British Gas quadrupled my bill

Gerry1

Smart meters are expected to help consumers save only £11 per year. That probably goes down to a mere £7 per year when the cost of running the IHD is taken into account. Variable DDs would probably probably help people to save far more ! However, Fixed DDs should remain be available on request.

RelievedSheff

There is nothing inherently wrong with fixed direct debit accounts provided the customer keeps an eye on their debt/credit amount and their energy consumption and is able to compare the two.

Gerry1

RelievedSheff wrote: »

There is nothing inherently wrong with fixed direct debit accounts provided the customer keeps an eye on their debt/credit amount and their energy consumption and is able to compare the two.

Agreed, but numerous posts on the Energy forum show that this is not the case for many people.

victor2

RelievedSheff wrote: »

There is nothing inherently wrong with fixed direct debit accounts provided the customer keeps an eye on their debt/credit amount and their energy consumption and is able to compare the two.

Therein lies the problem. So many threads on here where people have gone into a fixed tariff scheme, have not monitored their usage or even provided actual readings, and then had the shock of discovering they owe a lot of money.

RelievedSheff

victor2 wrote: »

Therein lies the problem. So many threads on here where people have gone into a fixed tariff scheme, have not monitored their usage or even provided actual readings, and then had the shock of discovering they owe a lot of money.

That is the fault of the customer for not keeping track of their bills.

Providers make it very simple to view account information online. It takes a few minutes to log on, submit a meter reading and check your consumption is on track.

You can't expect the energy suppliers to hold the hands of every customer. People have to take responsibility for their own bills.

victor2

RelievedSheff wrote: »

That is the fault of the customer for not keeping track of their bills.

Providers make it very simple to view account information online. It takes a few minutes to log on, submit a meter reading and check your consumption is on track.

You can't expect the energy suppliers to hold the hands of every customer. People have to take responsibility for their own bills.

Ever tried explaining what a kWh is to an elderly person who has never ever read (or is even capable of) their utility meters, and why a gas meter doesn't even show kWh used? They get sucked into "cheap" energy tariffs and think once they've signed up (possibly with the help of a friend or relative) then that's it. Those kind of people won't post on here because they've never used a computer. A relative might when they discover a parent or grandparent has been landed with a huge bill.

Gerry1

victor2 wrote: »

Those kind of people won't post on here because they've never used a computer.

Plenty of forumites seem to be equally confused ! Presumably they are computer literate and relatively clued up, yet there's still a widespread belief that energy Fixed DDs are just like council tax, sign up and forget.

Almost every week there are wails that 'I was paying £x per month but now it's jumped to £4x per month, should I cancel the DD and get the meter tested?' Before privatisation it was always PAYG, and making that the default once more would avoid a lot of confusion.

Variable DDs would also solve the ever increasing problem of companies continually going bust owing customers large sums of money because of inflated credit balances. This causes customers a lot of grief when the refunds take forever to materialise, and it puts up the prices for everybody else because customers of the other (better run) companies end up footing the bill.

Robin9

Gerry1 wrote: »

.............. Before privatisation it was always PAYG, ..................

Before privatisation it was Pay on Receipt of Bill but those were also the days when the Distribution Companies had to read at least 3 times a year.

It was also the time that a meter would call around on the day you moved out to take a readings.

These days of DIY ......................... !

victor2

A lot to be said for the good old days, and don't even get me started on how social media has made so many people "computer literate"!

Think we've derailed this particular thread enough for now...:)

[Deleted User]

Not sure what the problem is. You sign up, they ask you your previous years usage, which is clearly visible on your annual statement.
If you don't have it, then perhaps it should be on an industry database just like NCD.

Either way, they could ask type of dwelling, and primary source of heating.

Then, using the 'typical' figures for said installation, its a pretty simple calculation for the energy company to work out your approx monthly bill spread over 12 months.

And, if you supply them with the (at least) 4 readings that most of em ask for per year, you're not gonna be far out.