British Gas tripled my bill

KatieLB

We had a phone-call two days ago, from Brotish Gas, informing us that they planned to take £266 a month from us for our electricity as of the 9th of this month, rather than the usual £88. After checking online we discovered we don’t actually owe this amount, so we called back, only to be told that it was really just in case, due to the cold weather, and that they’d “eventually” reimburse us if we were in credit. According to their website we were already paying too much at £88 a month, and they actually owe us £50, so is this sudden increase in our bills even allowed? We were categorically told after requesting that we only pay for what we actually use, that that’s not how “it” works, so we cancelled the direct debit and we’re awaiting a bill. My husband wants to pay only for the electricity we used, and look elsewhere for a cheaper energy provider.

Robin9

You may be being a little hasty here.

For some companies the credit shown is not a complete picture. It may well be the balance on the last statement plus DD's received since - it may well not include the cost of energy used since the last statement.

Are your bills based on ACTUAL readings rather than ESTIMATES? What does your last bill say?

£88 for an all electric property does sound low. If your last bill was a deficit BG may well be playing catch up to ensure your account ends up in balance at the end of your fix. You are on a fix and not a standard tariff aren't you.

Have you been submitting your reads at least monthly ? Keeping your own records on a simple spreadsheet ?

Cancelling the DD is not generally a good idea - fixed tariff are dependent on you paying by DD. Cancelling can result in you being transferred to a standard tariff (ie expensive)

Do have a look at the comparative sites but be sure to use 12 months actual consumption in kwh not £ - look only at the actual cost (ignore the savings) and compare with your actual spend with BG.

Could you post a set (I assume E7) actual readings from 12 months ago and today's readings and tariff name please ?

Zandoni

KatieLB wrote: »

We had a phone-call two days ago, from Brotish Gas, informing us that they planned to take £266 a month from us for our electricity as of the 9th of this month, rather than the usual £88. After checking online we discovered we don’t actually owe this amount, so we called back, only to be told that it was really just in case, due to the cold weather, and that they’d “eventually” reimburse us if we were in credit. According to their website we were already paying too much at £88 a month, and they actually owe us £50, so is this sudden increase in our bills even allowed? We were categorically told after requesting that we only pay for what we actually use, that that’s not how “it” works, so we cancelled the direct debit and we’re awaiting a bill. My husband wants to pay only for the electricity we used, and look elsewhere for a cheaper energy provider.

Can you not look at previous years and see what you've used in the past.

matelodave

They haven't tripled your bill they've tripled your direct debit which is entireley different.

Your "bill" should be based on actual up to date meter readings and will reflect what you've actually used, what you've paid and what you owe or are in credit. The DD is a payment towards that bill not the bill itself.

You need to check your bills against up-to-date actual meter readings to see how much energy you've actually used, work out how much it should have cost and compare that with how much you've actually paid towards it.

If you dont send in regular meter readings and check your bills are correctly reflecting those resdings then you may easily seem to be in credit rather than debit, especially if you only get a "bill" once a quarter.

As others have said, it's not a good idea to cancel your DD as you are breaking the T&C's of a fixed contract (if that's what you've got) and you may then be switched onto the suppliers SVT - possibly even backdated to the start.

System

KatieLB wrote: »

We had a phone-call two days ago, from Brotish Gas, informing us that they planned to take £266 a month from us for our electricity as of the 9th of this month, rather than the usual £88. After checking online we discovered we don’t actually owe this amount, so we called back, only to be told that it was really just in case, due to the cold weather, and that they’d “eventually” reimburse us if we were in credit. According to their website we were already paying too much at £88 a month, and they actually owe us £50, so is this sudden increase in our bills even allowed? We were categorically told after requesting that we only pay for what we actually use, that that’s not how “it” works, so we cancelled the direct debit and we’re awaiting a bill. My husband wants to pay only for the electricity we used, and look elsewhere for a cheaper energy provider.

