NIE rip off

master_blaster_2

hi all just got a letter in from those nice people from NIE
saying my DD is going up from£37 to £86 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what the heck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
over 100% increace !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i could maybe look over it if we owed them a fortune but we are £245.00 in credit.
Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do who did you call???
I think a call to nie is in order first thing in the morning.

irishjohn

Mine went up from £49 to £66 which is not quite so bad as though by my calculation it really only needs to go up to maybe £55.

I would recommend that you ask then to repay the credit immediately if they intend to increwas it by that much.

If you paid them £444 last year and you built up £245 in credit I cannot see this years bill being £1032. So I would quote those figures and ask them are they planning a 400% price increase in 2009 that we don't know about yet

maggie5

my DD rose from £66 to £105, i ended up getting the meter in cause i was scaared of such a big amount coming out in one go

36square

M-B
There's no way you should accept an increase from £37 to £86, especially if you're in credit by £245. NIE usually argue that the figure is based on consumption over the last 12 months so add up the units on your last four bills and multiply the total by 15.81p (the new unit price from tomorrow). If the result is much less than £1,032 (£86x12) then NIE haven't got a case and you should demand that they bring it down. I think they will based on my own experience.
One reason NIE might be trying to push up direct debits is that the 4% discount for DD payments is now loking rather generous with interest rates so low so they're probably trying to compensate by improving their cash flow ie having more people in larger credit.

booklover

I thought Nie bills were to come down in January???!!

Fiona

greyteam1959

Mmmm......Scottish Power keep trying this one with me.
I have done the following adjustment it might not work for everyone but it does for me !!
If the date you give them your meter reading is say 25th of the month and the date your direct debit payment goes out on is say the 30th of the month alter your direct debit payment date to just before the meter reading date.
This makes you more in credit just before the meter reading date.

sparky40

booklover wrote: »

I thought Nie bills were to come down in January???!!

Fiona

We got something through about 2 weeks ago saying that ours would be going down from Jan, and they would inform us closer to the time just by how much.

baldeagle09

In the period from beginning of July to date where oil prices have fallen in price from approx $140 a barrel to under $40. NIE find it in their powers to vitually double electricity tariffs. They can put the blame on a lot of reasons, but at the end of the day it is at worst theft and at best incompetence on their part to purchase wholesale electricity at ridiculous prices.
One has to question the power of the regulator and such bodies as the Consumer Council. Personally I would disband both of these unelected Quangos

happy_gardener

we used to do DD but did not like the fact that the NIE can push up the price of the DD when ever so I pay with an 'electricity card' via the post office every week. I put £20 per week and then when the bill comes in there may only be about £15 to pay.....the DD used to change and it was put up soooo much I hated not being in control.....DD is not always the best way to pay. you can get one of those electricty cards by ringing the NIE tel number they willl send one out to you...worth getting.....BE IN CONTROL!!

cifpower

Those increases are scary! I'm just glad my DD of £25 hasn't increased in two years

dovobet

Ours went up 2 months ago from £39 to £50 DD