Pay for usage

taffy056

Is there a tariff out there that you can submit your meter reads, then the next direct debit charges you for that amount? I used to be with a company about 10 years ago called servista who were cheap and worked like that. I don't want energy companies offsetting winter/summer use that means they have my money for nothing, was looking at maybe OVO , so is there anything like that now as I am about to move to a new property and this seems to be a good time to swap as well.

many thanks

withabix

But offsetting winter use with a level DD over the whole year means that you are paying considerably less per month in the winter than the price of the energy you use in this period.

If there are currently any suppliers that do what you are looking for, they will be more expensive because they don't have use of your credit balance...

taffy056

Yes but they have your money in the summer, basically I want something that gives the energy companies the money only that is due, not some figure they clutch from the air, I have had enough of that off NPower now, its my money not theirs!

lithopsian

All the big companies have tarifs where you can receive a bill and pay each one as you get it. They usually bill quarterly not monthly, although monthly billing is practical now with online accounts.

As mentioned the energy companies don't like this type of account, and to be fair many customers don't like it either. They don't have the ability to control their cash flow by hiking a few thousand direct debits whenever they need the money and they don't have the benefit of (more often than not) having money in their bank instead of yours for much of the time. Hence they charge more for this type of account, either explicitly with different pricing or by offering discounts if you sign up to a flat monthly direct debit.

Direct debits in general are preferred by companies because customers are far more likely to pay them. Very easy to ignore, or forget, a bill that needs to be paid explicitly. Takes some effort to go out and stop a direct debit. They even get paid most of the time when there isn't enough money in the bank account to cover it.

ricky9

Try Scottish Power,Eon QVDD.

fightyfish

british gas do this on their energy smart sytem. you give the reads once a month and can pay by either fxed or variable DD or by debit/credit card online for what you use. The DD discount is the same by either method so not more expensive than paying by fixed DD. I only know about BG as that's how i pay but the other's probably offer something simulat. can't think why not.

taffy056

Thanks fightyfish will check that out

HappyMJ

taffy056 wrote: »

Yes but they have your money in the summer, basically I want something that gives the energy companies the money only that is due, not some figure they clutch from the air, I have had enough of that off NPower now, its my money not theirs!

Npower will do it but you have to ask and manually make the payments to trick the computer into thinking you are in credit. I pay £10 a month via direct debit. That almost covers my summer usage (with the annual £105 cash back credit) then I manually pay the winter bill before the bill is generated as I am entering the meter readings so the computer sees a credit balance when generating the bill and leaves the direct debit at £10. It's rather confusing but I read my meter weekly so I know exactly what the bill will be so I don't get a shock.

cashbag

I pay this way with Southern Electric - I get a quarterly online bill & if it is estimated I can submit readings for a replacement bill & payment is taken 14 days later by Quarterly Variable Direct Debit. I get discounts for dual fuel, paperless billing & paying by DD, which is only slightly less than paying monthly fixed DD. However money stays in MY account for up to 3 months. I pay higher gas bills in winter but peanuts in summer when my car tax & house insurance are due & I have money for holidays. I never owe them anything & they never have any of my money up front & bills are never overlooked. I read the meter each week & update calculation as to what the next bill will be so no nasty shocks here & I remain in control of my account, my consumption, my money & never have to spend anytime sorting things out that have gone wrong.

Terrylw1

Dont OVO do this as they insist on readings to produce the bill? However, they do still estimate if they can't get them but i recall them having tighter controls than the original utilities.

You could try what the other poster has said however its not only the system that amends your DD so it can still go wrong hence as the poster says its really over to you to control it.

Something to consider is that npower are now updating their systems and one function is the ability to tell you your bill value over the phone as it works it out for the operator. This might help you control this, you may have already had your account migrated over...why not ask them as they will know as soon as they enter your account number.