direct debit newbie please help

mujipor

So...i just changed to monthly direct debit but I am not sure i have done the right thing.

Okay, so 2 bed flat, moved in Aug last year, there were 3 of us living here now just 2.
calculated all the electric and gas bills
gas was 337 and electric was 552 with npower
Now they are charging me 54 for electric and 30 for gas which makes the annual total to be over 1008 pounds and before i changed to direct debit it was only 889.

My question is, should/can i reduce the monthly direct debit rate? I know that the bills will most likely reduce since there are only two of us. Or should i just switch back to quarterly billing? Please help/advise?

spiro

Couple of points here; You say the amount you will pay over the year has increased by just over £100 but was the price last year the same as it is now (probably not) and also your DD will be assessed on the last years useage so will be slightly high if someone has moved out. The advantage with monthly DD is you pay the same every month so is good for budgetting especially in the winter months when they would be double the summer.

Magentasue

If you can afford it, I'd pay the higher rate for six months and then check your usage. If you're right, you could make a reduction. If you're wrong, you won't see your DD increased as steeply.

Are you on a fixed rate/paying the same as last year per unit? If not, your bills may increase even if you reduce consumption.

Cardew

You should be getting a discount for paying by DD - either a cheaper kWh rate or some other form of payment.

You haven't said what company you are with, but unless you are on a capped tariff it is a racing certainty that prices will increase considerably in the year ahead, so an increase from £889 to £1008 is not unreasonable - in fact as it is only 13% your current DD will probably not be high enough.

mujipor

I am with npower