House "tied in" to simulated metering?

Corsetsandcupcakes

Hi, I'm going to do some digging into this online now but thought this would be the best place to start. My husband last night casually said we'd been using a bit much electricity this month as SSE sent a notification that the Direct Debit would be £187. That seems high for a month as, despite my husband's protests to the contrary, we are not high users.

I thought the idea of DDs are that the payment is spread evenly and excess or deficit at year end either meant a refund/ extra payment or an adjustment to your monthly amount. With this at the moment we've basically had a bill every month for usage, which each time seems very high. He went on to say he thought he'd heard of a system before which was a 'simulated meter' ie you pay for usage but via DD and that he'd read that it was the house itself that was tied in to this system so it can't be changed. He did admit he wasn't sure. We just moved in here last year and I'm sure there would have been something in paperwork to state this surely?

He did say he wasn't sure about it, but I have to check, I object to forking out large variable amounts every month instead of a standard DD set up. I'd rather suffer the £50 admin fee to change providers and have a better deal but he said it was likely to be the same problem regardless of provider.

Any info or ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks.

Robin9

When you moved in did you you give meter readings and do you submit regular readings online?

What is your present tariff ?

Corsetsandcupcakes

Yes, we gave initial readings and my husband submits them online as required. A couple of months ago though they took a very large amount out, couple of hundred I think, based on an estimate, which was way off, but when he submitted the reading which was much lower (and this was during winter months too) but they never refunded the overpayment and I haven't noticed a fall in DD payments.

I don't actually know what tariff specifically, he did say it was a 5 year plan though hence it would be a £50 fee to leave them.

Biggles

Corsetsandcupcakes wrote: »

he said it was likely to be the same problem regardless of provider.

Thinking that and not checking is what causes most people to carry on paying too much.

Anyway, I can't see that SSE even have a '5-year plan'.

Click on the 'Utilities' link on the toolbar at the top of this page, go to 'Cheap Energy Club' and enter your actual postcode and tariff and you'll find out.

System

Corsetsandcupcakes wrote: »

Hi, I'm going to do some digging into this online now but thought this would be the best place to start. My husband last night casually said we'd been using a bit much electricity this month as SSE sent a notification that the Direct Debit would be £187. That seems high for a month as, despite my husband's protests to the contrary, we are not high users.

I thought the idea of DDs are that the payment is spread evenly and excess or deficit at year end either meant a refund/ extra payment or an adjustment to your monthly amount. With this at the moment we've basically had a bill every month for usage, which each time seems very high. He went on to say he thought he'd heard of a system before which was a 'simulated meter' ie you pay for usage but via DD and that he'd read that it was the house itself that was tied in to this system so it can't be changed. He did admit he wasn't sure. We just moved in here last year and I'm sure there would have been something in paperwork to state this surely?

He did say he wasn't sure about it, but I have to check, I object to forking out large variable amounts every month instead of a standard DD set up. I'd rather suffer the £50 admin fee to change providers and have a better deal but he said it was likely to be the same problem regardless of provider.

Any info or ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks.

All suppliers have in year DD reviews - usually, at the 6 month point in a 1 year fixed contract for example. Like the other posters, I am not aware of any supplier that has a 5 Year Plan.

The problem with DD payments is that consumers believe (a) that whatever they use, the DD will remain the same and (b) a large increase in monthly cost indicates a massive increase in usage. Both these assumptions are wrong.

For example, Lets assume that your projected usage is £600 per year or £50 per month. After 6 months, the supplier calculates that the annual usage will be closer to £720 for the year. The re-calculation goes like this:

Amended Annual Amount = £720

Amount Paid = 6 * £50 or £300

Amount Due for the next 6 months = £720 - £300 0r £420 (this equates to £70 per month for the next 6 months).

On paper, this looks like a 40% increase in the cost of energy.

Things to do:

1. Check your statement to see what tariff you are on.

2. Look at the expected annual usage figures on the statement or do your own calculation based on actual readings over the past 12 months.

3. Enter your projected usage in kWhs into MSEC CEC or another comparison site and initiate a switch.

PS: Tariffs do not have an 'admin fee'. Some tariffs may have an exit fee if you terminate a fixed contract. This will be shown on your statement.

Corsetsandcupcakes

Thanks but just to clarify, I wouldn't expect DD payments to forever be the same, if they assessed every 6 months and adjusted according to usage that's not a problem but every month taking a different amount which apparently equates to direct usage or so I am to assume, is not beneficial to us and having paid by DD in one house or another for the last 15 years I'vw always been happier knowing there was a standard amount being taken. Otherwise how on earth can you budget properly on a monthly basis? I just don't see the benefit of not switching to a supplier or indeed tariff which is standard payments which are adjusted at pre-agreed intervals.

Yes, sorry my terminology is out there, it is an exit few but I'm so used to everything having admin fees.

Robin9

Do you have an option to select Fixed or Variable DD as part of your tariff ? Usually a tick or button online.

Corsetsandcupcakes

I've just been checking the paperwork and it's a 3 year fixed price with exit fee of £25 per fuel. I'm not sure about a tick box online but found 2 letters from 11th April this year confirming the new monthly payments of £60 for gas and £45 for electricity, starting on 1st May. These were changed after my husband queried about the high charge a few months previous, so contrary to what I said in previous post they have accounted for increased usage which is fine. Nothing in any paperwork and contracts I have here now states variable payments.

Surely they shouldn't be taking so much more so soon after we renegotiated the payments? We've literally only had one month at the new payments.

Bark01

Have you actually spoken to your supplier. This sounds like it could be cleared up in a 5 minute conversation.

On the 2 page of your bill in the right column there should be something called 'About your tariff' or 'Tariff Information label' this will specify the exact name of your current payment type. This 'should' give you an indication of whether the DD is fixed or variable.

System

Corsetsandcupcakes wrote: »

I've just been checking the paperwork and it's a 3 year fixed price with exit fee of £25 per fuel. I'm not sure about a tick box online but found 2 letters from 11th April this year confirming the new monthly payments of £60 for gas and £45 for electricity, starting on 1st May. These were changed after my husband queried about the high charge a few months previous, so contrary to what I said in previous post they have accounted for increased usage which is fine. Nothing in any paperwork and contracts I have here now states variable payments.

Surely they shouldn't be taking so much more so soon after we renegotiated the payments? We've literally only had one month at the new payments.

The only way to know is to sit down with a statement in front of you and work it out for yourself. Remember, all payments are nothing more than payments on account. A Debit/Credit balance is worthless unless it is based on a bill that has used actual meter readings - even then, the following day, it is inaccurate. You need to look at the annual projected usage figures on the latest statement and check these against actual usage over the past 12 months. Suppliers can vary the DD payments every month if they feel that customers could go into debt. If you think that the amount that you are paying will result in a large credit balance then request the money back. You will need to give the supplier actual meter readings.

Even though you have exit fees of £50, it is still worth running a comparison as prices have fallen over the past Winter. Factor in the £50 into any savings. FWiW, I use separate suppliers for gas and electricity. I get monthly billing based on actual meter reading readings that I provide and my DDs have remained unchanged for over 5 months. Currently, my gas is in debit by £12 and my electricity is in credit by £35. Constant monitoring is the key to maintaining domestic energy sanity imho.

Corsetsandcupcakes

I agree, which is why I'll have to nag tonight when he gets home to call them and sort it. I don't have the passwords etc to call and it's in his name. It's paperless billing sent to his email so I can't check page 2, but as a general rule he is a stickler for knowing how much is coming out monthly so I would say he would never agree to a variable payment (knowingly anyway). I'm just trying to get as much info to provide him with to then go to them with.