£200 phone call to SSE! Furious!

Mabelhog · 15 July 2017 at 8:51PM

As the title suggests I am fuming and soon to be out of pocket by a lot of money!

At the moment my husband and I are with SSE and paying quartely. After receiving a £300 gas bill in March (our last bill) I called them and questioned how we had gone from £166 (the one before that) to £300 when we had actually used the gas less. They concluded that they had overestimated and that the excess payment would be taken off our next bill.

Knowing that our bill was scheduled for the 17th of this month I called today give a meter reading (no chance of stupid over estimates). On calling I discovered that my June gas bill had already been issued on the 14th (Early and estimated again) and it was £75 and included the over charge from last time. Job done and all is well I thought...

WRONG!

The chap on the phone then informed me that the reading I gave him was HIGHER than their estimate and the bill would need to be amended! After changing the bill our £75 went up to £280!! An increase of £200!!

My husband and I were horrified and demanded an explanation as to how our gas was so high when we had used it even less than last time. The man on the phone said that our usage had gone down but that they had increased their prices which made a difference.

What a difference indeed!

He tried to offer me a lower tariff but I was crying at this point and refused saying that I would change provider (Not a lie I was intending to this after this bill anyway)

How can our gas cost so much? We are 2 people in a small house paying as much as my parents and siblings (4 people ) in a house 2x the size of ours.

How do they estimate customers gas usage? Pluck a number out of a hat!?

I am just not convinced by it all and will be contacting them to complain on Tuesday. Any advice in the meantime will be greatly appreciated.

molerat · 15 July 2017 at 9:06PM

Read your meter and submit readings every month, that way you will not get estimated bills and the system will give a pretty accurate estimate if it needs to.

How much are you using ?
Give us 2 actual meter readings and dates.
How many kWh and how many units are shown on the bill ?
What is shown on the front of the meter, m3 or cu ft ?
What are your unit prices and standing charge ?

You need to get a grip of your meter reads, put yourself in control.

System · 15 July 2017 at 9:07PM

The Data Collectors hold energy usage data on every property in the country based on the actual readings that are taken. Forget about estimates, they are meaningless. If you have provided an actual meter reading, then the supplier should bill you against this reading. It would seem that you are faced with a catch up bill. Are you on a standard tariff? If so, the supplier has an obligation to inform you that your tariff is changing.

daveyjp · 15 July 2017 at 9:09PM

I'm struggling to see why any of this is SSEs fault.

Mabelhog · 15 July 2017 at 9:24PM

But how could we be being issued a catch-up bill when they over charged us last time? They said themselves they had overcharged us.

Mabelhog · 15 July 2017 at 9:31PM

The issue here is the way they have been charging us.

Overestimate
Massively underestimate (A £200 difference!)

They billed us EARLY, before I could give a meter reading. It clearly states on our previous bill that our next bill would be between the 17th and 30th. We were billed on the 14th.

molerat · 15 July 2017 at 10:09PM

You have had many opportunities to submit meter reads since March. If they have been given little real data estimates can be a bit hit and miss.

The next thing you need to do is get a hold on what you are actually using and move to a better tariff.

welshmoneylover · 15 July 2017 at 11:13PM

Hardly SSE's fault!!

Robin9 · 16 July 2017 at 6:32AM

Read your meter - not the IHD - device if you have one,today and compare it with your bill

Set up your internet account and submit online and do so at least monthly.

Your thread title is misleading.

System · 16 July 2017 at 6:52AM

Mabelhog wrote: »

They billed us EARLY, before I could give a meter reading. It clearly states on our previous bill that our next bill would be between the 17th and 30th. We were billed on the 14th.

Hardly a hanging offence. All the suppliers that I have used over previous years will reverse their estimated bill, and issue a revised bill, if you call in with an actual meter reading.

I know that you are shocked and looking for someone to blame but suppliers can only work on the information that they have at their disposal. Up until Apr 16, meters only had to be read by the supplier once every two years. The requirement is now once a year. If the customer isn't providing actual meter readings, then estimates will always be used.

Look back to an earlier bill based on an actual or customer reading, take a reading today and work out how much you owe. Compare this to what the supplier is billing you for. My guess is that you will find that the supplier has got it right, and its earlier estimates were wrong. In future, provide the supplier with meter reading/s once a month or ask for a smart meter to be fitted.

matelodave · 16 July 2017 at 1:31PM

If I ever get an estimated bill I send in an updated reading and get the bill corrected. However as I read the meter monthly and send the reading to the supplier I don't usually get any estimated ones.

I also keep track of my meter reading on a spreadsheet so I know how much my bill should be before I get one.

5 minutes once a month would have saved your upset.

£200 phone call to SSE! Furious!

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