miffed my gas/elec savings not as quoted

Linda_Donnas

I recently and for the first time used the joined the energy club and switched suppliers through this site.

Previously I was with SSE paying £115p/m

I put in the exact units of gas/electricity I had used in the last 12 months. British Gas was cheapest, £75p/m a saving of nearly £40p/m! Great! I signed up.

I have now got an email from British Gas quoting the same units of gas/electricity used per year that I gave. They said my old calculated payment was £90 and my new was £100 - a saving, granted, but not close to my original £75. I do owe SSE £80, but spread across 12 or even 6 months, it does not calculate - I do not even know how they know this, SSE have only just taken the last meter readings.

What am I missing?

CashStrapped

There are many posts about this. A DD is no indication as to what you are actually using (gas/electric wise) nor to the cost per KWH.

A DD is only a guess by your energy company. You may end up being in credit and get the money back.

or

You may be using much more than last year, hence the increase.

Furthermore a DD is usually an average for the year. So in summer the DD overpays and builds up a credit and in winter the DD is underpaying but the credit is used up. However, if you join a company in winter, your direct debit is usually increased to cover your immediate winter usage as there is no credit on the account to use up.

In terms of your actual use and cost, you need to look at your actual KWH useage and work it out from there.

System

Hi. Welcome to the forum. You may have fallen into the Winter switching black hole. Energy suppliers now have a licence obligation, according to The Energy Ombudsman, not to allow customers to build up any significant debt. My guess is that you are paying slightly more because Winter energy usage is high. Your DD amount should fall when Spring arrives.

JStewer

Linda_Donnas wrote: »

I recently and for the first time used the joined the energy club and switched suppliers through this site.

Previously I was with SSE paying £115p/m

I put in the exact units of gas/electricity I had used in the last 12 months. British Gas was cheapest, £75p/m a saving of nearly £40p/m! Great! I signed up.

I have now got an email from British Gas quoting the same units of gas/electricity used per year that I gave. They said my old calculated payment was £90 and my new was £100 - a saving, granted, but not close to my original £75. I do owe SSE £80, but spread across 12 or even 6 months, it does not calculate - I do not even know how they know this, SSE have only just taken the last meter readings.

What am I missing?

:rotfl:

I see half term is with us...

Euphoria1z

I think all companies should quote their unit rates and standing charges instead of quoting direct debits to save confusion. ( then maybe quote DD in brackets )

phillw

Isn't this the British Gas £100 example Direct Debit email that people aren't reading properly?

tizerbelle

You're correct phillw. Unfortunately the example of a DD recalculation is in huge figures, but the Personal Projection isn't.

Linda, the email you have doesn't actually specify your monthly DD amount. It does show how much you are expected to spend in 12 months in the personal projection bit (so add the two figures together and divide by 12). BG won't confirm the DD amount until your account is set up because they may calculate the DD over 11 months not 12 depending on the date your account switches to them and the date you have selected for the DD payments to be taken