Powergen part pymt of bill?

silverangel35

Hi all,
Hope this is the right place to ask..I moved to Powergen from British Gas 8 months ago (best move I ever made) Each bill I have had I have been able to pay within a month of receiving it...

However, today the man came to read my meters, and I am like erm eeekkk its due soon, have just checked my account online and it says my next bill is due around 3rd December :eek:

Was wondering if anybody has ever had to phone them up to ask for more time to pay it? There is no way on this earth I could afford to pay it in full, my last bill combined for Gas & Elec was £152, and with using the heating now I know this one will be more over the £200 mark. I dont want to just not pay, but I can only afford probably £20 initially then nothing until beginning of January. Do you think they will accept this? And should I phone them now to ask & get something arranged or wait until the bill arrives?

Thanks for any help/advice

SwanJon

Phone them and ask to be set up on a payment plan - monthly DD would be cheaper for you.
They'll include your balance in the DD along with your ongoing consumption.
This would mean that at least you wouldn't be hit with a bill every 3 months allowing you to budget.

(I know many people don't like DD, but it is cheaper, and so long as you give them accurate readings the payments will be accurate too).

Don't leave it without setting something up, as they'll keep sending reminders and it may affect your credit score. They won't charge you interest on the bill either.

dellxps

hi,
not too sure but you
I'd ring Powergen, so even if they can't do anything at this stage until the bill is ready, atleast they've got it noted on their accounts that you've made an effort to contact them and sort it out. THis means that after your bill is produced, you can call them up, sort out a payment plan, and they might be more sympathetic in the amount of time they give to pay off the bill as you have made an effort.

You can also ask them for a payment card. This means that in the future if you've ever got any money spare you can pay money onto your account at your local paypoint. This means that the bill you recieve shouldn't be as large as normal as some of it is paid off.

It may be worth noting that if you pay by monthly direct debit you get a9% total discount (du al fuel and dd). Paying by dd also makes you eligible for Powergen'sEnergy Online extra saver 3. this can give you a total discount of upto 20%. It would mean paying by direct debit and viewing your bills online and entering them online. Of course, direct debit isn't suited to everyone.

Hopefully,the person who you speak to will recognise you're not a bill-dodger and that you're doing your best to sort it out.

GOOD LUCK:D

Terrylw1

Speak to someone about a payment plan, not just to note it on your account as it's unlikely that will be noted since most chaser letters are computer generated anyway.

There is nothing wrong with you paying what you can now, then calling them to set up a plan for the rest. Go on DD and you will get discounts which will be paid to you.

Most Suppliers are happy to accept BGC as well or credit card payments if it helps you. If you paid on CC, you could get yourself sme extra time to find the cash.

If you don't pay though, you will get chaser letters. Setting up a payment plan on their system means they will observe the payments on the plan.

silverangel35

Thank you all so much

I have always been wary about monthly direct debits incase they take out more each month than they need to and at the end of the quarter I will be in credit & wont get the money back, kind of like, If they take it out when they dont need to then I will be worse off by not having the money in my account at the time.
I would be happy if they decided to take out less than they needed to each month (like £50) lol and I just paid the little balance (but I doubt they would do this)

My account says I am currently on the Energy Saving Plan and that includes 9% discount, so I guess I am on the most beneficial option.

Re payment cards, I cant do that as my money gets paid into my bank account (as I am on benefits currently) so I dont ever have any 'cash' in my purse in order to make a payment. BUT I could always go online and make a payment instead. I think this would be the same

I am going to take your advice dellxps and call them this morning to let them know, then call them when bill arrives. Its only 1 month I am asking them to wait, but I feel guilty asking them as its for gas & elec I have already used
Fingers crossed

Thank you all again

silverangel35

**UPDATE**
Had my elec & Gas bill through today £199.06 !! Wow I was so amazed. I only estimated £200 but thought it would be alot more.

Called them to say cant pay it at the moment and lady said so long as I pay it by 28th February 2008 I will be ok :eek:

Got talking to her about direct debits and to my surprise I have agreed a monthly direct debit (2nd shock for me) lol
If I had already been on it my current bill would have only been £161.23 !! So I have set this up and so long as I can clear my current bill by 10th January my first direct debit will come out on 17th January of only £57.00

Big big thank you to everyone that posted on here, it gave me the advice and confidence to call them, and now I shuold be saving alot more on my bill Thank you all :T

Terrylw1

Good luck Silver.

Bit strange how she said pay it just prior to your next quarter - unless she put the collection cycle back to give you 3 months to pay??? I find that strange since most places are popping chaser letters out 14-28 days after the bill has been issued. Not to say that Supplier can't do that for you, they just don't like doing it.

Remember to keep an eye on your DD's as they can raise them and just send you a letter per the DD guarantee without your permission. Make sure you just get all your readings in each quarter which makes the DD experience a better one.

dellxps

good stuff silver!

are you online? if you are then if you could save even more by switching your tariff. Energy online extra saver 3 could save you loads more.

And like Terry said, ring them regularly with meter readings, check the meter readings on your bill against your meter (is there a huge difference is so ring them).

If you think you may not have enough money in your account for the dd at any time ,cancel it and switch to quarterly payment, just to avoid bank charges which may cost you more. And remember, if you don't think DD suits you in the long run, change it back.

:rotfl:

silverangel35

Terrylw1 wrote: »

Good luck Silver.

Bit strange how she said pay it just prior to your next quarter - unless she put the collection cycle back to give you 3 months to pay??? I find that strange since most places are popping chaser letters out 14-28 days after the bill has been issued. Not to say that Supplier can't do that for you, they just don't like doing it.

Remember to keep an eye on your DD's as they can raise them and just send you a letter per the DD guarantee without your permission. Make sure you just get all your readings in each quarter which makes the DD experience a better one.

That is what amazed me..British Gas used to send out chasers like every 2 weeks when I was with them. I must admit last bill for powergen for some reason I didnt realise there was £15 that I miscalculated and didnt pay (whoops) I got a reminder 2 months later, that is the only time I have ever had anything from Powergen lol
I asked her about the DD changing and she assured me they would write to me first, told her if they dont and it changes then I will come of it, which she said I could do. She also advised me to keep an eye on my account to make sure the DD amount is covering the bill each quarter.
Didnt know about keeping an eye on my readings though, some guy usually comes and reads it, but I will definitely do that myself from now on

@Dell, yep its online..have sent you a pm aswell

:T

Terrylw1

silverangel35 wrote: »

That is what amazed me..British Gas used to send out chasers like every 2 weeks when I was with them. I must admit last bill for powergen for some reason I didnt realise there was £15 that I miscalculated and didnt pay (whoops) I got a reminder 2 months later, that is the only time I have ever had anything from Powergen lol
I asked her about the DD changing and she assured me they would write to me first, told her if they dont and it changes then I will come of it, which she said I could do. She also advised me to keep an eye on my account to make sure the DD amount is covering the bill each quarter.
Didnt know about keeping an eye on my readings though, some guy usually comes and reads it, but I will definitely do that myself from now on

@Dell, yep its online..have sent you a pm aswell

:T

They do have to write to you if they change your DD, but they don't have to ask your permission to change it. So, it's worth keeping an eye as letters can go missing.

The meter readers take readings per an agreed schedule however Suppliers don't always use the readings (sometimes they get to them too late to use) so if you get an estimated bill, replace it with a reading off the meter yourself. This makes their calculation of your DD more accurate. Also, if you at least take a reading every quarter, you know how much you spend which helps you find the best deals to switch to.