£80 a month debit indefinitely with scottish power...what are my options?

cashmonger

I used to only pay £35 a month a couple of years ago then suddenly out of the blue they told me it would go up to £80 a month. This was really a crushing blow at the time. I thought that it was just a temporary thing but it's been a year or more Ive been paying that price.

Ive kept sending them meter readings but still they say it is £80 a month and each time they say they 'may' adjust it but it never happens.

They said I had to pay back some energy when it went over but i dont see how i could have to be paying for this long. I never went wildly over in any period.

My account currently says £190 in credit so that means it is mine not theirs right? I forgot which is which credit vs debit. :P

I checked my average consumption over almost a year (9months) and it is 11.4 units per day on average.

What do you guys advise I do?

This 80 pounds seems crazy to be paying indefinitely. I did a quick comparison and it said that 45-55 was the average for different deals.

Im confused by fixed rate plans. Scottish power have an offer on the website for £54 for a fixed rate. What should I go for given the above details?

Thanks.

Robin9

Is this gas and electric?

Can you provide actual readings for the last 3 months and which tariffs you are on. Its been a cold winter so these readings will be high.

I would be pleased to have a DD of £80

System

The only way to compare energy deals is to use projected annual consumption figures in kWhs. You say that you have checked your average consumption and it is 11.4 units/per day. Gas or electricity?

A fixed rate tariff is exactly what it says on the tin. You contract to buy gas and electricity for a fixed period of time. That said, the only things that are fixed are the standing charges and cost per kWh. In other words, if you and your neighbour are on the same tariff and you use twice as much energy as they do then you can expect to pay a lot more.

You need to look carefully at all the old bills to make sure that they are based on actual and not estimated meter readings.

CashStrapped

Agree with above. I also ask, is that for gas and electric?

To actually work out your real usage, you need to work out what you have used in KWH for both gas and electric.

Please post your confirmed meter readings (not estimates) and dates you took them for the past year. Then we can work out your yearly usage in KWH.

To be honest, if you have been paying £80 for a couple of years as you indicate, and you are only £190 in credit then it sounds like they have it just right.

Companies like to build up a winter credit balance as your usage shoots up in the winter months. We are only half way through winter so I would expect that credit balance to be used up by your winter usage.

I am £120 in credit, but that will be reduced by at least £60 after my next bill.

Alter_ego

I always phone them (SSE) and ask them to adjust my dd when they raise it. As long as I'm in credit they do it without question. In fact I set my own level of dd based on annual consumption, although I do add £1 or so a month to stay in credit.

cashmonger

I only have Electric.

The tariff jsut says Standard.

Im a single person in a 1/small 2 bedroom apartment.

Number of Days|Bill Amount| Consumption| Daily Average
11/04/2014 - 04/07/2014    |            85|                                          120.66                |706              |            8.31                                              
05/07/2014 - 10/10/2014    |            98 |                                       183.37           |      1106           |          11.29
11/10/2014 - 08/01/2015      |            90                      |                   205.21                |1276                     |14.18

CashStrapped

Can you go back further?

Do you have a confirmed reading from this time last year or thereabouts.

tripled

Adding another quarter of winter usage would give an average of just under £60 per month, however, it should be noted last quarter was relatively mild so you may use a bit more this quarter. Even so, you would have to double your usage this quarter to use that credit up before the spring.

It seems like a more reasonable figure would be around £65-£70 per month now the debt is cleared. However, the Standard tariff is unlikely to be competetive, so I would suggest shopping around for a better deal and looking for a DD of around £60 per month. £45 per month seems a bit on the low side to me.

If you find your bill from the quarter before so you have 12 months usage, you should put the figures into a reputable comparison site or use MSE's "Switch Event II".

cashmonger

Last year:
14 oct 2013- 8 Jan 2014

688 units used
charge: 179

If they arent grossly ripping me off and it seems about right to yall for my usage then I wont worry about it too much. Someone above said that fixed price doesnt actually mean fixed price? There is antoher online tarriff offer for scottish which is quoting 65 a month. Do they all end up pretty much the same anyway depending on the amount of energy Im using? ie I pay for whatever I use whatever plan Im on right?

CashStrapped

What was your actual meter reading on the 8th jan 2014 and the actual meter read on 8th jan 2015?

The cheapest tariff with Scottish Power is their Online price Fix feb 2016.

If you are on their standard tariff, you should switch to this immediatly.

Although it is called a "fixed" tariff, it is only the price that is fixed. You can move at any time without penalty to any other tariff you wish. You can also leave scottish power any time you wish.

It should be called a price promise rather than a "fix".

tripled

Just to clarify CashStrapped's statement, the price you pay per unit of power is fixed as opposed to your direct debit (which as you must be aware can change depending on your usage). Not everyone knows that

You should switch to their cheapest tariff (or indeed to another provider). Depending on where you live, there can be differences of up to around 20% between the cheapest and most expensive rates available. I'm not sure what the savings would be in your case, but likely to be fairly significant as the "Big 6" Standard tariffs are among the more expensive.

Your cables/pipes and meters stay the same, as does the company that maintains the supply in your area. The only thing that changes is the rate you pay and who you pay it to.