SSE electricity letter

unz91

Hi all,

I've recently moved out of my family home and into my own place with a flatmate. We set up our electricity with sse (not really knowing what we were doing) and agreed to pay £34pm

I received a letter today informing me that they had received the £102 from the past 3 months, however it also stated that the total charges to the statement are £249, meaning we owe £147.

I'm a bit worried as i can't afford for £147 to be snatched out of my bank account as I have my rent to pay, transport for work etc.

Can anybody tell me how this works? Will they simply raise the monthly costs to cover this amount, or will they actually take £147 from my bank account in one lump sum? It is taken as direct debit.

We are happy to do what we need to do in order to sort things out, but simply can't afford such a shock payment to come out at this time. They have definitely taken £34 (on Monday) but nothing else which has left me a bit confused.

Also - the letter doesn't really explain much, simply says 'you owe us' but absolutely no indication of how they'll take the money, or when. It does explain our meter reading and how much we're using per week etc but that's about it.

Thanks if anyone can explain this to me. i hate money worries.

Joyful

Just call them to change the DD amount. They should then include the balance.

System

There are a couple of things that you need to check.

1. Was the debit balance based on an estimated or actual meter reading? If it was the former then you need to read the meter and pass the reading to the supplier.

2. All suppliers will review DD payments but they are required to inform you before they change your DD amount. This review normally takes place at the 6 month contract point.

3. Clearly, you use more energy in the Winter months so it isn't unusual to end up with a 'you owe us' debit balance. That said, the longer you leave your DD amount at the present level; the greater the debt will be and, more importantly, the higher your DD payments will be over the remaining few months of your contract.

It goes like this. My annual usage is assumed to be 'X' units costing £408 per year or £34 per month. In practice, my actual usage is closer to £500 per year. This latter figure should be shown in some form on your bill.

Forget about the debit for the moment. You have paid £128 towards the £500 figure. You therefore will have to pay £500 - £132 over the remaining 8 months or £44 per month to achieve a zero balance after 12 months. Leave it until SSE contacts you at the 6 month point, and the sums change to £500 - 204 or £49 per month.

It would make sense to look carefully at your bill and offer to make a higher monthly payment now. If your actual consumption drops, then the normal SSE review will lead to reduction in your monthly DD.

Clearly, if the projected usage on your bill matches the projected usage that you signed up with, then you need do nothing. The debit balance will reduce over the Spring and Summer months.

I hope that this makes sense.

macman

Provide regular reads and this cannot happen. The supplier only has to read every two years, all intermediate reads are down to you. Assuming this is an all-electric property, £34pm is insanely low-the average would be at least 300% higher.

spiro

unz91 wrote: »

Hi all,

I've recently moved out of my family home and into my own place with a flatmate. We set up our electricity with sse (not really knowing what we were doing) and agreed to pay £34pm

I received a letter today informing me that they had received the £102 from the past 3 months, however it also stated that the total charges to the statement are £249, meaning we owe £147.
.

If you were to use the same amount every month (you don't because of winter) your annual bill would be £249/3*12 = £996 or £83 per month. For the first 3 months you have underpaid by £49 per month. To achieve a zero balance at the end of a year the supplier should change you DD to £83 + £147/9 = £99.33 per month. £34 per month was a stupidly low amount.

dogshome

The OP keps referring to a 'Letter' that says they have used £249 of power against D/Debit payments made of only £102, but makes no mention of recieving a detailed bill

If this is true, it is cause for a COMPLAINT, best in writing to SSE