Bulb Annual Price Increase - advice please

Philomena49

Bulb has notified me of a 33% increase in my monthly payments (dual fuel) to ensure I build up enough credit for next winter’s bills. There’s also an end of year small debit to clear. I queried this increase as I’m elderly, disabled, self-isolating & self-employed, so my regular income has been wiped out.  Also now summer is just about here I’ve turned off my central heating anyway so my summer bills are going to drop. I'm not trying to avoid paying for the energy I use but I’d much rather clear the outstanding debit & monitor the summer months from now on, and I don’t see why Bulb should sit on my money over the summer months, I’d rather keep it in my bank account.  I have queried their decision but they are adamant & have advised that if I wish to query things further, I must complete a financial assessment through a separate company called Tully who will need access to my online bank statements & will work out a personal budget for me & monitor my finances. I do not want or need this & feel very uneasy about sharing my confidential financial details with a company I’ve never heard of.  It feels intrusive & I have never experienced this approach before from any energy supplier I’ve used in the past when I’ve queried a bill.  The other alternative they offer is to speak to their "partners" CAB or StepChange who will grill me over the phone & then go back to Bulb to advise. This all smacks of Big Brother to me. Am I being paranoid or is this normal?

matelodave

Have you been reading your meters, sending in your readings and checking your bills. If so you should have a pretty good idea of how much your annual consumption should be in kwh. Go back over your bills and check your online account to see how much you've used in the past 12 months (in kwh)

Then, from your bills find out how much the energy costs - in pence per kwh and mutiply this number by your annual total to give your annual cost and the add the standing charge (365 x daily charge) add the two together which should give you how much you need to pay. Do the same for gas, add the two together which should give you your  total; annual energy cost. Divide that by 12 to give you your monthly direct debit cost. You can add to that any arrears that you owe and that should give you how much your new DD should be to pay them off in 12 months,

Put your figures on here (annual consumption of gas an leccy in kwh and your tariff - pence per kwh and daily stsnding charge) and someone will work them out for you if you have a problem but you should not have to tell Bulb or anyone else how much you earn or show them your bank statements unless you are really struggling in which case your first port of call should be the CAB and not Bulb or their agents

Have a look at this which shows how your DD should work assuming that its been calculated on a reasonably accurate annual estimate. It shows how your energy consumption isn't linear but your DD is and so for the early part of the year you'll be in arrears but you should eventually get into credit for a period ready for next winter
https://i.postimg.cc/gcM655nS/consumption-v-direct-debit.jpg

MWT

They appear to have flagged you as a credit risk.

You can try to fight it or just move somewhere else.

They may well be right to be concerned about your ability to pay the winter bills if you cant afford to build up a bit of a buffer now though, so do keep that in mind, but at the very least I'd have a look around and see what the alternatives are based on your actual last 12 months of consumption...

Gerry1

Vote with your feet ! It's a sheer impertinence unless you've been defaulting on your payments. Bulb are unlikely to be the cheapest anyway, especially with their 2 x £50 referrals.

Just make sure you know your annual usage in kWh obtained from actual meter readings, not estimated readings or projections.  Ignore all claimed savings, just compare total annual costs.  Do whole of the market comparisons staring with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?' and don't forget to try separate suppliers as well.

Make sure you are on the Priority Services Register.

Philomena49

matelodave said:

Have you been reading your meters, sending in your readings and checking your bills. If so you should have a pretty good idea of how much your annual consumption should be in kwh. Go back over your bills and check your online account to see how much you've used in the past 12 months (in kwh)

Thanks for your detailed & helpful reply.  I have been with them for a year, been sending in readings, have never defaulted on my bills, & will do all my figures tonight as you suggest, both from the app which shows all my payments, & the actual statements which give unit price & standing charge & come back if I have any problems with this. As far as I am concerned, my bank statements are none of their business. Will report back if any issues.

Philomena49

MWT said:

They appear to have flagged you as a credit risk.

You can try to fight it or just move somewhere else.

Thanks for your reply.  I'm not a credit risk & have paid regularly & on time.  And I understand why they like customers to build up a bit of a buffer in readiness for the winter, and I don't mind this as long as it's not extortionate.  I have also read some terrible reviews by people complaining that Bulb are hanging onto large chunks of money over the summer months for this reason & customers not being able to get that money back when they most need it, not getting replies to emails etc. So I'll do my sums as matelodave suggests & see how I feel then.  Might do a price comparison as well.

Philomena49

Gerry1 said:

Make sure you are on the Priority Services Register.

Good advice Gerry1 - many thanks. I think it's a cheek to ask for my private bank info when I've always paid what they've asked me to pay. Anyway, I will do all the sums & see how it turns out.  I wanted to ask you how do I get onto this Priority Services Register & what is it exactly? Is it just a Bulb thing or what? Thank you! I am registered disabled & I want to get on the Warm Home Discount Scheme which I was on when I was with NPower, and I fit the Bulb criteria for the 'broader group.' Can apply now for that.  Is this what you're referring to when you mention the Priority Services Register? Thanks.

Gerry1

No, the Warm Home Discount and the Priority Services Register are completely different.

Not all energy suppliers offer WHD.

MWT

Philomena49 said:

Thanks for your reply.  I'm not a credit risk & have paid regularly & on time.  And I understand why they like customers to build up a bit of a buffer in readiness for the winter, and I don't mind this as long as it's not extortionate.  I have also read some terrible reviews by people complaining that Bulb are hanging onto large chunks of money over the summer months for this reason & customers not being able to get that money back when they most need it, not getting replies to emails etc. So I'll do my sums as matelodave suggests & see how I feel then.  Might do a price comparison as well.

I didn't say you were a credit risk, I said that they appear to consider you to be a risk, there is a difference.

The aim of the type of billing that you are on is to establish a stable monthly payment which over the course of the year will cover your estimated annual consumption (EAC). They get to that figure by estimating the total cost of your next 12 months consumption on your current tariff and dividing by 12. Doing the calculations you are going to do will show if what they are asking for is reasonable or excessive.

The natural consequence of this type of billing is that over the summer months you will be paying for more than you are using each month, but in the winter months you will be paying for less than you are using.

The aim of the energy companies is that you should build up a buffer first during the summer, then use that buffer during the winter. They do not expect to do it the other way around by letting you get into debt first over winter then hope to still have you as a customer during the summer to get paid back. 

If you seek to cut the summer payments down to only cover what you owe and what you are using, or if you seek to get the buffer that builds up over summer refunded to you before winter then you raise a red flag with the supplier as your monthly payments will have to go much higher in the winter months...

That doesn't mean that what they are asking you to pay is always justified, so work the numbers and see how it compares, but don't expect them to be happy with an amount that isn't going to build up a buffer before you hit the winter months...