First Utility

wimmer

Greets - I am a First-Utility customer, and I have asked on 2 occasions where on their website, can I find my running balance, or this time of year how much I am in credit. All they come back with is if pay by direct debit, the payments even out over the year. That maybe so, but do you think I should be able, (legally entitled), to access my current balance or do you think this is a question for OFGEN? Thanks.

st999

You can find out how much gas and electricity you have used by using the readings from your meter.
Then using your DD payments you can find out how much you have paid.
You then subtract the cost from your balance and you know how much you are in credit or debit.

I have an excel spreadsheet that does all that for me when I enter my, sometimes daily, meter readings.

Very simple.

matelodave

I am also a FU customer and all I have to do is look at my on-line bill.
It tells me what my last meter reading was (I give them that info once a month) it also tells me how much I've used since the previous one, how much it will cost, how much I've paid and how much they owe me (or I owe them).
I can also look at my meter readings (which I also log separately) so I know how much I've used since I started with them.


I'm not sure what problem you have with them unless it doesn't work properly

wimmer

Mine tells me: 'Recent Bills' ; My Tariff; Direct Debit; Recent payments.
It does not tell me 'how much they owe me (or I owe them)'. This is basis of my question, I cannot see the balance, they (FirstUtility), will not tell me where to look. If I don't know where to look for it I don't know if it's missing, (for some reason).

matelodave

I log in to my account, I click Bills & Payments it then gives me a list of my bills. I click on the last one (in my case 04-Sep-14 with a bill number). I click on that and it opens the bill as a PDF document.

On the front page it says Your Electricity Statement. It shows my balance from my last bill, my payments since the last bill, my new charges (ie how much this bill will be) and then the balance showing if I'm in credit or debit.

Page 2 shows how much I've paid and what tariff I'm on in pence per kwh and the standing charge rate

Page 3 show my electricity readings for this bill and the last one, and works out how many units I've used it then has the calculation of units x kwh & days x standing charge, adds them together, adds 5% Vat and give the total for this month.

So you may not be finding your bill because it's all there if you can.

However that said it took FU over six months to get their software sorted out so that I could see my bill and they had to set up another account number and transfer my payments from the old one to the new one. If you can't find yours then an E-mail to their customer service dept is called for.

I keep a very careful check of my consumption (I read my meter weekly) I also make sure that my direct debits are being taken and do my own sums so I can keep track of it all myself so if it all goes wrong I've got my own records. I also download the bills to my laptop so I've got them - I don't trust anything to the supplier

Simples1957

I am a First Utility customer and wouldn't advise anyone to touch them with a very long barge pole. After 2 emails (which were ignored), 5 phone calls and a letter of complaint I have not received a bill since 17th October 2013. I am still making monthly direct debits and submitting my meter readings. I have been told I am £1000 in credit yet until I receive a bill I can't get a refund. Every time I ring I am reassured an online bill is being prepared but to date.........nothing. I intend to contact the Ombudsman. So frustrating! Stay well clear!