Utility Warehouse bill question

duncan320

This hopefully will be a simple one, i decided sometime ago to change to Utility Warehouse for electric fron NPower, at the time my average Npower bill was about £37 to £40ish per month, as i started with Util warehouse it was £31.16 good deal i save a few pounds then after 7 bills it went to £50.06 i did get to speak to customer services once who said thats how it works out...can anyone explain simply why ?

A_Nice_Englishman

Sound like Utility Warehouse quoted a low monthly payment to get your business. You've used more electricity than you have paid for, have had an interest free loan from UW and now they've raised the monthly payment so you can pay off the loan and then lend them money interest-free.

duncan320

I used the same amount of electric as i always have, if anything less now, since changing to energy bulbs and switching stuff off more. A few friends who i know who recomended them are still on the same amount they was to start with, and they have been with them longer than me. Do utility warehouse rely on meter readings all the bills are the same amount now £50.06 , how can that be right ?

Cardew

To be fair to Utility Warehouse(and I dislike the company and their methods) it is a policy practiced by the operators in most of the utility companies and comparison websites.

They all want the commission by getting you to change supplier, so will quote an unrealistically low Direct Debit to entice you to change.

The only way to know if you are getting a good deal is look at the tariff in detail.

Maz

Don't get this (sorry if I'm being thick here!) Is it not the case that if you pay by DD this will be based on your previous regular usage and if that usage increases (as in winter) your DD will too so that you pay for what you're using? Isn't it a way of spreading your costs over the year in regular monthly payments? Plus can't you inform your supplier of accurate meter readings so that your DD's will reflect this and be adjusted?

duncan320

Well with it been electric i use a equal amount all the time, I have gas central heating and thats with British Gas. There is no time of the year i use more or less than the other. I dont understand why either, i might change back to Npower at least there i understand where my money is going so much per usage etc. I know electric prices have gone up, but not by this much i am sure. And as i said above, if anything i use less now than i did when with Npower as most bulbs are low energy and stuff that used to be on standby at night etc is switched off.

A_Nice_Englishman

Maz wrote: »

Don't get this (sorry if I'm being thick here!) Is it not the case that if you pay by DD this will be based on your previous regular usage and if that usage increases (as in winter) your DD will too so that you pay for what you're using? Isn't it a way of spreading your costs over the year in regular monthly payments? Plus can't you inform your supplier of accurate meter readings so that your DD's will reflect this and be adjusted?

Well, yes, but the energy companies don't publish how they calculate the monthly payments from your usage and in any case the payments can be open to negotiation, especially when switching suppliers. Changes in prices also have their part to play,of course.

You can, as you say, read your meter yourself and pay for exactly what you've used (or more or less until they read the meter) if you want to, though non-DD payments usually cost more.

Cardew

Maz wrote: »

Don't get this (sorry if I'm being thick here!) Is it not the case that if you pay by DD this will be based on your previous regular usage and if that usage increases (as in winter) your DD will too so that you pay for what you're using? Isn't it a way of spreading your costs over the year in regular monthly payments? Plus can't you inform your supplier of accurate meter readings so that your DD's will reflect this and be adjusted?

It should happen as you suggest i.e. your DD based on usage with previous supplier. Your DD shouldn't increase in winter, but be 12 even payments in the year. i.e. if previous usage indicated that the annual bill would be £600 they would fix the DD at £50.

However if Utility Warehouse(or any other company) were no cheaper than the OP's previous company(NPower) then the OP would not change to Utility Warehouse.

That, most importantly, would mean that there would be no commission for the person attempting to recruit him into Utility Warehouse; and that is all they are interested in obtaining - commission!!!

So they quote an unrealistically low DD as a 'bait'. If the bait is taken all that happens is a debit balance builds up and the DD is increased massively to cover actual usage and pay back the debit balance.

If you read through this forum this happens all the time, with all companies, sometimes a £50 DD increases to £200.

Cardew

duncan320 wrote: »

Well with it been electric i use a equal amount all the time, I have gas central heating and thats with British Gas. There is no time of the year i use more or less than the other. I dont understand why either, i might change back to Npower at least there i understand where my money is going so much per usage etc. I know electric prices have gone up, but not by this much i am sure. And as i said above, if anything i use less now than i did when with Npower as most bulbs are low energy and stuff that used to be on standby at night etc is switched off.

