Switched from Coop in February - Just had HUGE final bill!

Dracowoman

We switched from the Coopertive Energy in February using the Cheap Energy Club, submitted final readings to old and new (Sainsburys) suppliers. New company is great and our DD has alrady gone down from £240 per month to £135 per month for combined fuel.

Here's my problem. 7 months on, and I have JUST received my final bill from the Cooperative, for £355.38! I thought we were in credit, or at the very least were covered, especially as we'd hard nothing for 7 months!

I've sent them an email today, and explained that I can't possibly pay it for personal reasons (long story) and what do they propose. And that bill is after my £140 warm home discount has been applied.

I don't think this counts under the back billing ruling, and I'm not confident about some of the meter readings they have showing on the two accounts. when their computers when PHUT months ago, I've not been able to get into our online account since, and I don't have any bills etc here as we went paperless.

Any advice anyone can offer?

System

Hi - this shouldn't happen but it does. The first thing to check is that the opening reading on your new account agrees with the closing reading on your Coop account. This may have an 'E' against it: not to worry, thus just means that the reading has been subject to third-party arbitration. If the meter readings agree, then it would seem that you have been using more energy than you thought. Remember, unless you have been providing frequent actual meter readings to the Coop then any credit balance showing on the account is meaningless: it is just payment on account.

footyguy

Dracowoman wrote: »

We switched from the Coopertive Energy in February using the Cheap Energy Club, submitted final readings to old and new (Sainsburys) suppliers. New company is great and our DD has alrady gone down from £240 per month to £135 per month for combined fuel.

Here's my problem. 7 months on, and I have JUST received my final bill from the Cooperative, for £355.38! I thought we were in credit, or at the very least were covered, especially as we'd hard nothing for 7 months!

I've sent them an email today, and explained that I can't possibly pay it for personal reasons (long story) and what do they propose. And that bill is after my £140 warm home discount has been applied.

I don't think this counts under the back billing ruling, and I'm not confident about some of the meter readings they have showing on the two accounts. when their computers when PHUT months ago, I've not been able to get into our online account since, and I don't have any bills etc here as we went paperless.

Any advice anyone can offer?

Do you understand the bill?
Do you think it is correct?

If not, you should give those reasons to the supplier.

If you do not think it is incorrect, I fear you will have little choice than to pay it. I note that you suggest you can't pay the bill. The supplier may allow you to spread the cost over a few months. e.g. if you were still with the supplier, they would normally allow you to spread this cost over the period the debt accumulated (7 months?)
However, as you have now left the supplier, don't be surprised if they will not go past about 3 monthly payments to clear the debt.

If that is still not possible, you will probably have to go into detail with the supplier your current financial situation detailing all income & expenditure.
I would suggest if this is the case, you pop yourself over to the debt free wannabe board, where they have an example of an SoA (Statement of Affairs) to help you possibly get ahead of the game. The people there are also very helpful to those with debt problems, and may, if you post full details, make some realistic proposals that you can then put to the creditor

Good luck!

teddysmum

Dracowoman wrote: »

New company is great and our DD has alrady gone down from £240 per month to £135 per month for combined fuel.

£240x12= £2880. £135X12=£1620. Difference=£1260.


Be aware that this does not mean that you will save £1260 over the year, as usage changes with the seasons and monthly DD payments are only an estimate. You can only estimate savings by comparing rates and standing charges over a known usage.


My provider, after a 6 month review, dropped my DD to under £50, but looking at usage and the credit caused by a payment being made between readings and the bill calculation, I know that this will not cover winter payments, so the DD will have to rise soon.

modsandmockers

OP - problems like yours are very often caused by the use of estimated meter readings, and the only way to avoid them is to read your meters yourself at regular intervals, keep a record of them and submit them, online or by phone, to the energy supplier. Energy suppliers are under no obligation to base their charges on actual consumption, and they only have to physically read their customers’ meters at two-yearly intervals. The fact that your DD payment has gone down is, unfortunately, not a guarantee that your energy costs have gone down - the lower monthly figure is almost certainly based on a mere guesstimate of what your total annual consumption might be.

