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Ask An Expert

Ask An Expert | Rules & Info
Welcome to the MSE Forum's fifth Ask An Expert event. This time, it's all about ENERGY. - ⚡️⚡️⚡️- Got questions about your gas and electricity bills, how to switch, alternative fuels, keeping costs down, communicating with your energy supplier or anything else energy related? Please post your energy questions by selecting…
Future CH boiler purchase
We are just starting to think about replacing our CH boiler as parts seem to be getting harder to get off for our current one. Should we be considering a hydrogen compatible boiler when we come to replace it? KK
Can energy suppliers insist you stay in credit?
victor2 said: When payment by direct debit was first introduced, you would expect your account to be in credit over the summer and debit over the winter. Now it seems suppliers want you to always be in credit. Can they enforce this?
How do I decide whether to go for a fixed deal or not?
I'll kick off the event with the first question, and it's a big one: how do I decide whether to fix my energy or not?
Monthly direct debit regulation?
Are there any proposals to regulate the monthly direct debit amounts demanded by energy companies? If not, why are consumer champions like MSE not pushing for this? Excessive amounts are still being demanded by energy suppliers. The worst personal example of this came before the recent rise in energy prices, I was with…
EDF energy
My tarrif ended in July now I am on the Standard tarrif gone up from £90 month to £170 is there a cheaper company to move to
Octopus Agile Prices
Will Agile prices reduce also on 1st October as they are wholesale based?
Please clarify LATE FEES applied at the moment by energy firms (ONLY pre-Warrant stage)
I was looking at articles from 2022 that gave me this overview about debt recovery fees charged by various energy companies, at default stage (I am specifically asking about PRE-ACTION stage only). This is what I found: EDF Energy can charge £10 for customers with an overdue balance of £50 or more that remains unpaid 28…
Octopus Tariffs
I received a MSE Newsletter this morning. It mentioned prices og Octopus Intelligent and Go. Are the rates current, or after this weekends rate decreases of electricity?
Communal Supply Issues
We own a flat in a block of six. There is a seventh electricity supply that services the security door, stairway lighting etc. As we don't live in the property we asked SSE to send a copy of the bill to our home address. Not everyone pays their share, but we discussed that with SSE and it was understood that we would only…
Engineer error led to loss of heating
Hi, I have electric storage heaters and after the visit of an engineer to install a smart meter (which failed) I have been left with no heating. I have been in contact with my supplier who initially said it was nothing to do with them and only responded after a negative Trustpilot review. It has been over one month now…
MPs new report recommendations
As mentioned here the other day, a new report from a committee of MPs has called for standing charges to be replaced with a 'rising block' tariff, plus other measures such as the introduction of a social tariff.What do you think the chances are of those recommendations being implemented? Is it just another report that…
EDF overcharging.
I have checked the summaries of my EDF bills. They have only paid me 5 of the 6 government refunds. They then added the refunds that they have sent me to my bills. I have been in contact with them for 3 weeks. They are now ignoring my emails. They quite openly reduced a refund of £388.71 which I was due, by £132 in respect…
Sure we're being conned by British Gas
Received our gas bill and shocked to see £303 for a summer quarter! Queried with the company to be told that "Your account has been moved from the old system to the new system. All bills were re-audited on movement and you owe us an extra £125". I protested that the heating hasn't even been used this quarter, only one ring…
Regional charges.
Hi, why are standard charges so unfair. I'm in the North West and paying almost double on my electricity standard charge than a customer in London and more than customers in other parts of the country. Why are Ofgem allowing this?
Difficulty with Electricity Tariff at Rented Workshop
Hi I'm renting a workshop on a farm and as a non-domestic property the electricity billing falls into the business category, even though I'm not using it for commercial purposes SSE currently have me on their variable rate tariff which is currently £1.60/day and 46p/unit, but in order to get a deal they say I need to…
Deceased Estate energy service charges
I'm executor for a deceased estate, and empty apartment is costing us a fortune every month until we can get it sold. Minimal electricity being used (viewings only and fridge) yet costing £50/month in fixed charges; and no heating/water, but equally high bills for this too. Can we move to a new tariff with cheaper costs…
Claiming winter fuel payment
Your latest article about energy bills says “ If you’ve not got the winter fuel payment before, …. you'll need to claim it.” Yet the linked gov.uk website says you don’t need to claim if you receive the state pension. What do you do if you started receiving the state pension this year, so have never had the winter fuel…
Is it a good idea to fix now before the October price cap?
Octopus have offered a fixed tariff for the next 12 months. Being able to predict what I'll pay is really important to me, especially in the current climate. Is it worth fixing now or should we wait until the price cap is dropped to see if the tariffs drop at all - or are they more likely to rise? Thank you.
Octopus energy mistake 50000units not 5000
So much for award winning customer service , they have refused to call me or investigate my case , in short they made a mistake for years and took my Elec meeter reading as 4 digits me when it should have been 5 , now ive gone from £1000 in credit to £5000 in debt
Calor Gas trying to retro charge for a previous property
Hi, I moved out of my previous home approx. 10 months ago. It had an LPG tank in the garden, so off mains, and I paid Calor gas a monthly direct debit for supply. They would monitor the meter and auto-fill it up when needed. They have contacted me to say they incorrectly charged the occupants prior to myself for two fuel…

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