Online Billing -Clarity & Transparency

MIKELSOK

How many of you good people out there are wholly satisfied with the quality of online 'Billing' or even paper billing cost information that is provided by your Utility companies to support their bill?

I for one consider myself to be a reasonably financially savvy guy but when it comes to reconciling my utility gas and electric bills to units used and payments made via DD it turns out to be an extremely tortuous exercise.

Either I am thick and don't understand or am being deliberately misled so that I don't know what the real cost is. I believe it is the latter.

We should demand simplicity..easy to read bills something along the lines of;

Your Cumulative cost to date for this year for (a) units of gas plus (b) units of electric = £X, the cost of units of gas or electric used in this period = £Y, Your Total Cost to date for this year £X + £Y = £Z

Funds Received via your DD = £W therefore the balance owing or in credit is £W - £Z .



Your DD will be adjusted accordingly up or down (usually it is always UP!!)

Am I alone on this, Do you agree there needs to be a change??

[Deleted User]

Ebico has all the attributes that you want. Fantastic clarity and transparency. I pay quarterly

ex-energywatch_adviser

Clarity and standardisation of energy billing was part of the supercomplaint energywatch raised with Ofgem.

The link below explains why there is no standardisation of energy billing and why each supplier can make their bills as clear or as complicated as they wish.
Basically it because the European Commision, the government, the regulator and the suppliers don't want it despite demands from consumer groups.

http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:b5EBm2nXEEcJ:www.energy-retail.org.uk/documents/MicrosoftWord-ISOStandardforBilling-ERAresponseFINAL.pdf+standardisation+energy+billing&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

Cardew

Would they not have to first move toward standard tariffs? If not as simple as Ebico's tariff, something close to it.

Whilst the principle of the OP's suggestion is agreed, it is difficult to reconcile that with the different charging structures. e.g.

No of Tier 1 units vary by company and indeed even the tariffs in that company have different figures. BG have 125kWh a quarter and 225kWh.
Don't even mention NPower sculpting!!!

Daily charges instead of Tier1/2 pricing

Price changes in quarterly period

Discounts for DD, Dual fuel, paperless billing, annual loyalty bonus etc.

Ken68

Doubt it will change MIK...the only thing you can do is keep regular records so as to help fathom out the bills, and insulate ever more.
Lots of little things, like get warm with exercise at critical periods, analyse the winter temps for your area, get a lodger to pay the bills, etc.
But the days of cheap heat are over.