Having a standing charge may also benefit you if you are a low user, for example:
If one company has a daily standing charge of 19p and a unit price of 13p but also has a no standing charge tariff where you get your first 300 units of electricity for 18.6p and then 13p for the rest of the quarter, you need to know if your consumption will be higher than 300 units (much higher before you will benefit)
Look at it like this: 300 X 18.6 = £55.80 (no standing charge but now you have a lower rate of units to use up)
OR
19 X 93 = 17.67 and you will be on the lower rate of units for the whole quarter anyway (Using 93 as I just wanted an example of how many days in 3months)
If you want cheaper bills, do your homework and use your head!!
As a rule, there's very little difference between No Standing Charge and Standing Charge for most customers.
In your example, you really need to comnpare the extra for those 300 units, not the whole price.
So the extra is (18.6-13)= 5.6p
so 5.6px300= £16.80
(Although in real life the difference is much less, often only about a penny a year.)
Hi, I am over £600 in credit with my energy company Eon based on actual meter readings. This was mainly due to me paying a much higher monthly DD than needed (£147), I phoned them and they cut the DD by 50% but the large credit balance still remains.
I then phoned them back asking to be credited back the surplus balance but they said my DD would go back up if I did that. My view is that the £600 would be better in my account than theirs.
What do you think would be my best options? I have thought about switching but have never done it before. If I switch how do I go about getting the credit balance back from my current supplier?
As if a £100 credit balance wasn't enough for eon they decided to increase the DD by almost £50 per month...
Having spoken with them it's now back to what it was. However if a refund of the credit balance is issued, the DD will go up again.
Their justification is that the usage has "increased compared with last year" (yes, that definitely explains the credit...) and the prospect of decreasing the DD is not one they would entertain at this informal stage.
As if a £100 credit balance wasn't enough for eon they decided to increase the DD by almost £50 per month...
Having spoken with them it's now back to what it was. However if a refund of the credit balance is issued, the DD will go up again.
Their justification is that the usage has "increased compared with last year" (yes, that definitely explains the credit...) and the prospect of decreasing the DD is not one they would entertain at this informal stage.
Where is OfGEM? :rolleyes:
Where is your evidence? A £100 credit is miniscule. Do you have an abnormal useage pattern? If not, why wouldn't your debit be increased? Why are you confused?
I agree Ofgem should be called - they should be called to make sure all the whingers who incorrectly muck about with their direct debits get their discounts taken away.
Where is your evidence? A £100 credit is miniscule. Do you have an abnormal useage pattern? If not, why wouldn't your debit be increased? Why are you confused?
I agree Ofgem should be called - they should be called to make sure all the whingers who incorrectly muck about with their direct debits get their discounts taken away.
Thank you for your supportive comments............:rotfl:
What was unsupportive? Crabman's post is clearly self-contradictory. For every one of you with a real complaint there are a dozen Crabmen. Why should people receive £105 to £245 direct debit discounts every year when they mess about and cost just as much? Why should quarterly cash payers who pay on time and cost less pay £245* more?
I have no problem with people changing their direct debit every quarter. But they should not receive any discounts if they incorrectly muck about.
I know this is moneysavingexpert and is dedicated to an "I'm alright, Jack, 'screw' the passive customers**, the loudest and the lout-est take all" attitude but actively promoting unfairness is not pleasant.
* 17.5% of a £1400 bill (E-on)
** You know it is not the shareholders or the chairmen who are going to pay for any shortfall
Eon increased my direct debit for dual fuel from 108 to 162 in September, then another unexplained hike to 223 in November. Just challenged them over this - "oh we don't know how whit has happened - it should be £173. Sometimes the computer works the Dds out wrong and we have to manually change them. Yeah right!!! They were clearly hoping I might not notice. They instantly reset it, but I shall be keeping a close eye on them.
The computer does calculate DDs and yes, sometimes it does get them wrong and you have to manually override it - the day they invent a computer capable of completely replacing humans is a long way off. Yep 99.9% of companies will chance things sometimes, but sometimes it can genuinely be system error and just need a clip round the ear from a human!
Little miracle born April 2012, 33 weeks gestation and a little toughie!
I agree Ofgem should be called - they should be called to make sure all the whingers who incorrectly muck about with their direct debits get their discounts taken away.
It would appear you are confused about Ofgem's role. They most certainly weren't created to take discounts away from consumers. :rotfl:
What was unsupportive? Crabman's post is clearly self-contradictory. For every one of you with a real complaint there are a dozen Crabmen. Why should people receive £105 to £245 direct debit discounts every year when they mess about and cost just as much? Why should quarterly cash payers who pay on time and cost less pay £245* more?
