EDF have admitted their mistake

renegadefm

Swipe, yeah sorry didnt know if I mentioned but I used to pay quarterly direct debt, but kept getting scary bills, so steered clear of that method of payment ever since I was bankrupt. And it seemed to suite me better on a pay as you go method.

Problem is with direct debt, I could use more electric without realising it, then only pay the estimates, but get hammered with bills of sometimes hundreds of pounds over a 12 month period. I swore I would never go back to that, even though as you say the actual electric is cheaper that way.

Quite why that is mind you I dont know. Why is pay as you go more expencive?

Swipe

renegadefm wrote: »

Swipe, yeah sorry didnt know if I mentioned but I used to pay quarterly direct debt, but kept getting scary bills, so steered clear of that method of payment ever since I was bankrupt. And it seemed to suite me better on a pay as you go method.

Problem is with direct debt, I could use more electric without realising it, then only pay the estimates, but get hammered with bills of sometimes hundreds of pounds over a 12 month period. I swore I would never go back to that, even though as you say the actual electric is cheaper that way.

Quite why that is mind you I dont know. Why is pay as you go more expencive?

It's more expensive because you pay more for your electricity in higher tariffs. But now you have a smart meter there are no more estimated bills. Isn't that the whole point of them? Besides, that, you can do your own calculations, as you have the IHD which shows how much you've used. So if you go over, you use less, just like you would on a prepayment meter where you see your credit diminishing as you use it. I guess it just takes just a little more discipline.

Gerry1

renegadefm wrote: »

Problem is with direct debt, I could use more electricity without realising it

Not if you read the meter each week and do the sums. Just set yourself a weekly kWh allowance instead of waiting for the prepayment meter to cut you off.

renegadefm wrote: »

then only pay the estimates, but get hammered with bills of sometimes hundreds of pounds

If you can't be bothered to read the meter (assuming you're fit and able to do so) and prefer to rely on estimates then yes, you WILL be hammered with expensive bills, especially if your DD has to be increased twice, firstly because of higher than expected usage and secondly to claw back the arrears.
You really do love making a rod for your own back !

Update: beaten to it by Swipe ! Please heed our advice - you know it makes sense.

renegadefm

To be honest we are a very disciplined family when it comes to not using things that dont need to be or leave things on standby, I'm always conscious of that.

Correct me if I am wrong but dont the smart meters connect to the provider anyway. What I mean is they can monitor for you your usage and expenditure. I think you can even choose when you want them to check it, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. I got that on my account now, and I chose weekly but I dont see the point in it on a pay as you go system.

Can someone please tell me how much cheaper in terms of pence per unit is direct debt tarrifs, compared to pay as you go?

renegadefm

I done an online quote, moneysupermarket. Com. It seems Bulb offer the cheapest tarrif for pay as you go. Going to ring them on Monday to see what they can offer me to go back direct debt. But if the difference is only slight I will go with Bulb for a pay as you go tarrif.

Swipe

EDF isn't going to be cheap either way. To save money, you'll need to get it switched to a credit meter and then go with one of the small fry companies, but then, as you know from this forum, they come with a whole seperate set of issues.

Gerry1

renegadefm wrote: »

Can someone please tell me how much cheaper in terms of pence per unit is direct debt tarrifs, compared to pay as you go?

How much more expensive is bottled water compared to tap water? It's not written down in tablets of stone, it varies depending on the source. You just have to ask them in each case.

renegadefm wrote: »

I done an online quote, moneysupermarket.Com. It seems Bulb offer the cheapest tarrif for pay as you go. Going to ring them on Monday to see what they can offer me to go back direct debt.

Oh dear, you're still making that rod for your own back. You chose a website that's not Ofgem accredited and you almost certainly failed to tick the box "Show me widest range of tariffs*" which is well hidden. IF you'd searched the whole market it's very unlikely that Bulb would have been the cheapest.

You don't have to ring anyone on Monday, you just need to go to a few whole-of-the-market comparison websites (e.g. Which?) and get the facts. Remember that if you've said you have a pre-payment meter it probably won't then show monthly direct debit prices because that wouldn't be compatible: you'll have to go back, pretend you are already paying by monthly direct debit and get another comparison.

renegadefm

Bulb seems to come out on top for my property or area even when using Which.

I'm thinking of trying to switch tomorrow, but can someone tell me will having the winter credit money only put on 2 days ago affect any switching companies, ie can they carry it over? Baring in mind EDF are ringing me 2pm tomorrow to debate tarrifs. Can I just pull the rug on EDF and switch anyway? They did promise to refund any difference after all until September. Shall I just wait until then to switch?

Gerry1

Strange - please remind us of your annual consumption in kWh from actual readings and the first part of your postcode. Did you say you were paying by DD?

Swipe

renegadefm wrote: »

I'm thinking of trying to switch tomorrow, but can someone tell me will having the winter credit money only put on 2 days ago affect any switching companies, ie can they carry it over? Baring in mind EDF are ringing me 2pm tomorrow to debate tarrifs. Can I just pull the rug on EDF and switch anyway? They did promise to refund any difference after all until September. Shall I just wait until then to switch?

No idea what happens with the credit deposited on PAYG meters when you switch. You'd have to ask EDF about that tomorrow.

Why not just get the agreement in writing and then stay with EDF until September, as I doubt Bulb can match the nightly unit rate of 6p you quoted that you had previously on your EDF Blue tariff.