Sound right to you?

evergreenandy

Just had to do some meter readings. I'm with Scottish Power on their Online Fixed August 2013 plan ans it's showing my charges on the forecast summary as £1267.07 and a new balance of £315.13 making it £1613.13 which seems stupidly high to me?

I'm currently paying a direct debit of £134.40 per month.

Is this currently so high because it's the winter months and it's basing it off of that, as we have the heating on more etc...

I remember with British Gas in my old property that we paid £80 per month and while i know this property has one more bedroom, I can't see it making that much of a difference, can you?

Thanks.

Going4TheDream

I too am with SP also changed for BG, strangely when I joined them for what was supposed to be a cheaper tariff they set my DD £23 higher than my BG one now, with the price rise they have now decided to put it up another £13...yet like you my forecast and my DD dont tally up and its seems that I am overpaying.

They do supposedly work it out so that you save in the summer when use is less to offset in the winter, yet they do this on a rolling 3 months or so it said last night when I logged in to enter my readings. I cant get my head around this as in the summer it would mean my DD would go down and in the winter go up a lot...defeats the object a bit really

Anyway I contacted them last night to query their forecast as it seems that looking at my bill history the warmer 6 months my bills are only costing a total two months DD for the whole 6 months, which means they expect each of the colder 6 months to come out at £200 a month!!!!! (which seems a bit crazy)

evergreenandy

Yeah I remember speaking to them and their explanation was:

BG and EON etc... do it like this:

A set figure that is mutually agreed all year round, so that you end up going into debit in the winter through underpayment and credit in the summer due to overpayment so that it all balances out in the long run and you have no big unexpected bills and can budget better.

SP do it like this:

Every 3 months they agree a new DD amount with you so that you have no "nasty" surprises if you underpaid and you pay exactly for what you use.

I'm not sure which I prefer, but I guess I'll be sad in the winter and happy in the summer lol.

good_advice

Good morning to both of you.
Sounds like for 2013 you task will be to cut down on the amount of gas and electric used in your homes. Realistic ? YES.
It all depends on how much work you both want to put in and if you are prepared to live in a cooler house.

I am also with Scottish power and are now a low user.
3 bed semi with 4 adults.

evergreenandy

good_advice wrote: »

Good morning to both of you.
Sounds like for 2013 you task will be to cut down on the amount of gas and electric used in your homes. Realistic ? YES.
It all depends on how much work you both want to put in and if you are prepared to live in a cooler house.

I am also with Scottish power and are now a low user.
3 bed semi with 4 adults.

Got any tips? The house we're in is a 4 bedroom (I work from home) 3 storey town-house that is only a couple of years old, semi-detached with a new boiler and good insulation etc...

Thanks.

macman

If you tell us your actual annual kWh consumption, then meaningful advice can be given. ££'s per month tell us nothing about your actual usage.
If you have a debt of £315, then a large chunk of your £134pm DD is made up of repaying the debt. So if the debt recovery is set to take say 6 months, £52pm is going towards the debt, not towards ongoing usage. Your bill or statement should make this clear.
On the above example, your actual monthly usage is only costing £82, so you need to determine how much debt you are repaying per month.
You cannot possibly compares two different properties just on the basis of one more or less bedroom.

good_advice

Tips, I have plenty. Getting the fuel bill down is something I act on every day. Quietly. No need to have cross words with the family.

First one, I am just going to put the washing on the line for a few hours. It is a nice sunny day.

Turn the Ch off. No need to live in a house at a constant 22C in winter. Yes, I am home all day when not walking the dog!

3rd useful tip. Watch the family - when people go out go around and unplug on the quiet. Must have saves me £'s.

evergreenandy

Will take them tips on board Many thanks

evergreenandy

This is how it looks currently. I know that SP forgot to set the DD up properly in April so we didn't start paying until a few months later.


Date Bills / Charges Payments Balance
01/01/13 £343.21 (actual) £315.26 in Debit
12/12/12 £125.00 £27.95 in Credit
12/11/12 £125.00 £97.05 in Debit
15/10/12 £181.30 (actual) £222.05 in Debit
12/10/12 £89.00 £40.75 in Debit
12/09/12 £89.00 £129.75 in Debit
06/08/12 £122.09 (estimate) £218.75 in Debit

Usage shows as :(electricity first two columns, gas last two columns):


Bill period Number of days Total Daily Average Total Daily Average
12/10/12 - 31/12/12 81 1630 20 4255 53
03/08/12 - 11/10/12 70 1157 17 1012 14
20/06/12 - 02/08/12 44 1038 24 n/a n/a
25/05/12 - 02/08/12 70 n/a n/a 385 6
24/04/12 - 24/05/12 31 n/a n/a 846 27

Thanks.

Going4TheDream

good_advice wrote: »

Good morning to both of you.
Sounds like for 2013 you task will be to cut down on the amount of gas and electric used in your homes. Realistic ? YES.
It all depends on how much work you both want to put in and if you are prepared to live in a cooler house.

I am also with Scottish power and are now a low user.
3 bed semi with 4 adults.

I dont recall my query being the cost of the fuel itself (which yes is ridiculous), more a recognition of the OP's post and how the forecast against the DD doesnt somehow add up in my case.

I have no problem paying for what I use, the objection for me is that when my forecasts gives XYZ and my actual DD paid to SP will exceed this forecast by 25%, like the OP we both seem to be looking for an understanding of this.....