SSSE Gas& Elec. price increase.

inspirespirit

I had noticed I was dramatically having to put more money onto my electric key recently. So much so that I emailed Southern Electric to ask why. I have just received this reply;

I have looked into your account regarding pricing and the increase in cost you're experiencing. SSE increased household electricity and gas prices from the 14th September 2011. The gas was increased on average of 18% and the electricity on average of 11%.

As a company we understand that we need to be able to offer certainty around our prices that is why we have just announced that our gas prices will fall by an average of 4.5% on the 26 March 2012, these will be capped until October 2012 for both electricity and gas.

I'm sorry it appears that you did not receive the written communication that was sent to all customers to ensure full information was given around pricing'.


I'm gobsmacked at this price increase considering the amount the prices went up the previous year. I'm not surprised, however, that we weren't informed in writing because we weren't before either. Very sneaky.
I have had a nightmare with Southern over past couple of years. I had been paying 60 pounds electric and 60 pounds gas per month (they told me the amount to pay), for a 3 bed semi, and then when I moved house last Feb had a closing bill of over 1,000 !!! This happened because (just like this price increase notification not received), I had not actually received any bills so had assumed the 120 pounds per month was covering it.
I am now having to pay this money back via a meter, so am stuck with Southern until it is paid back !!!! I can't wait until I can move provider.

Anyone else had problems with them? Were you informed about this price increase?

yoda011087

I understand this isn't the point, but are you saying you weren't aware of the MASHOOSIVE, headline-making, MSE forum-debate-causing, choice-now-of-heating-or-eating price increases at the end of last Summer?

Do you have an email address registered with Southern, as this would be an acceptable way (in their POV) of informing you of any changes.

To your predicament.... What were your opening meter readings, and were they estimated or actual ones given by you when the account opened? What were your final meter readings? Again, estimated or actual?

Paying £60pm and still ending up with a £1000 debt means your consumption (if meter readings are accurate) is absolutely huge, or perhaps you had electric heating/hot water that wasn't being used economically?

What were your projected / actual consumption figures?

inspirespirit

lol. I didn't see the mahoosive headlines. I have to share this lappy now with my two sons, so have limited use. I'll look it up today. I do have an email address and have been emailing my 'account manager' regularly since all the trouble I had with closing bill and she did not mention the rise to me. I still don't believe I owed that amount of money. I am really careful and have always lived in 3 bed semis and for past few years paid 50 quid per month each without any problems. It went up to 60 quid per month which I was happy with when I moved to my last house (I was only there just over a year and owed nothing from my previous bill when I moved there). I was only there just over a year so paying the 60 pounds per month in my eyes should have covered it. I had HUGE rows with them over it. I NEVER used a tumble drier or anything else that would have eaten up the leccy. It was gas centrally heated. To this day I don't believe I owed it but according to the meter readings, I did.
My 'account manager' set up a way for me to pay it off and she was supposed to be helping me to regulate my bills to keep it all in check which is why I'm peed off that I didn't know about this increase. Actually my son was in hospital a lot last year so I could have easily missed it on here , but I would not have missed a letter or an email.

macman

Don't you have newspapers or TV round your way either?
Th reason you got into debt with a credit meter was because you didn't submit regular readings. Your supplier only has to read the meter once ever two years. if you submit readings at least every quarter, you will avoid huge catch up bills, as your DD will be adjusted to track your actual usage.

yoda011087

We can really only give meaningful advice / tips if you post your meter readings and annual consumption & tariff details.

Houses differ very much in way they need to be heated, even to exactly-the-same-size semi detached houses can have vastly different energy bills. £50pm in one house could be more than enough, £80pm in the other, might not be.

Post those figures and we'll take a look

inspirespirit

Of course I have TV but actually no, I don't buy newspapers and like I said, I spent a LOT of time in hospitals last year. Whichever, I missed it. simple as.
The problem I had with my bills was this because as it happens, they were read twice by a little man who had to climb over boxes in the cellar to read the meters;
I moved back to my home town and temporarily rented a 3 bed house. Fresh start, owed no bills. Took meter reading and phoned it in. After I had been there about 4 month I realised I had not received a bill. I had not signed up for paperless billing so I rang them. The girl said she thought I was on wrong tariff and changed me to a tarrif she thought would be better. I thanked her. Another 3/4 months and no bill. Rang again. Same thing happened. In the September I rang again and i was told my gas was 30 in Credit. I moved to this house in the January (4 months after being told I was in Credit). So getting the closing bill was a HUGE shock.
When I rang the girl told me at first I didn't owe anything. Then she said, oh hang on. She then disappeared and came back and said she had never seen such a mess !!! Apparently every time I rang to complain about not receiving bills, they had set me up on a new tariff with a brand new account but had not transferred the other accounts. So I actually ended up with 6 accounts !!! When the girl told me I was 30 pounds in credit, that was just the latest account, but I had accumulated 'old' accounts with money owed on them. It was a TOTAL nightmare.
They ended up sending me details of each account and all the units etc., but it was such a complicated piece of literature and at the time my son was really ill, I was going through a divorce and my sister had just died. I honestly struggled to cope with it so just made arrangements to pay. I could kick myself now (now I'm feeling stronger and more able to cope) and wished I had taken it to the ombudsman.
Oh well, we live and learn. Having to get used to doing everything myself, but I'm getting there. I'll make sure I read MSN more often. lol.

inspirespirit

Have to say..... considering ALL the problems I had due to not receiving bills from them, I'm doubly mad that I did not receive a letter regarding these increases. The email today stated that ALL customers were informed. Well I wasn't. Yet again. I am definitely moving providers as soon as I am straight.