HELP!! £400 pcm Electricity!

ChuggerChugger

[Deleted User] said:

You are not paying £400 a month: you are making a contribution of £400 a month towards your actual energy charges. By the sound of it, E.oN’s systems have recalculated your monthly payment based on what you have paid and the historical data that they hold for your property. Winter switches (which this effectively is) are notoriously bad at throwing up strange DD increases. You need to do your own calculation and then you can adjust the DD payment online.

I always caution people who think that The Energy Ombudsman is the answer to their prayers. They are not investigators. They adjudicate on the factual evidence supplied by the complainant and the supplier. If The Energy Ombudsman finds in the supplier’s favour, then the complainant has little option but to pay up and shut up. The supplier can use the Decision to support its legal claim for payment.

In sum, E.oN is not demanding £4800 a year for electricity. It is asking you to pay £400 a month on account. You will only pay for the energy that you use at the agreed tariff price. 

I understand the principle of paying sums on account, but I think I would be dreaming if I was being asked to pay £400 on account per month and then expect the actual bill to be half that. They have historical data from my Mum for a long period and her DD was £275+ per month. When I bought her account to an end there was an additional outstanding balance to pay. 

ChuggerChugger

tim_p said:

those readings, if correct (the night figures are suspect, too many digits) amount to around £430+ for that period, probably nearer 450 or more including VAT and S/C so £69 might sound good but it isn’t paying that bill. 

Yes I am aware now that £69 is too low, it was what E.ON suggested. I am willing to pay whatever the suggested DD is (and always have done). My issue isn't the DD cost relative to the £69 it was, rather that the sum seems awfully high to me, regardless of anything else.

ChuggerChugger

tim_p said:

those readings, if correct (the night figures are suspect, too many digits) amount to around £430+ for that period, probably nearer 450 or more including VAT and S/C so £69 might sound good but it isn’t paying that bill. 

When you say too many digits, what do you mean? They are exactly as shown on the meter, do you mean I may have recorded them wrong or that the meter is wrong? If the former, I can assure you that is exactly what is displayed in whole figures (not including the end digit reflecting the partial kwh)

Robin9

"Hi, The Supplier is E.ON and the Tariff is Fix 1 year v5 (Economy 7). The readings I can see on the account history are:
15/01/2021 - Normal: 92175 Night: 201546
29/03/2021 - Normal: 93522 Night: 204441"

On this basis Normal is 135 units a week which is high , about twice average and about £1100  a year;  night is not so easy - winter is about 300 a week but will be about 50 during summer for immersion heater  - say 9100 a year and also about £1100  a year,.  Add standing charges and vat  - say £2600 a year.

The £400 DD sounds as if E.ON is playing catch up following underpayment.

Now you've got an up to date bill - by how much are you in debit ?

Tallerdave

You were £200 a month down on the historical payments so as mentioned by others, the £400 consists of a catch up in addition to what you're currently using. 

ChuggerChugger

Tallerdave said:

You were £200 a month down on the historical payments so as mentioned by others, the £400 consists of a catch up in addition to what you're currently using. 

The thing is I settled that account, paid the final outstanding balance and then put it in my name, so I was at zero.

The DD then started up, first one in Jan at £69.00. My account says I am £138 in credit at present because the bill is quarterly so I haven't had the first one yet. When I gave the updated meter readings today, that is when they said the DD needs to go up to £400pcm. They also agreed to change the billing to monthly so after 30th April it will go to monthly. 

So in short I don't see what they would be paying catchup on given that in Jan the account was at zero and the first bill hasn't been issued yet.

ChuggerChugger

Robin9 said:

"Hi, The Supplier is E.ON and the Tariff is Fix 1 year v5 (Economy 7). The readings I can see on the account history are:
15/01/2021 - Normal: 92175 Night: 201546
29/03/2021 - Normal: 93522 Night: 204441"

On this basis Normal is 135 units a week which is high , about twice average and about £1100  a year;  night is not so easy - winter is about 300 a week but will be about 50 during summer for immersion heater  - say 9100 a year and also about £1100  a year,.  Add standing charges and vat  - say £2600 a year.

The £400 DD sounds as if E.ON is playing catch up following underpayment.

Now you've got an up to date bill - by how much are you in debit ?

The account still shows as £138 in credit as first bill is due end of April. However the DD is going up to £399 from 1st April.  

Robin9

My account says I am £138 in credit at present because the bill is quarterly so I haven't had the first one yet.

The online account can be misleading - it only shows the balance as at the last bill plus the DD's credited. It does NOT show the cost of energy used since the last bill.  Based on the consumption you gave above this is about £250 for the on peak use and £500 for the night time.

Tallerdave

Even if you'd halved the consumption, you were still only paying half that amount, at the coldest time of the year.  The monthly billing is a no-brainer and will help you see what's happening.

It's still worth taking weekly readings (same day, same time) so you know precisely what you're using.

ChuggerChugger

Robin9 said:

My account says I am £138 in credit at present because the bill is quarterly so I haven't had the first one yet.

The online account can be misleading - it only shows the balance as at the last bill plus the DD's credited. It does NOT show the cost of energy used since the last bill.  Based on the consumption you gave above this is about £250 for the on peak use and £500 for the night time.

If those calculations are correct then £400 DD is about right then, which is a scary thought!