Energy Debt

Sarah69

Hi, I don’t know if anyone can advise me regarding the above. I was given an energy bill in January of around £500 in debit I was concerned about this as it seemed quite high to me. I’m very sparing with both gas and electric. I’ve recently been in touch with EDF my provider and asked if this is actual or estimated so they said estimated so after a bit of back and forth I’ve given them actual readings. I got the bill this week and it’s exactly £1000 in debit I don’t understand this at all. I also have solar panels. They have asked to increase my direct debit but I’m sure I’m time they will and I cannot afford to pay anymore towards. I’m single with 2 adult sons at home. I work full time any help appreciated. 

Robin9

@Sarah69   Apart when you recently gave Edf some readings when did last give them any readings ?  Are you still on a fixed tariff  or has the fix run out so that you are now on a standard (excessive) tariff.   What is you actual annual consumption - go back in time until you last had a bill with an actual rather than estimated readings ?  What is your DD ?

To have a debt of £1000 your arrears must have had to be built up over many months and would have appeared on bills other than the one you got in January.

welshmoneylover

How much have you been paying per month via DD and has your provider advised you how much you’ve actually been using on a monthly basis over 12 months?

dunstonh

How often do your give the company actual meter readings?  (some people do it monthly, some do it annually, some never do it).
If you have had a long gap between meter readings, you have probably being paying less than you should have been paying.

If you switched to EDF and didn't base your monthly payment on your actual usage over a 12 month period (.e.g. your kWh used) but did it by selecting a monthly payment amount then you are at risk of either paying too much if you over estimate your use or too little if you underestimate your use.       
We only have a little bit of info from you so far but it suggests you hare underestimated your energy use and haven't paid enough.
To help you resolve this, we need to know more information from you.    Can you give us your meter readings over the last year or two.    Either from your statements or you can get them online by looking at the meter reading history.   They will also be marked as Actual or Estimate.   If we can have at least 1 years worth of actual meter readings, we can work out what your bill should be.