What you appear not to appreciate is that your usage of £37-£40 a month with NPower was probably not going to cost any less with Utility Warehouse.

The £31.16 a month you were quoted by Utility Warehouse was simply to induce you to change supplier. In other words you were duped, hoodwinked, fooled, deceived, tricked - call it what you like.

So after 7 months you were in debt as the £31.16 was not covering what you were using. The £50.06 is to cover what you are using in electricity AND payback the debt you have built up.

NigeWick

duncan320 wrote: »

i decided sometime ago to change to Utility Warehouse for electric fron NPower, at the time my average Npower bill was about £37 to £40ish per month, as i started with Util warehouse it was £31.16 good deal i save a few pounds then after 7 bills it went to £50.06 i did get to speak to customer services once who said thats how it works out...can anyone explain simply why ?

As shown in my signature, I am a Distributor with the Utility Warehouse. You do not say whether you joined through a Distributor, or, just through the company web site, not that it matters that much. But, if through a Distributor ask that person to explain what has happened. Most of my customers signed up to several services in order to gain maximum benefit as you are also paying £1.76 per month for "club membership." Earlier this summer I thought that my bills were a bit high and read my meters, putting the results on my account part of their web site. The following month my bank account was credited with my overpayment and my DD went down. If your usage has stayed the same, I do not understand how your cost could have gone up as the company have now reduced prices twice this year. I live in a three bedroom bungalow with usual electrical equipment plus a beer fridge in the garage and my electricity cost was £22.95 last month.

Have a look at your bill and see what the reading is shown as. Then, check your meter and see what it actually is. That way you will know whether that part is correct or not. If your actual one is lower, let them know straight away so that something can be done. I would also make sure that your Supply Number (on the same page) is correct too, just to be on the safe side. If you are unhappy with the service for the price you are paying, check elsewhere for a better deal and switch as soon as you are able. You can see unit and standing charge costs for your region on the company web site and compare against what others are offering.

Nigel.

Cardew

NigeWick wrote: »

As shown in my signature, I am a Distributor with the Utility Warehouse. You do not say whether you joined through a Distributor, or, just through the company web site, not that it matters that much. But, if through a Distributor ask that person to explain what has happened. Most of my customers signed up to several services in order to gain maximum benefit as you are also paying £1.76 per month for "club membership." Earlier this summer I thought that my bills were a bit high and read my meters, putting the results on my account part of their web site. The following month my bank account was credited with my overpayment and my DD went down. If your usage has stayed the same, I do not understand how your cost could have gone up as the company have now reduced prices twice this year. I live in a three bedroom bungalow with usual electrical equipment plus a beer fridge in the garage and my electricity cost was £22.95 last month.

Have a look at your bill and see what the reading is shown as. Then, check your meter and see what it actually is. That way you will know whether that part is correct or not. If your actual one is lower, let them know straight away so that something can be done. I would also make sure that your Supply Number (on the same page) is correct too, just to be on the safe side. If you are unhappy with the service for the price you are paying, check elsewhere for a better deal and switch as soon as you are able. You can see unit and standing charge costs for your region on the company web site and compare against what others are offering.

Nigel.

I have stayed out of anti Utility Warehouse threads, but your post is typical of the propaganda(for want of a better word) used by their reps.

Firstly what is the relevance of your 3 bedroomed bungalow? Presumably you don’t claim to heat the bungalow with electricity?

What is the relevance of your £22.95 a month? Do you live in the same area? Use the same equipment/appliances? It appears it is simply your way of subtly suggesting that United Utilities are cheap and that would be the ‘Norm’. Well on a thread currently running, a sensible contributor apparently heats his property for the whole winter with BG for £70. Is that any more relevant than your contribution?

The complaint in this thread was that United Utilities fixed his DD at £33.16 and then after 7 months raised it to £50.06. On what grounds could they calculate his DD to an exact 16p? Then increase it to an exact 06p?

As I said in my first post, this is standard practice for most of the companies. Lure them with an artificially low DD and then hike it up. If, as a company rep, you are to contribute to the thread, wouldn’t it be more constructive to address that issue rather than obfuscate with meaningless data about the wonderful deal you have with your company?