OAP and live alone with no vehicle.

MikeyPGT

Get quotes from other suppliers - I've found Octopus to be very easy to deal with and they let you change your DD payments 

housebuyer143

Just ask them to put it down? This happens all the time and I just contact them and ask them to put it back down and they do each time.

wrf12345

On chat you have to stand your ground and keep insisting on no increase, mention that Ofgem don't allow unnecessary increases, etc and eventually they will refer to their line manager for "permission" to keep it the same. This will happen every couple of months so maybe consider Octopus where you can get variable direct debit so you only pay for what you use. If you do the internet every day anyway you might consider Octopus Agile, but you will basically have to turn everything off between 4-7pm to make it work (rates vary every half hour but that is the peak period).

We are in an age group that tends to stick with what we have and therefore an easy target for companies to take the mickey.

MeteredOut

When you were paying £35 per month (before the smart meter was installed), were you bills based on actual readings you provided, or estimated readings calculated by the supplier? The bills will tell you this.

If they were estimated, it's possible you were not paying for all the energy you were using, and when the smart meter was installed, the installer will have submitted the actuals to your supplier, causing updated bills reflecting your actual usage to be issued, and your DD update to reflect that.

EssexHebridean

This is definitely one of those situations where the actual meter readings will inform what action should be taken!

OP - what was your final reading on the old meter, your first reading on the new meter (almost certainly zero, but not always) and also the reading from 1 year prior to the installation of the new meter?  And what do your bills say - do they agree with all those readings, or was there estimated readings in there as meteredout suggests may have been the case? 

It's all well and good people saying "just tell them to put the DD down" but if previous billing was on estimated readings, and in fact the OP should have been paying more for a while, then that's a bit of advice that will serve them very badly indeed! Always best to get the full facts before venturing an opinion on what "should" be done! 

Jyana

If you look next to the new meters there will be tags with the last readings on the old meters that were taken out. You can use that, along side the new smart meter data, to double check that the bill and/or estimate is correct. If you need any help then posting the figures here will mean people will happily give you a hand in seeing what your usage is and therefore what your monthly payment should actully be.

Then, with all that info to hand, it is a simple case of either going back to BG and getting them to place you on whatever payment is correct for your usage, or going to a new supplier who might be better for you instead.

Chris_b2z

MeteredOut said:

If they were estimated, it's possible you were not paying for all the energy you were using, and when the smart meter was installed, the installer will have submitted the actuals to your supplier, causing updated bills reflecting your actual usage to be issued, and your DD update to reflect that.

That sounds like the most likely explanation. After all, nowadays £35 per month will barely cover the Standing Charge in a dual fuel household.

dunstonh

At the end of February I was £107 in credit with a monthly DDM of £35.

So, broadly in the position you would expect with the coldest months to come.

Anyone any suggestions as to my next course of action.

Tell them you don't want to increase.  It helps to talk their language though.  Tell them your unit counts over the years and how they are fairly consistent and that their modelling is wrong.  (it may not be as wrong as you think as it was mild again.  A cold March/April could have turned that on its head).

It could be that your readings were estimates and actual readings are now coming through.  But again, you have the data, not us.  So, use that data to back up your point of view (assuming its supports your point of view).

So, what were your actual readings over the last few years?  

SierraSue

Thank you so much for all your comments.  My statement for February (which covered the period 27th November, 2023 till 27th February 2024) was £126.33 including standing charge and VAT.  All my readings where actual and I've had a smart meter for some years. According to British Gas on my February statement my average annual kilo usage is 1051 kwh per year.  I'm not a big user of electric (unlike the gas for heating and cooking on the one I pay £130 per month).  I'll try B.Gas again - they know my usage I've been with them since it was called East Midlands Electricity Board - and yes I think it is time to switch suppliers and pay the £75 exit fee twice.  Why oh why did they move their call centres out of the UK.  I do appreciate you all taking the time to answer I adfmit I've foolishly been getting rather depressed by it all.

MeteredOut

Do the bills BG issued have the correct actual readings you submitted?

It does sound like you were simply not paying enough DD each month previously.

Don't assume moving to another supplier will result in lower bills (when totalled up over the year), unless you want to risk going with one of the Octopus Agile or Tracker tariffs (which have been cheaper historically, but could be more expensive in future). 2 x £75 exit fees pays for a lot of energy, so it might be best to wait out your fix period before moving.