Utility Warehouse Charges

sp81

Hiya,

Newbie here ;-) just wondering - are utility companies obligated to tell customers about cheaper options within their own tarifs??

The reason I ask - when I moved into this house 2 yrs ago I couldn't go onto a monthly budget plan as it was based on usage by the previous occupants and the company wanted to charge £400 per month for gas and electric. Needless to say that was a bit mad as they had been heating the house to a high temperature as they had lizards (!!!)

I have now spent the last 2 yrs giving a reading at the end of every month and paying for what I have used as I have gone along. Yesterday I totalled up all the bills for the last 2 yrs and divided by 24 the give me a rough average - it was about £175 per month. So I decided to phone Utility Warehouse and ask them to put me on a budget plan as knowing what I would be paying each month would be alot easier than the random amounts I have been paying for the last 2 yrs.

Anyway - when I phoned a very nice lady did the calculations for me and said it would be about £125 per month. When I queried the difference between her calculation and mine I was told that it was because I have spent the last 2 yrs paying standard tariff but I am actually a higher rate user and that works out less - ???

So now I have a couple of questions - firstly does that sound right because there is a huge difference between £125 pm and £175 and I dont want to end up with a nasty surprise 12 months down the line. Secondly - are/were Utlily Warehouse under any obligation to have noticed I was a higher rate user earlier and therefore alter the tariff I was paying because if the calcualtions are correct it seems to me that I have paid quite alot over the odds for my energy.

I have gone through the bills very carefully today and it appears that I have been very consistent in my usage over the last 2 yrs so it is not that I worked out my original figures on 24 months and she used 12 months.

Any thoughts??

Thanks - Sarah