Got first electric statement from London Energy - a bit confused

crube

Our switch from British Gas to London Energy went through in early April, and at the time they sent us a letter saying our monthly DD payment would be £17. Today we got our first statement(said so on the envelope) but inside it said 'Your first electricity bill'. It say's our electricity charges for the time between when we switched and now are £31.86, take out the £17 DD and we owe £16.45. I'm confused as to whether they want us to pay the difference, as it doesn't say so anywhere. Our next DD payment of £17 comes out on 15 May. Also, according to the statement, we officially switched on 15 March - so is it a case of the Direct Debit covers the previous period of usage? The £17 would just cover it. Bear in mind they already received a DD payment on 15 April. Basically I just would like somebody to explain to me how the statement/billing thing works with London Energy. Sorry if I didn't put all this very well, I confused even myself

Mikeyorks

crube wrote:

I confused even myself

I think I'm with you .....just !!;)

You're basically on a standard 'budget' payment plan - which is meant to even out the higher winter usage and the lower summer usage, with a standard all year round monthly payment of £17. They calculated this from figures you provided to them when you first applied (online tariff??).

The £17 you have paid doesn't specifically link to any period of usage - it's just 'on account' of the overall anticipated bill. They are not seeking any more money from you - just the monthly £17.

And if you have their 'online' tariff - good idea to get online access to your account so you can monitor it (and submit meter readings for Nectar points) from time to time. In theory you should be able to go to their web site to set up the online facility - in practice I had to ring them to get the ID and password sent. as the 'my account' facility is still a bit in development mode (or was 4 mths ago)

But, notwithstanding what I've said above about your budget plan. It's fairly mandatory, in my opinion, to keep an eye on the running balance between your debits (their bills) and your credits (payments). At the least you should be ensuring you're developing a credit situation by mid-Summer - with the heavier winter period looming?

crube

That's put my mind at rest some - many thanks! :beer: