Sainsburys energy bill 😖

LolStevo

I moved into my house in May and switched online to Sainsburys energy as it was the cheapest, I submitted meter readings in June and was waiting for the direct debit to come out monthly as this was as it was set up.

I forgot all about it and in September realised it hadn't come out so I emailed Sainsburys energy who got back to me and said my readings had got stuck in the system so they put them through and said I was £176 debit, I was about to pay that and got a bill for £376. By then I couldn't afford this much and have missed the payment, I have not received another bill for £450 for September to December. To me this seems a lot!

On the bills it says I could be £500 a year better off if I switched tariffs to a fixed one?

It's now on my credit report as a late payment and I can't afford to get a default as I'm looking to get a mortgage next year!

Can anyone help 😢

Robin9

Are your latest 2 bills based on actual or estimated readings ?

LolStevo

It says they read my meter but they must have come when I have been out as I havnt saw them or sent them in?

SwanJon

and how do the readings they provide compare with the readings now?
Do the opening readings on the first bill match the reads you gave in June?

Have you been paying anything towards the bills? Showing willing will often make the rest of the negotiation a little easier.
Have a look at their website - you can make payments/set up a DD there as well as put in readings.

What tariff are they billing you on? If you singed up to a cheap DD one, but they have been billing you on standard, you could ask them to change the bill to give you the cheaper price as they didn't set up the DD (worth a shot).

matelodave

This is a recurring theme on the forum - don't check bank statements, don't check bills, don't read gas, leccy or water meters and then wonder why you got a ginormous bill.


It's not really rocket science, if you read your meters regularly, you'll know how much you are using. If you check your bills you will find out whether they are correct or not and whether you are paying them. If you check your bank statements you'll know whether you are being paid and whether your bills are being paid as well.


You cannot just lay all the blame on someone else - make it a regular habit to spend 15 mins or so a month to makes sure that everything is in order and then, at the very worst, you should only have a month's worth of problems to sort out if it's gone wrong.


If your DD hasn't been taken and you haven't been paying the bill then the money should be sitting in the bank waiting for a bill to come in.


Missing payments is not a good idea as you'll end up with your credit rating trashed which can haunt you for six years and stop you getting credit elsewhere.

System

[QUOTE=LolStevo;69728690

Can anyone help 😢[/QUOTE]

Hi. The short answer is that nobody can really help. You clearly feel that you have been over-charged. The only way to know is to do the sums yourself by looking at the opening readings, taking actual meter readings and working out what you owe. There are a lot of people on this forum that can help check your calculations if you are still worried.

If you have used the energy than you need to have a grown up conversation with your supplier, and ask them for time to pay what you owe. At the same time ask to switch to the lowest tariff that your supplier can offer. There will not let you switch suppliers with a large amount of money owing.