Katie - welcome to the forum. Here are a few truths about domestic energy:

1. A fixed tariff only refers to the term; the unit price and the standing charge. In truth, the latter is not fixed as any discounts are taken off the standing charge. If these are withdrawn then the standing charge will increase.

2. Any annual cost projection and monthly DD payments are based on estimated annual usage. If more or less energy is used, then the DD amount will change.

3. The monthly DD payment has nothing to do with charges or billing. It is money that you put into a piggy bank from which billing charges for energy used are deducted.

4. Credit/debit balances are meaningless unless based on actual meter readings. They are only accurate for the day on which the bill was raised.

5. Suppliers have two years of past data for your property (the EAC for electricity and AQ for gas). These figures and your readings inform the supplier's algorithm which calculates your DD going forward. The more actual meter readings that you provide: the more accurate the EAC and AQ will be.

6. Most homes use 75% of main heating projected usage over the 5 Winter months. DDs are designed to smooth the outflow of payments.

7. Paying by monthly DD is usually cheaper than paying for energy used. However, under Ofgem regulations, suppliers now have an obligation to ensure that consumers do not get into debt. It is often the case, that where there is no significant credit balance in November that DD payments will rise. My DD payment has just increased from £31 to £88 per month and I have a £200 credit. £50 is not enough credit to start the Winter period. Unless the DD payment is increased, then you will go into debit. That said, £266 does look to be very high; however, in fairness to BG, if you have been paying them £88 per month and only have an accrued balance of £50 with heating Off then an additional £188 a month for electric heating may not be that unreasonable.

8. Under Ofgem SoLR regulations, any credit balance is 100% protected should a supplier become insolvent.

9. Finally, you will only pay for the energy that you actually use at the agreed tariff cost.

PS: The cheapest/smallest suppliers will insist on DD payments with the caveats that the first payment is taken before supply, and there must be sufficient credit in the account to cover the following month's projected energy costs. This is the way that they manage their cashflow which allows them to offer cheaper prices.

dogshome

I guess the OP hasn't been the dwelling for an entire year and has yet to realise just how expensive Winter HEATING is an all electric home.


To have a credit of only £50 on an £88 D/D payment at this time of year is simply not enough to cover the higher useage over the next 4 months.
However, annual spend with £88 D/D's for 8 months and £266 for 4 months totals £1,768, which seems on the high side as the extra £178 on the D/D equates to roughly an extra 1,050 KWh a month


It's a pity that the D/D was cancelled, as BG will immediately drop the OP onto their expensive Standard Tariff - It would be good if Katie LB posted details of the dwelling and it's heating system ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

wavelets

Join Date: 13-04-2018
Total Posts: 1

Posted Today, 12:02 AM

KatieLB wrote: »

We had a phone-call two days ago, from Brotish Gas, informing us that they planned to take £266 a month from us for our electricity as of the 9th of this month, rather than the usual £88. After checking online we discovered we don’t actually owe this amount, so we called back, only to be told that it was really just in case, due to the cold weather, and that they’d “eventually” reimburse us if we were in credit. According to their website we were already paying too much at £88 a month, and they actually owe us £50, so is this sudden increase in our bills even allowed? We were categorically told after requesting that we only pay for what we actually use, that that’s not how “it” works, so we cancelled the direct debit and we’re awaiting a bill. My husband wants to pay only for the electricity we used, and look elsewhere for a cheaper energy provider.

Seriously?

Robin9

"We had a phone-call two days ago, from British Gas .................... "

Katie LB - Are you sure ? The notification would normally have come by post or e-mail as there are a lot of numbers to communicate.

welshmoneylover

She may have an online paperless billing account that she doesn’t check regularly

Robin9

welshmoneylover wrote: »

She may have an online paperless billing account that she doesn’t check regularly

Hopefully KateiLB will come back to us shortly with some answers and readings - until then we are guessing.

Joyful

She can also go onto a monthly DD that she pays in full every month. Of course that would mean high winter bills and low for the rest of the year.