Southern Electric Direct Debit

StarRover

I have, just today, received my quarterly electricity bill which also advises a recalculated (upwards of course!) direct debit monthly payment. I double checked their estimated consumption calculations etc; which I agreed with but then noticed that although their calculations were based on 12 months consumption and 12 months standing charges the final calculation was achieved by dividing the total cost by eleven!

I challenged this with the Customer Service people who quickly agreed that my monthly payment would remain as it was.

Is this miscalculation institutionalised, management approved fraud? Is it legal? Can anyone tell me?

oldwiring

I do not think so. More likely a humankeying error. I could easily make the same mistake. Think of typos in posts to forums. IMHO yours is liekly an isolated case, but no doubt, if it is institutional to SSE Group, we'll hear of it!

Once, long ago BG calculated my DD on 15 months usage!!! I not your word promptly of their reaction. My experience of them is that that is how they work.

BTW I am just a customer like you.

StarRover

Well Oldwiring although I agree that these things can happen I'm very dubious that, that is the cause. These mass calculations are carried out by a sophisticated, validated and verified computer program not individually by clerks with adding machines.

Over the years I've become used to the utility companies 'trying it on' with inflated figures but this is the first time I've seen, what appears to be, an intentional miscalculation.

lexi

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Is this miscalculation institutionalised, management approved fraud? Is it legal? Can anyone tell me?[/QUOTE]


I dunno staRover, but i have jkust checked mine which arrived today. They have also calculated the final amount by 11 months. looks like i will be ringing customer service for an expalination tomorrow.

Cardew

You may well be right in your theory of "miscalculation institutionalised"(nice phrase) but personally I doubt it.

According to the Regulator the Utility companies are owed far more by customers, than they owe to the customers i.e. debit balances are greater than credit balances – that is borne out by the masses of posts on this forum from people with huge debit balances being paid back(interest free) over long periods.

So if their intent is to subtlety ‘manipulate’ DDs to build up a cash surplus, they have been spectacularly unsuccessful in that aim. Also the Regulator would/should come down hard on any deliberate malpractice.

Lastly a DD is an agreement between 2 parties; not something the Utility company can impose.

P.S.
Welcome to the forum.

oldwiring

StarRover wrote: »

Well Oldwiring although I agree that these things can happen I'm very dubious that, that is the cause. These mass calculations are carried out by a sophisticated, validated and verified computer program not individually by clerks with adding machines.

Over the years I've become used to the utility companies 'trying it on' with inflated figures but this is the first time I've seen, what appears to be, an intentional miscalculation.

Well my adj for the Mar/ April adj was worked manuallly and even with computers programming can be incorrect. Whereas in olden times things were checked, even when I retired from banking some 20 years ago it was not so. Personally I had a lot of complicated unscramblings to do: from my experiences, albeit not with a utility co, what has happend to you and others is just a stuff happens situation.

jackieb

I'm with Hydro Electric, which is the same as Southern Electric. Check that they've charged you the new lower prices when they've calculated next year's direct debit payments. On my last statement they had calculated using the old higher price. They were over £100 off in their estimation.