Big Leap in Gas and Electric Direct Debit

gazjoneswales

Annab1982 wrote: »

Outstanding balance is £539.62, I'm on a duel fuel tariff (sorry don't have any other details-we inherited it from last tenant and as monthly DD seemed reasonable didn't think about comparing/switching). We get bills every 6 months,although they said that I started the DD in middle of billing, so haven't had a bill since starting the DD. They say our annual usage is 4778 kWh of electricity and 13464 kWh of gas.

Based on your usage (tho this is in my area as i dont know where you live) the cheapest npower deal would cost £1017.87 (called Sign Online Dual Fuel 23) Then add your current debt of £539.62 gives you a total of £1557.49 Divide this then by 12 equal payments gives you a figure of £129.79 (round this off to £130.

If i were in your shoes i would ring up npower asap and ask to go on to this tariff. Then put through to them how much this would cost for a year add your current balance and divide by 12 and ask for that to be your dd. Be prepared for a slight bit of negotiating with the agent. If they refuse then ask for the reasons behind this.

jalexa

Annab1982 wrote: »

Yes gave them accurate meter readings yesterday and has sent it higher. They said to ring after my next DD goes out next week and they can look at it then, but the man I spoke to thought all they could do was spread the outstanding balance over 12 months instead of 6 which wont save a huge amount.

You need to have a look at this.

https://customerservices.npower.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/39

Find out when your annual review date is. Typically annual review is around April and the objective is to achive a zero balance. So work out if taking into account your annual usage, your debit balance and your monthly payments what your account "balance" would be by the review date.

The NPower calculation *may* be right but I would *never* trust an energy company without checking. However, if they are prepared to give you 12 months that is a concession worth more on payment than you think.

jalexa

gazjoneswales wrote: »

Based on your usage (tho this is in my area as i dont know where you live) the cheapest npower deal would cost £1017.87 Then add your current debt of £539.62 gives you a total of £1557.49 Divide this then by 12 equal payments gives you a figure of £129.79 (round this off to £130.

Late to this thread and not had time to double check, but I agree with your ball park reasoning that that the NPower figures seem high.

I agree a typical annual cost just over £83/month. Recovery of the debit balance by April (8 months) £67/month, total £150/month. Less for a longer recovery, possibly a little more to produce a summer surplus.

Can't see where NPower is coming from. They need to put up or shut up on *their* calculation.

gazjoneswales

jalexa wrote: »

Late to this thread and not had time to double check, but I agree with your ball park reasoning that that the NPower figures seem high.

I agree a typical annual cost just over £83/month. Recovery of the debit balance by April (8 months) £67/month, total £150/month. Less for a longer recovery, possibly a little more to produce a summer surplus.

Can't see where NPower is coming from. They need to put up or shut up on *their* calculation.

Thank you for verifying my figures roughly. I did spread the debt out over 12months with an aim to be back at £0 in 12 months time

jalexa

gazjoneswales wrote: »

Thank you for verifying my figures roughly.

Just had a thought. Has the OP stated which tariff? Surely NPower has stopped seasonally weighted tariffs. Or have they?

gazjoneswales

jalexa wrote: »

Just had a thought. Has the OP stated which tariff? Surely NPower has stopped seasonally weighted tariffs. Or have they?

I based my figures on them switching to the cheapest npower tariff currently available using their annual kwh consumption figures. Im not sure if npower have stopped their seasonal weighting. something i will look at now.

gazjoneswales

save online dual fuel 23 is a standing charge tariff so seasonal weighting wouldnt have an effect.

Just got this from the npower website
Primary rate gas is charged across the 12 months on a seasonally adjusted basis, with more primary rate units being charged in the winter months as follows:
Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb - 882
March - 272
April, Oct - 271
May, June, July, Aug, Sept 46
Annual total - 4572
MonthsMaximum units charges at primary rate Per monthNov, Dec, Jan, Feb882March272April, Oct271May, June, July, Aug, Sept46Annual total4572
For a detailed example of how we charge for gas, see how to work out your gas bill..
Why do we charge in this way?
There’s no standing charge on most of our credit tariffs so the primary rate covers the fixed costs we have to pay in supplying gas to you, e.g. distribution and metering costs.
For gas we charge more units at the primary rate during the winter months to reflect the fact that most customers use more gas in the winter, and to ensure that all our customers pay a fair share to cover our fixed costs.
For electricity we charge the primary rate units evenly throughout the year because electricity use is more consistent across the year.
Primary rate gas is charged across the 12 months on a seasonally adjusted basis, with more primary rate units being charged in the winter months as follows:
MonthsMaximum units charges at primary rate Per monthNov, Dec, Jan, Feb882March272April, Oct271May, June, July, Aug, Sept46Annual total4572
For a detailed example of how we charge for gas, see how to work out your gas bill..
Why do we charge in this way?
There’s no standing charge on most of our credit tariffs so the primary rate covers the fixed costs we have to pay in supplying gas to you, e.g. distribution and metering costs.
For gas we charge more units at the primary rate during the winter months to reflect the fact that most customers use more gas in the winter, and to ensure that all our customers pay a fair share to cover our fixed costs.
For electricity we charge the primary rate units evenly throughout the year because electricity use is more consistent across the year.

So looks like it still exists

t0rt0ise

If you haven't changed tariffs since you moved in then you will have been put on the standard tariff which is the most expensive of all. You can't change suppliers with a debt but at least get on to a cheaper tariff.

chris1973

Also we have a dehumidifier on all the time as our flat is very humid,although I was assured it didn't use too much electricity!

Hmmm, who advised you that it didn't use too much electricity? - the person selling you it by any chance??

I had a dehumidifier some years ago, its loading was 640 Watts, a quick look around at popular newer brands and consumption seems to range from 330W upto 900w depending on the model and size, with 400w to 750w being the most common.

But lets take a half way house, and assume that its consuming 500W, this is one KW/H (or unit) of Electricity used by this appliance alone, for every 2 hours it is left running.

So in a 24 hour period, and running continuously it will use 12 units of Electricity, at an average cost of 14p per KW/H the cost would be £1.68 worth of electricity every day before anything else is taken into consideration.

This assumes that its running constantly at its full rated consumption, some units may decrease and increase their output automatically and some may switch on / off as required, but that is the worst case example.

Of course if the consumption is below 500W it will be less than this. if its more than 500w it will cost more, but I would consider it to be quite a consideration when it comes to working out your daily usage.

Check the manual / rating plate on the unit to see its actual consumption.

Annab1982

Thanks for all your replies. I really appreciate your advice and will definitely go down the route of changing to a cheaper tariff. Regarding the dehumidifier, it says on the back the input is 220W. It's one that only switches on when the humidity level goes above a certain point so is not running constantly. It is some thing I would never consider getting rid of, as before we had it our flat was so damp and humid and we constantly had water running down the windows from the condensation!