Help, direct debit going up from 141.00 per month to 176.00

Pyewacket_2

Hi folks, I seriously need help. I have a 4 bedroomed house and currently pay Scottish Power £141.00 per month Direct Debit for both my gas and electricity. They have written to advise that my direct debit is going to go up to £176.00 for the next 6 months. There is no way I can afford that but I don't know where to start looking about for cheaper suppliers. How do I work out my usage for both my gas and electric? :eek:

Cardew

You look at your bills for the last 4 quarters to get the consumption in kWH.

If you haven't got your bills call Scottish power and ask for your annual consumption.

£141/£176 is pretty high, I suspect some of that is paying back a debit balance you have built up. Especially if it is increased for 6 months.

You are not going to save huge sums by changing suppliers unless you cut down consumption.

Don't ring another company and say I am paying £176 or they will just say we can do it much cheaper, and you will build up a debt with them.

You can't change suppliers until you have cleared your debt anyway.

beeniemac

In my opinion you should be looking at methods of cutting down usage, rather than changing supplier. That is a large figure for a 4 bedroom house imo.

Do you use conventional or energy saving bulbs, for example?

nej

British Gas just jumped mine from £55 to £85. I called them and they were happy to put it down again though.

I have an outstanding balance on the electric, but am in cerdit on the gas and they said I could use one against the other.