Over 200% gas bill increase

tsiganliya

Hi, help please!
I have just received a letter from Scottish Power that my monthly gas DD has increased from £22 to £74.50; that my prices increased on 1st September; that this was the result of their 3monthly regular account check; and that my new monthly payment would be collected on 3rd January 09.

I had switched to Scottish Power in August...

I cannot get through to them on the phone...

There's 2 of us in a 2-bedroom flat...

What do I do?

Thank you everyone with any thoughts!

moonrakerz

I don't wish to sound unsympathetic but did you really think that £22 a month would cover your gas bill ?
You are now owing them money, they know that winter is coming and your gas useage will double/triple/quadruple, they are just making sure that they will get paid for what you use.

Do you always check your meter regularly - do you know how much you are being charged per kWh ?
If the answer to either (or even worse - both) is "no" you cannot really complain, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Magentasue

The relevant figures are the kwh you use in a year and the cost per kwh - not the DD. The DD will depend on how much gas you use over a year and you haven't told us that.

tsiganliya

Thank you moonrakerz!

tsiganliya

Magentasue wrote: »

The relevant figures are the kwh you u se in a year and the cost per kwh - not the DD. The DD will depend on how much gas you use over a year and you haven't told us that.

My estimation is that we use 7070-7080 kwh in a year and the latest Scotish Power's price rise has brought the price to 4.238p per kwh. That should mean around £25 per month.
Thank you for bringing the question to my attention - I see now that even if I underestimate our usage figures, I couldn't possibly underestimate them by that much....

Magentasue

Well, one of you is miscalculating!

Is it possible that you are wrong? How did you work out your annual use?

Not suggesting that it is you at fault but you need to be sure of your facts if you are going to challenge them. You need to make sure that, if you're using two readings a year apart, they are actual and not estimated readings.

If you are sure you're right, they should agree to reduce your DD in line.

Edit: Just noticed that you have switched recently - that makes it more difficult as SP won't have an annual consumption to go by. They'll be going by the last quarter and predicting your winter use.

tsiganliya

Magentasue wrote: »

Well, one of you is miscalculating!

Is it possible that you are wrong? How did you work out your annual use?

Not suggesting that it is you at fault but you need to be sure of your facts if you are going to challenge them. You need to make sure that, if you're using two readings a year apart, they are actual and not estimated readings.

If you are sure you're right, they should agree to reduce your DD in line.

Edit: Just noticed that you have switched recently - that makes it more difficult as SP won't have an annual consumption to go by. They'll be going by the last quarter and predicting your winter use.

Thank you Magentasue, I'm digging out as many past year or two bills as I can get my hands on...
x

moonrakerz

tsiganliya wrote: »

Thank you moonrakerz!

tsiganliya wrote: »

My estimation is that we use 7070-7080 kwh in a year and the latest Scotish Power's price rise has brought the price to 4.238p per kwh. That should mean around £25 per month.

Do you really think that SP have increased your DD by 200% just to "rip" you off ?

They increased it because you were using more gas than your DD would cover. By doing this they were:
a. Protecting their interests
b. More surprisingly - they were actually protecting your interests by preventing you running up a huge bill.
If they hadn't done this you would be posting on this site in 6 months time complaining that you had a bill of £x000 from SP and they wouldn't let you move to another supplier until you had paid it off !

On what basis do you arrive at this amazingly accurate figure of 7070-7080 kWh ? How much gas have you actually used since you moved in back in August ? Do you know how to read the meter ? Do you know how to covert from cu ft or meters to kWh ?
What tariff are you on - the figure you quote doesn't tally with anything on SP's website.

I said that I don't wish to be unsympathetic, and I certainly don't wish to appear unhelpful but I am afraid yours is one of many, many posts on this site all saying that their bills are too high.
The overwhelming majority are based on ignorance of the energy market and even on ignorance of simple mathematics/economics.
If you believed everything you read here at least 75% of the gas and electricity meters in the UK are over-reading by 150% - at least !

Look at the figures - if you are correct SP will reduce your Direct Debit !

Eydon

tsiganliya wrote: »

My estimation is that we use 7070-7080 kwh in a year and the latest Scotish Power's price rise has brought the price to 4.238p per kwh. That should mean around £25 per month.
Thank you for bringing the question to my attention - I see now that even if I underestimate our usage figures, I couldn't possibly underestimate them by that much....

That sounds incredibly low usage - isn't the average around 20,000 kwh for gas?

Are you sure those values are kwh, and not just the meter readings (which will be in cubic feet or cubic metres depending on whether it's an imperial or metric meter).

Magentasue

Eydon wrote: »

That sounds incredibly low usage - isn't the average around 20,000 kwh for gas?

Are you sure those values are kwh, and not just the meter readings (which will be in cubic feet or cubic metres depending on whether it's an imperial or metric meter).

Some people do have low usage - if out/away a lot, for example. I don't think they are meter readings as that would make the annual total too high.

I think it's either an accurate figure for a low user, or, more likely, a summer quarter multiplied by four or a calculation using estimates. I did suggest OP checks this as, I agree, it does look too low for most households.

LinW13

Hiya,

When you have collected all your old bills, look for the Kwh figures, and add them up to find your annual usage in Kwhs. Work out costs from these, and remember to include VAT (5%).

Check that last bill from your old supplier - was that last reading sensible, or was it way out? If it was way out, then SP doesn't have much decent info to go on when estimating your usage. Don't bother trying to change it, just concentrate on getting decent usage info to SP.

Have you had a bill from SP yet? If not, give them a reading and ask for a bill.

If you already have a bill from SP, check the following:-
When you switched suppliers, did the last reading from your old supplier match the first reading from SP? In other words, was the switchover handled properly on the bills.
Is the latest reading from SP estimated or actual?
If estimated, give them a reading and ask for a bill.

Once you have a bill with proper readings and you know what your annual usage is, then you can have a chat with them about it all.

They are not changing your DD until January 2009. This gives you a bit of time to sort things out. Keep on trying to get hold of them by phone - don't give up.

Remember, you can always cancel the DD, but this will change your tariff, probably for a more expensive one. And if you do, please please put some dosh aside for your big winter bill.

Something else to bear in mind. £22 is probably too little, and you will be paying that until January. I suspect it should be something like £50.
3 months at, say £50 is £150.
3 months at £22 is £66. (A shortfall of £84)!!
So, a shortfall can grow pretty quickly, and that has to be built in to your January figure.

Take care,
Lin