Do you really not understand why customers paying quarterly by cash don't get the discounts that direct debit customers do?
I know this is moneysavingexpert and is dedicated to an "I'm alright, Jack, 'screw' the passive customers**, the loudest and the lout-est take all" attitude but actively promoting unfairness is not pleasant.
I agree, the energy companies should stop being unfair towards their customers, especially those struggling to pay their bills and make ends meet.
Not to mention those who are in credit during the winter (peak) period but still have payments increased so the energy companies' cash flow is well insulated
P.S: Your interpretation of this site's aims appears somewhat distorted, how about you find out about the site before embarrassing yourself further.
I recently cancelled my DD with Scottish Hydro as they were guestimating my usuage to be higher than i was paying - also as i am in 'fuel poverty' (according to their calculations) they said they would give me a lower tariff but never did :mad: .
I did try ringing several times but they were always 'busy'. I left 3 messages by e-mail and got no response :rolleyes: .
In the end I cancelled the direct debit, having written to them, telling them I would be doing this, asking them to explain about the reduction that I never get, and informing them I wished to pay 'on demand', quarterly, by paper bill.
This was 10 days ago.
I have since had a letter from them pointing out that my DD has been cancelled and asking me to ring them, which again I have tried to do but can never get through.
I am frustrated now, and a bit concerned. I have just paid £100 into my hydro account online so they can see I am still paying, i wonder what else should i do?
"Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research" ~ (George Bernard Shaw) ~
Replies
In your example, you really need to comnpare the extra for those 300 units, not the whole price.
So the extra is (18.6-13)= 5.6p
so 5.6px300= £16.80
(Although in real life the difference is much less, often only about a penny a year.)
It took me a while, but it eventually paid off. Keep pushing them folks, and it'll work out in the end.
I then phoned them back asking to be credited back the surplus balance but they said my DD would go back up if I did that. My view is that the £600 would be better in my account than theirs.
What do you think would be my best options? I have thought about switching but have never done it before. If I switch how do I go about getting the credit balance back from my current supplier?
Thanks for an replies.
Rob.
Having spoken with them it's now back to what it was. However if a refund of the credit balance is issued, the DD will go up again.
Their justification is that the usage has "increased compared with last year" (yes, that definitely explains the credit...) and the prospect of decreasing the DD is not one they would entertain at this informal stage.
Where is OfGEM? :rolleyes:
I agree Ofgem should be called - they should be called to make sure all the whingers who incorrectly muck about with their direct debits get their discounts taken away.
Thank you for your supportive comments............:rotfl:
I have no problem with people changing their direct debit every quarter. But they should not receive any discounts if they incorrectly muck about.
I know this is moneysavingexpert and is dedicated to an "I'm alright, Jack, 'screw' the passive customers**, the loudest and the lout-est take all" attitude but actively promoting unfairness is not pleasant.
* 17.5% of a £1400 bill (E-on)
** You know it is not the shareholders or the chairmen who are going to pay for any shortfall
The computer does calculate DDs and yes, sometimes it does get them wrong and you have to manually override it - the day they invent a computer capable of completely replacing humans is a long way off. Yep 99.9% of companies will chance things sometimes, but sometimes it can genuinely be system error and just need a clip round the ear from a human!
It would appear you are confused about Ofgem's role. They most certainly weren't created to take discounts away from consumers. :rotfl:
Click Here to find out about Ofgem
Do you really not understand why customers paying quarterly by cash don't get the discounts that direct debit customers do?
Take a look at Martin's article - it's explained rather well.
I agree, the energy companies should stop being unfair towards their customers, especially those struggling to pay their bills and make ends meet.
Not to mention those who are in credit during the winter (peak) period but still have payments increased so the energy companies' cash flow is well insulated
P.S: Your interpretation of this site's aims appears somewhat distorted, how about you find out about the site before embarrassing yourself further.
I did try ringing several times but they were always 'busy'. I left 3 messages by e-mail and got no response :rolleyes: .
In the end I cancelled the direct debit, having written to them, telling them I would be doing this, asking them to explain about the reduction that I never get, and informing them I wished to pay 'on demand', quarterly, by paper bill.
This was 10 days ago.
I have since had a letter from them pointing out that my DD has been cancelled and asking me to ring them, which again I have tried to do but can never get through.
I am frustrated now, and a bit concerned. I have just paid £100 into my hydro account online so they can see I am still paying, i wonder what else should i do?
~ (George Bernard Shaw) ~