Monthly DD rip off?

backfoot

JohnM5206 wrote: »

To be fair to OP, he deos make the point about the 1000 units, not that it was an overread of 1000 but:
"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"
That means to me that he has been charged 3 months consumption plus 1000 units and the amount of £294 has been charged to balance the account. The DD for months after the balancing charge has been adjusted upwards to take account of annual consumption of 125% + 1000 units. Without annual consumption that figure cannot be quantified but could well be a DD based on 150% of actual consumption - which would tally with £130 per month becoming £194.
Not disagreeing with the benefits of regular checking but trying to understand the numbers in this case.

Yes the context for the adjustments is crucial for any understanding.The OP seems to think that asking for the additional information is critical of him, whereas I am trying to illustrate why such information leads to a full understanding of the position.

I assume the original and subsequent DD's are for gas and electricity, although it is not specifically stated. I live in a similar sized period property which is sadly energy inefficient and gas heated.

My own electricity DD is £44 per month. I can see that the misread of 1000 units would cause a revision but an ongoing revision per month of £64 upwards after collecting the initial arrears doesn't stack up. It feels like an enormous figure to me.

If it was the case, I would have expected any decent billing system to have rejected such a reading as outside normal limits.

Is the real answer that the original DD was set too low for both gas and electricity? Yes the catch up/balancing is partially for the electricity over read but the catch up is also on gas arrears?

If the OP gave us more data we could advise.

Robisere

First thing to understand about all energy suppliers, is that they base the next 12 months of use, upon the last 12 months. In my case, this led to a horrific case of being charged £197 per month for Night Storage Economy 7 heating, in a small Sheltered Housing bungalow. The heaters were ancient and ran out of heat by 4 pm at the latest: they were designed for people who worked and came home in the evening to switch them on, not for retired people who need heat either all day (in cold months) or at various periods during the day. We 35+ tenants fought for Gas Central Heating and got it. After the change to Dual Fuel, we needed new electricity meters, which caused more problems. The first engineer to come took one look and said that it was a 3-phase supply, which he was unqualified to deal with: apparently this was due to the emergency call-boxes in each room of each bungalow. It took a total of 5 months before a suitably qualified engineer came, mainly due to the last one not passing on the message that another was needed. Eventually I took my case to the MD of the energy company. The result was a refund of £444 from them, and they forced the electricity supply company to pay a similar amount. I now pay a monthly DD of £67 and have a healthy Credit balance of £450+. They offered to refund this, but I will wait until April and the winter is over: I have been burned once, never again!

I have to say that, once EDF realised the mistake, they were quick to compensate me and quick to rectify matters. I have always checked, downloaded and printed my bank statements and all utility bills. We are disabled Seniors on a fixed income and that is an absolute necessity.

I receive constant emails from EDF regarding "cheaper" alternative suppliers, but I do not quantify any service in that manner. To me, good and efficient service is worth perhaps paying a little extra, although a close look at the latest "cheaper" supplier, confirms my opinion: there are hidden costs and matters in the fine print of T&C's, which make it potentially more expensive. The sysytem I have now, works fine for our needs. I send a meter reading online and within 48 hours (often same day) I receive an email to tell me to check my Bill. I download, save and print it.

I would also recommend anyone having problems, not to use Ofgen before taking the problem to the MD of the supplier.

Cardew

Robisere wrote: »

Eventually I took my case to the MD of the energy company. The result was a refund of £444 from them, and they forced the electricity supply company to pay a similar amount.


I receive constant emails from EDF regarding "cheaper" alternative suppliers

I would also recommend anyone having problems, not to use Ofgen before taking the problem to the MD of the supplier.

I am not sure who you mean by the 'energy company' and the 'electricity supply company'


Why would EDF send you constant emails about their rival companies?

JohnM5206

"Why would EDF send you constant emails about their rival companies? "
When I was with EDF up to about 18 months ago they did exactly that. They advised the cheapest tariff available, but cautioned that cheapest was not necessarily best (cf Extra Energy).

JohnM5206

backfoot wrote: »

Yes the context for the adjustments is crucial for any understanding.The OP seems to think that asking for the additional information is critical of him, whereas I am trying to illustrate why such information leads to a full understanding of the position.

I assume the original and subsequent DD's are for gas and electricity, although it is not specifically stated. I live in a similar sized period property which is sadly energy inefficient and gas heated.

My own electricity DD is £44 per month. I can see that the misread of 1000 units
<snip>

If the OP gave us more data we could advise.

I don't think the misread is 1000 units: it is one quarter's consumption plus 1000 units. That could be any number depending on consumption (could be an overread of 2000-2500 units) but OP has said that reading the meter three months after the actual reading quoted the meter still shows 1000 units less than that billed.

Agreed that some actual numbers would make life easier for us all.

SG27

I would never use a company that doesn't have the option to just pay for exactly what you use each month. Estimated bills just are not worth the hassle!

teddysmum

SG27 wrote: »

I would never use a company that doesn't have the option to just pay for exactly what you use each month. Estimated bills just are not worth the hassle!

If you provide readings, there is no need for estimates.

victor2

Cardew wrote: »

Why would EDF send you constant emails about their rival companies?

They do though. I received 3 in December, but have only had one so far this month, which contains:

We promised to tell you if anyone launches a new tariff that could save you more than £1 a week (on average, at typical use*). So that's what we're doing.

We've spotted the following^:
• First Utility has introduced First Fixed March 2017
• First Utility has introduced First Fixed March 2017 +
• Npower has introduced Fixed Energy Online January 2017
• PFP Energy has introduced Together - February 2017
• So Energy has introduced So Badger
• iSupplyEnergy has introduced iFix 201702

Doesn't make a lot of business sense, but it's what they do in the name of customer service...

SG27

teddysmum wrote: »

If you provide readings, there is no need for estimates.

That depends. Some companies like to estimate your usage throughout the year then divide it into equal payments. Which is what sainsburys tried to get me to do.

macman

Which is a perfectly rational way of doing it, since most people's income doesn't increase from summer to winter. What matters is the accuracy of the estimate.