As you say, Co-op Energy have been having problems this year and right now, sfaik, none of their customers can access their historic bills online - they have to ask for a copy to be sent in the post or sent by email. I suggest you ask for copies of your historic bills so that you can see a history of your meter readings (actual or estimated) and try to work out some figures for yourself.

As a top priority, I think you need to work out an accurate figure for a recent year’s actual annual energy consumption using actual meter readings and measured in kWh rather than £p. This should enable you to calculate, using the tariff prices which Sainsbury’s are charging you, a reasonably correct figure for the current year’s energy costs. If you then divide that figure by 12, you will have a good idea of a reasonable monthly contribution. The last thing you need right now is to be running up another deficit with Sainsbury’s to add to the deficit with the Co-op.

Cardew

Dracowoman wrote: »

New company is great and our DD has alrady gone down from £240 per month to £135 per month for combined fuel.

Welcome to the forum.


If your INITIAL DD went down to, say £10 a month would the new company be even better?


Companies will set their initial DD as low as it takes to lure in customers, and then it will increase to cover future payments and pay back any arrears built up.


£240 a month is 78% more expensive than £135 a month and there is never anything like that differential between fuel company tariffs.


You have switched from Co-Operative Energy to Sainsbury's Energy. Looking at www.energyhelpline.com for someone in the Midlands with the UK average consumption the cheapest Co-Operative Energy tariff is £893 a year and the cheapest Sainsbury's tariff is £926.


So on the face of things you have switched to a company with more expensive tariffs!

poppellerant

Dracowoman, I would be prepared to watch your direct debit payments rise as the colder weather comes in and gives your bills a reality check. Right now your usage is biased to the warmer weather, which is why your DD amounts are currently low.

modsandmockers

poppellerant wrote: »

Dracowoman, I would be prepared to watch your direct debit payments rise as the colder weather comes in and gives your bills a reality check. Right now your usage is biased to the warmer weather, which is why your DD amounts are currently low.

No - the monthly DD payments should reflect the total annual energy bill divided into 12 equal instalments. The whole idea is that the customer does not have to deal with seasonal variations. But it only works if the customer and the supplier know the recent history of the customer's annual energy consumption, and the customer provides actual meter readings throughout the year.

teddysmum

modsandmockers wrote: »

No - the monthly DD payments should reflect the total annual energy bill divided into 12 equal instalments. The whole idea is that the customer does not have to deal with seasonal variations. But it only works if the customer and the supplier know the recent history of the customer's annual energy consumption, and the customer provides actual meter readings throughout the year.

My supplier now reassesses every 6 months, so my DDs, at the moment are too low for winter, but will, of course, rise at next assessment.


This could well be because of complaints that suppliers caused large accumulations of credit during lower usage seasons, through having 12 equal payments.

modsandmockers

teddysmum wrote: »

My supplier now reassesses every 6 months, so my DDs, at the moment are too low for winter, but will, of course, rise at next assessment.

This could well be because of complaints that suppliers caused large accumulations of credit during lower usage seasons, through having 12 equal payments.

I think the idea of having a lower summer payment and a higher winter payment risks making a nonsense of the whole idea of a monthly payment plan. Your DDs at the moment are undoubtedly too low for winter but surely they are also too high for summer? Right now, your account should be showing a healthy credit balance (it's like a squirrel putting away some extra nuts...). My supplier states that the monthly DD scheme "means that you won't end up paying more in winter or less in summer - just the same amount all the year round". But I have no doubt that some suppliers would be very happy to try to make sure that as many of their customers as possible never go into a debit balance situation.

Cardew

modsandmockers wrote: »

I think the idea of having a lower summer payment and a higher winter payment risks making a nonsense of the whole idea of a monthly payment plan.

However as you state in post#9:

But it only works if the customer and the supplier know the recent history of the customer's annual energy consumption, and the customer provides actual meter readings throughout the year.

With the frequent switching of accounts it is very difficult for suppliers to get a new customer's history of consumption, and most tend to set the initial DD too low in order to entice new customers.

I have often thought it would be an idea for the losing company to give that history to the gaining supplier(with the customer's permission of course).