Monthly DD rip off?

System

Robin9 wrote: »

Time and time again we read on this forum that my DD has been set as £xx but I've got a big bill and it is obvious that some DD are set at a stupidly low figure and people are tempted to accept because you will save £2 a month by going DD

IMO DD are fine for a bill like Council Tax where it really is a fixed amount and won't adjust until the April. They do fall down with Utility bills where at the very least they are a guess - I would suggest they be banned until the user has established their own history for 12 months with their supplier.

I was brought up never to pay a estimated bill and used to ring up with my own readings and get a new bill

I disagree. The supplier has 70 years of historical data to refer to and it is given the AQ and EAC for the property on transfer. The problem is that consumers don't bother to check what they have been using, or just do not know. In the latter case, it is best to set the projections slightly high. Close monitoring of the use of energy can prevent unexpected bills The problem is that a lot of people wrongly believe that the fixed element of the supply contract is the monthly DD.

macman

I suspect the OP thought that a fixed tariff meant that his bill would be fixed at £130 per month. Such naivety is not uncommon.
OP, please post your annual kWh consumption on each fuel, available from your annual statement. Without that key info, no one can help you. Also confirm how the property is heated and hot watered.

Cardew

About half the complaints about direct debits we get on MSE is they are set too high; the other half of the complaints is they are set too low.


The reasons given for too high or too low a DD level always seem to be blamed on the Utility companies by posters- how many threads do we see containing the words 'rip-off'.(like this thread)


These days the discount for payment by DD is relatively small on many tariffs. For people who can't, or won't, 'run' their utility bills properly, I think there is a case for payment quarterly, albeit the protests will then be about a £500 winter quarter bill.

System

Cardew wrote: »

About half the complaints about direct debits we get on MSE is they are set too high; the other half of the complaints is they are set too low.


The reasons given for too high or too low a DD level always seem to be blamed on the Utility companies by posters- how many threads do we see containing the words 'rip-off'.(like this thread)


These days the discount for payment by DD is relatively small on many tariffs. For people who can't, or won't, 'run' their utility bills properly, I think there is a case for payment quarterly, albeit the protests will then be about a £500 winter quarter bill.

The problem with discounts is that they distort the energy calculation. For example, I have 2 suppliers. If I switched to E.oN's latest v18 tariff, it would cost me about £24 per year more. However, when I put the E.oN discount to one side, I can see that I would pay E.oN £52 per year more for gas and £2 a year more for electricity.

The gap between my present supplier and E.oN would increase if I used more energy than predicted as the discount doesn't change.

specialboy

backfoot wrote: »

Much as I try to help fellow posters and offer advice on charges and technical issues, there is a point where even my patience wears thin.

Quite often, an Energy Supplier will get it wrong either by over aggressive Direct Debits or billing errors etc.but this and another almost parallel thread are very frustrating.

There is information in abundance from the bills through to the internet to understand these high cost parts of our lives. The answer is to simply use it.

'Specialboy' has been paying nearly £200 a month towards energy charges recently without realising it and was also happy to pay £130 per month without baulking at the idea, even though the need for such energy is likely to be totally excessive.

I live in a different world.

Is it a cultural/generation thing? The same people, even my kids, will pay for mobile phone contracts which are disproportionate to their needs.

'Specialboy' doesn't have time until thursday when he has a few hours to sort it out !:eek: That's despite saying earlier 'I'm off this week so will be shopping around for a better deal but just wanted to know your thoughts on the above.'

Say's it all really.

For you information I work every hour I can to put food on the table and this is my first week off since September, I was working Xmas day and Boxing Day too, this morning I have been helping my daughter move home and soon I'm going to my nephews funeral so yes it will be Thursday before I have a few hours to myself. IDIOT.

specialboy

matelodave wrote: »

I do agree - Gas, electric & water bills aren't difficult but some people seem to think that you need a degree to work it all out.

However in my opinion it's just plain idleness because they can't be bothered to check their meters, bills and bank statements.

They then blame everyone else for their own shortcomings as the title of this thread suggests.

I'm a firm believer that budgeting and money management (including how to read bills, meters and bank statements) should be on the school curriculum rather than some of the other airy-fairy stuff which most kids will never use.

Who am I blaming?? The title is a question not a statement.

specialboy

A couple of posters above have hinted that my title is accusing the energy company of ripping me off, the title is posed as a question not an accusation.

reeac

OK, you,re posing a question but as you're giving us no data regarding meter readings, annual consumptions or prior credit or deficit no one can answer that question.
Be aware that those of us who have no gas supply and may therefore use oil or solid fuel for heating buy our fuel ahead of time and buy only a few times per annum - in my case either once or twice. It's not rocket science to keep tabs on such things.

backfoot

specialboy wrote: »

For you information I work every hour I can to put food on the table and this is my first week off since September, I was working Xmas day and Boxing Day too, this morning I have been helping my daughter move home and soon I'm going to my nephews funeral so yes it will be Thursday before I have a few hours to myself. IDIOT.

If you are on a tight budget, there is even more reason to conduct basic financial management. I examine my online bank account/s every day and it takes about 5 minutes. It is worth examining each and every bill as they arrive from Utility Bills, Phone Contracts, mobile phones etc to check nothing untoward is happening.You are no different from millions of families who manage these things within their own busy lives.

Understanding Energy charges is the forerunner to managing your heating and in turn reducing costs.Your failure to understand what a fixed price contract means and how the Direct Debit system works is the problem you have in this thread.

Switching Supplier/tariff may reduce your costs but if you don't manage your consumption you will be spending way above your needs.

To answer the question. No It is not a DD rip off.

specialboy

Update. Have been on to Extra Energy and it seems that they have miscalculated by a long chalk. The reading for my electric meter on my online account dated October 15 is followed by an A meaning actual but when I read it myself it's actually still nearly a thousand units less 3 months later. Thus means that any money I have paid for electric since October 31st (on Nov 4th £294 was taken from my bank to bring the account up to date) is owed back to me plus the money I have paid already for the extra 1000 units. That's what I can gather anyway, just waiting for the revamped calculation from them via email.