Running up credit on electricity bill but provider has block on minimum monthly payments

Keiblem

I have twice contacted Bulb to ask them to remove a block of £72 on my minimum monthly payments. The reason is my credit keeps reaching unacceptable levels. This month my bill was for £52.46. I am already in credit for £99.04 and they are taking an additional £80 from my account. I would have been in credit for £199.83 had I not asked for and received a refund for £100.79 last month. On both occasions they have suggested I ask for a refund or if I leave it as it is it will build up my credit for the coming winter. On neither occasion have they agreed to drop the block on my payments.
The first advisor agreed with me that their calculation of minimum payment didn’t take into account my low summer bills. The second advisor said he was ‘reiterating’ the first advisor by saying they couldn’t drop the minimum payments to below 90% of the bills. I have kept the email correspondence that demonstrates that the first advisor did not say that.
It is clear I am currently paying too much. I have twice told them I am always in credit and the decision to build up credit for the winter months should be mine and mine alone. I do not wish to do this preferring to adjust my monthly payments accordingly so as to always remain in credit but not overly so. To that end I submit my meter readings on a regular basis. 
Basically what I understand from them is I am to continue to pay too much and if I don’t like it then I am free to ask for a refund which seems like a long winded and round about way to manage my utilities account. 
Aside from all this I have no complaints about Bulb. Their tariffs are competitive. Their invoices are easy to understand. They regularly email me to advise me that they are about to bill me and keep me up to speed with developments. More importantly they promise 100% renewables. I just cannot fathom their handling of this matter when it is clear to me and to the first advisor that they have not calculated for seasonal fluctuations. 

Robin9

Keiblem said:............................. Their tariffs are competitive. .............

Are they really ?  When did you last do a comparison ?

Gerry1

Bulb aren't competitive, which is hardly surprising with all the referral fees that they pay out.  You should consider switching to company that offers Variable Direct Debit.

Shell Energy, E.On, ESB, SSE, Green Network Energy, Robin Hood and Ecotricity are some of the companies that offer this.

RelievedSheff

Bulb and a lot of the other energy suppliers don't offer a variable direct debit they offer a fixed direct debit that spreads the cost of your energy over the full 12 months. So yes it appears that you are paying too much in the summer but it evens out by you paying too little over the winter. The payments are evaluated every six months or so to ensure that you are on track to cover the cost of your usage.

Our account is currently £270 in credit with British Gas which we intend to leave in there so that we have plenty of reserve built up for the colder winter months ahead.

Petriix

An £80 DD with summer usage of £52 seems about right. My usage is around £25 per month in the summer and my DD is £39. You ideally should be building up a bit of credit between now and the winter where your consumption will likely more than double.

I'd also reiterate that (once you've exhausted your referrals) you should switch away from Bulb to a cheaper supplier. Bulb were at least 15% more expensive for me than the better deal I switched to. Do an up to date comparison based on your actual annual usage; ignore the 'savings', just looking at the total annual cost. Some people can save more by switching to separate suppliers for gas and electricity.

GunJack

plus, no-one mentioned above, with bulb and a lot of the newer, smaller companies, you pay IN ADVANCE for your energy, so should always be in credit....

Keiblem

Thank you to everyone who has responded. In answer to some of your comments.
Yes I have checked other competitors rates using annual consumption and Bulb has repeatedly come out as competitive, hugely so in some instances particularly compared to SSE who I started out with when I moved here and whose rates were eye watering to say the least. Perhaps this is because I have economy 7 and storage heaters. All will be ultimately removed and not a moment too soon.
Absolutely fine if you want to build up credit over the winter months but as I have explained I do not. I might be dead by Xmas! 
Thank you to Gerry1 who suggested variable direct debit. You have resolved something that was puzzling me. I have been paying by direct debit for many years with other utility providers and have always been able to keep control over my payments. This is why my current dilemma didn’t make any sense to me. I hadn’t realised that some allow variable payments and some have fixed. I now know what to look for when I switch yet again! 
Oh for a time when paying your lecci was straight forward.

Gerry1

I hope you're not even thinking of switching to something that requires the use of full price electricity, especially not the dreaded Magic Dust non-storage storage radiators...

... but at least it would solve the problem of being in credit and needing to get a refund !

Still surprised that Bulb are the cheapest.  Have you done comparisons with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'?

Don't get rid of the E7 meter, E7 can often be slightly cheaper even at 20% night usage. Many suppliers will happily bill day and night at the same rate, but not Bulb.

Keiblem

I shall definitely not be heating the house with electric. I live in remotest Wales with no mains gas. I have looked into renewable energy but the only one I am allowed or have space for is an air source heat pump but the cost of installation is prohibitive. There is a grant available that is paid over 7 years except I don’t qualify because I hope to live here and run a business. Or rather I could qualify but would get the same grant spread over 25 years which is as good as nothing. For now unfortunately my only option is oil. When and if the government starts to properly support the switchover to renewables then I shall look at hooking up to an air source heat pump. 

Petriix

It sounds like you haven't actually done a full market comparison but have simply checked a couple of other suppliers. That's not how it works. You need to use a comparison site and look only at the total annual cost (ignore the 'savings' figure). Bulb are definitely at least 10% more expensive than the lowest price you can get.

I would reiterate that it's totally normal to be in credit by August and this will peak in October before being consumed over the winter. Variable direct debit is not typical.

matelodave

The graph below shows how your DD, energy consumption and credit/debit varies throughout the year. It's based on percentages where your total consumption is 100%, so your EAC = 8.33% per month (time 12 = 100%) and your energy consumption varies month by month (more in the winter and less in the summer) but equates to 100% at the end of 12 months so your account should balance.

It assumes that you start on 1st Jan and make your first payment on 31st Jan and your last payment on 31st December.
The blue boxes are your regular payment of 8.33% and don't change through the year.
The red columns are your cumulative payments which add up to 100% when you pay your last one on 31st Dec.
The Yellow boxes show your consumption in each month, using more in the winter than in the summer

Comparing the blue and yellow boxes shows how much more or less your monthly payments are compared with your consumption

The green line shows how you use more than you pay for in the winter so you will end up in debit from day one. However as the summer consumption decreases your account should break even about the middle of July and then start accumulating a credit ready for November/December when you'll use more than you pay for.

You'll see that the times and amount that you'll be in credit or debit depends when you start your 12 month period - the optimum is around October/November as you'll be in debit for most of the year (although the energy company wont like it and will try to increase your DD) However if you start in April you'll be in credit for most of the time so it's not usually a good idea to reduce your DD or take some of the credit out unless you are pretty certain that your consumption profile matches your DD