Gas bill gone up again whilst in credit

BLUEBIE

Hi

I am with British gas and my bill has just gone up a second time this year to £82 a month for a small 3 bed semi. However I am £90 in credit, this credit would cover the increase for the next quarter anyway so should I phone BG and ask them to leave my direct debit alone. Can I even do this?

£82 seems rather a lot for my size house for gas only per month.

Thanks
B

Cardew

Is that £90 credit shown on a bill, or a phone/internet query?

The important point is how many kWhs yo use per year and what BG tariff you are on - Standard? one of the Click tariffs? fixed?

At this time of the year, with the heavy usage periods coming up, you need to be well in credit.

You can obviously discuss with them the level of your DD, but you first need to ascertain if the increase is justified. However £82 monthly seems very high for a small 3 bed semi.

BLUEBIE

Thats £90 shown in credit on the paper bill that came through.

spiro

BLUEBIE wrote: »

Thats £90 shown in credit on the paper bill that came through.

You dont say what your DD payments were, this may help in understanding your logic in thinking this is too much.

Magentasue

Another thing - are the meter readings on your statement actual or estimated?

Work out (or ask for) your annual usage in kwh, multiply by the kwh cost including VAT, add on standing charge if any and divide by 12 - what does that come to?

KimYeovil

If you are only £90 in credit at this time of year and are paying £82 (up from £52?) following 30/19% price rises then that is reasonable for a typical pattern of use. In fact, it is less than is required to cover winter.

Of course, the chances are that you may not follow a typical pattern and you probably should contact them if your annual useage suggests. I am just pointing out that the increase is not as unreasonable for most users as the hike suggests.

BLUEBIE

My DD was £34 unitl May then £51, now £82?

Sorry don't have my bill in front of me to work out my usage will do that later when I'm home.

Magentasue

Thing is, your DD may not be related to your usage if you have had a series of estimated readings or if BG don't have an annual usage to work from. Or it may be them overestimating.

If you can work out your annual usage, you'll know whether it's reasonable or not. Without that, it's impossible to say.

rdty21

£82/month just for gas!:eek:

I pay British gas a total of £50/month for gas and elec. I have a 3 bed mid terrace but i would not have thought it made much differance.

Is your home insulated? Do you keep the heating on all day?

I have phoned them up in the past and asked that somebody reveiw the DD increase, and they have agreed with me that it was not needed. Might be worth a try.

Lemoncurd

When this happened to us when we were in credit I just called and they agreed to leave the DD's at the previous rate.

BLUEBIE

Thanks, I will see what the meter reading is when I get home and then either leave it or give them a ring, I suppose if I leave it and end up in a lot of credit I can always get the money back later.