No real saving for DD. Should I go to quarterly cash pay?

jaydee66

I'm at the end of a fixed April 2014 with Scottish Power.
On offer with them is dual standard at Elec 13.084p Gas 4.129p plus 27.39p standing charge each or fixed to Apr 16 for exactly same price with only 10.50 annual discount for Direct debit. Payment at present is £226 per month. Last years use was 6065kwh elec and 45662kwh gas
Am I missing something apart from monthly payments or would I be just as well to sit on no contract and pay cash on quarterly bills until theres an incentive to do otherwise?

silverwhistle

I'll let you do your own spreadsheet number crunching, but if you look on these boards and the number of problems with direct debits and the inability to agree reasonable ones or get back credits, you might give some value to the sheer simplicity of giving a reading and getting a bill and paying it.

In any situation it still makes sense to read your bill regularly to keep an eye on things and to put the money by for when the bill arrives.

Nada666

There may well be some tariffs where there is little difference. Clearly with your double and twice national average usage a fixed disount of £10.50 is not worth it (where you are not bothered about other advantages.)

If you average £225 per month then a winter demand could easily be £1500* and more. If that is more preferable to you than the possible variance in a monthly debit then go ahead.

Have you also checked single-fuel tariffs? At your sort of usage they are likely to be better (plus you also have the advantage that you can probably ignore any ties - you can check the market every three months and happily pay a £30 exit fee if worthwhile.)

(ETA * Of course you can avoid this and make payments (or put money aside) whenever you like over the three months before to mitigate things.)

Nada666

jaydee66 wrote: »

would I be just as well to sit on no contract and pay cash on quarterly bills until theres an incentive to do otherwise?

I trust you are looking today for new tariffs (and suppliers) to switch to? And not sitting around? A £750 per year saving is £60 extra each month on SP's standard tariff.

jaydee66

I know we have high usage which was fine w when energy prices were lower and our bills are high in winter. We keep track of meter reads and submit them regularly. I have done comparisons and in real terms there is very little saving with the other providers. I get continual phone calls during the winter to increase my DD but it averages out over the summer when there is less usage. I suppose what im really asking if there are higher charges if i'm not in a payment plan because i cnat see any on SP website apart from losing the 5.50 per utility annual discount. Thnx

jaydee66

Hi Nada666 sorry if I came across as not doing anything about it.:)
I have been sitting over the weekend comparing deals and even phoned SP and the amounts that I would be paying per kwh and standing charge didnt vary whether I paid by DD or not other that the 5.50 disc. All they wanted do was hike up my DD .