'Ofgem the regulator is listening; good stuff' blog discussion

allroundgoodguy

ncrossland wrote: »

When using switching sites, you get a more accurate estimate if you use KwH rather than £.

To work out how many KwH you use, you have to keep 12 months of bills, and go back through them and manually add up the number used.

It should be made compulsory for each bill to include the total number of KwH used over the last 12 months, and this information should be carried across suppliers (so even if you switch, it still tells you how much you've used regardless of supplier).

:T 100% agree that Ofgem should include as a minimum
Wish I had seen this before Martin spoke to them.
I actually submitted a request (to Ofgem) a couple of years ago that the kwh be included as
Last Quarter, last 6 months, last year, to cover seasonal adjustments.
I did not hear a thing.
NCrossland and Martin Lewis should start a campaiagn IMHO

allroundgoodguy

magyar wrote: »

Agree, provided that the standing fee was set by Ofgem and not by the companies, else it's just as confusing. The standing fee should simply cover the costs of providing billing, metering, etc. which is mostly outsourced anyway and so should be the same for all suppliers anyway.

ood point, add Magyar
Also it gets very complicated when the suppliers have different levels in Economy 7, so you have Day and Night rate, with differering levels when it kicks in.
And when is it better to have Economy 7 and when not.

Defiantely a capmaign, even the train companies have got their acts together...!

anniecave

the suppliers calculate estimated annual consumption (EAC) in kilowatt hours anyway - no reason why this shouldn't be put on the bill. Would make life easier for everyone!

anniecave

suppliers calculate estimated annual consumption (EAC) in kilowatt hours anyway and it's recalculated when they get new meter readings. So why can't they put that on their bill ?

A_fiend_for_life

I would say:

scrap the standing charge
scrap reducing rates for high users

These serve only to make products more difficult to compare. A competitive market has products that are easy to compare and relies on service quality.

A carrot for prompt payment is fair but not method of payment.

Flopsy11

If you don't want a pre-payment meter fitted the utility company has to apply to the Magistrate to get a warrant to enter your home and replace the meter. If you can find out from the court, or the utility company lets you know when they are applying, you can write to the Magistrate and explain why you shouldn't have a pre-payment meter fitted. Its usually for arrears so if you can put forward a payment plan to clear the arrears over time, they will listen and can refuse to give a warrant.

openpen

This is not rocket science...

Monthly direct debits are calculated on a yearly basis - typically your annual review will land in April, May or June - the reason for this being, it is at the end of the winter, no ?!

What would be better than anything, at the end of this winter quarter ? Nil balance possibly ?? So we can all move forward, with no debit on our energy accounts.

If there are estimated bills - read your meter or the kids, the neighbour, the dog... read it and let your energy supplier know so they can recalculate your monthly direct debit BASED on ACTUAL consumption.

So, based on this, if we want a nil balance after winter and we haven't had a review in the last month, 6 months, year or so - then, what we are looking at is....

ANNUAL REVIEW -

bunking_off

It's a while since I did the analysis, but from memory if you assume that you want your balance to average zero (ie not overall be in debt, or in credit so you're earning interest for the power company), the transition from debt-to-credit should be sometime around July. To explain, in winter you're using more than you're paying for so you go deeper into debt, then as your usage drops off in the spring it matches then summer you claw back & finally go into credit.

If you were at zero in March, implication would be that you're average in credit. When your usage drops off in late-spring, you'll go massively into credit. I'd prefer to have the money in my bank rather than the power company's.

Chrysalis

is been overcharged for direct debit really worth the supposed savings?

some providers dont give discounts for direct debit and treat their customers fairly.

magyar

Chrysalis wrote: »

is been overcharged for direct debit really worth the supposed savings?

Yes. If your direct debit payments are too high, then all you lose out on is interest in your account.