Powergen maths?

jen_jen_2

i have just recieved a letter from Powergen after them insisting i did a meter reading, over the year we have been paying £18 per month and owe them £30.60 to the meter reading.

seems fine, but they say that to clear the balance over 9 months i have to begin to pay them £30 a month, an increase of £12 per month.

to my maths to accrue a debt of £30.60 over a year i have paid £2.50 per month short of what my current useage is, so the monthly installment should be £20.50 leaving a balance of £9.50 form the proposed new monthly towards the arrears - 3 months ish debt will be clear.

So............how on earth do powergen come up with an increase of £12 per month (£144 over the year) for a £30.60 outstanding, how do they manage to think it will take 9 months to clear and do they really think i am so bloody stupid that i cant do the maths myself

so my advice if Powergen are changing your montly payment - check out what they say

and thanks to this site cause i used martins budget and have it on the fridge so i can quickly see what i was paying

Xbigman

Every company does this, not just gas and elec either. SWEB upped my payments from 18 to 24 and I was in credit. Bristol water upped my payments from 9 to 12 and I was only 9 pounds short of the bill amount.

Their computers seem to look to put you in credit so your next bill is prepaid THEN they work out your consumption, add inflation and round that figure up to whole pounds too. I read my meter every month (on the 1st) and work out how much I've spent. I am in credit to powergen by a few pounds so their computer leaves me alone. I vary the DD on-line up or down every few months to keep it about right.
I pay bristol water 10.50 per month, although they tried to tell me I'd have to pay 11. I won that argument when I told them my consumption month by month and what my next bill would be. They then accepted the odd 50p was right.
Regards




X

solarstone

Stick to variable direct debit. Pay for what you owe. It may cost more but why do you think they welcome & discount for monthly payments ?? So they can sit on the interest they earn from you overpaying.

Xbigman

Yes, but if you keep on top of it so you are only ever a few pounds in credit the DD savings are a bit more than the interest would be.
Regards




X

AMBATES

jen_jen wrote:

i have just recieved a letter from Powergen after them insisting i did a meter reading, over the year we have been paying £18 per month and owe them £30.60 to the meter reading.

seems fine, but they say that to clear the balance over 9 months i have to begin to pay them £30 a month, an increase of £12 per month.

to my maths to accrue a debt of £30.60 over a year i have paid £2.50 per month short of what my current useage is, so the monthly installment should be £20.50 leaving a balance of £9.50 form the proposed new monthly towards the arrears - 3 months ish debt will be clear.

So............how on earth do powergen come up with an increase of £12 per month (£144 over the year) for a £30.60 outstanding, how do they manage to think it will take 9 months to clear and do they really think i am so bloody stupid that i cant do the maths myself

so my advice if Powergen are changing your montly payment - check out what they say

and thanks to this site cause i used martins budget and have it on the fridge so i can quickly see what i was paying

I used to work on the team that did this increase. The letter may be confusing, as it doesn't break down the figures. If your outstanding balance is £30.60 then that will be spread over the nine months.

Then your consumption would have been recalculated. For you to have a debt on the account in summer months then you must be paying less than your consumption. So the DD has been increased for your monthly consumption then the debt added on top.

solarstone

Xbigman wrote:

Yes, but if you keep on top of it so you are only ever a few pounds in credit the DD savings are a bit more than the interest would be.
Regards

X

Sounds like an incredible amount of hassle if you ask me. I'd prefer to take the hit with the discount than have to waste my own time keeping on top of it, only to then have to argue with someone like Powergen and waste even more time.

Kind of the opposite to money saving, but if you see your time as money then I guess it is in a roundabout way.

loon_2

The problem here is one of consumption. As AMBATES stated, you have calculated the debt amount but not the consumption. Eg.

If we say your annual consumption £240, your monthly DD will therefore be £20 month. But this does not mean you use £20 month.. it is merely the average. Now, if you underpay by £36, your average annual increase is £3 month. However, the total increase depends on consumption. Imagine if you received this information at the end of the summer quarter… you will be using much less than your monthly average, but you have a debt, when in fact, you should be in credit.

AMBATES

Personally I don't understand why Variable direct debit doesn't carry the discount and I was never told. I would argue that VDD is much better as all the balance is cleared in one lump some. I guess that this proccess may mean that people may referrer more often if they have large bills, whereas this is less likly with FDD.

I think that the time vs money arguement is fair enough, especially as companies such as PGEN only offer 3% annual saving for single fueld and 6% for dual fuel which is not a lot. However I think that FDD is much better for people as the amounts are consistent and small, which is perfect for budgeting. Also doesn't take too much effort to look at your statement every quarter and she if there is an oustanding balance. Admittedly rining up to get the DD changed may be pain, but writing a letter or sending a fax will get them to ring you, or using online fascillities may help.

Finally the consumption issue, I know that PGEN calculate the consumption using a full 12 month period, therefore the average is pretty good as far as histrocial information can be.

Adams Final Word in Springer Style... Since I have worked there, I have thought that the way I will control by account would be take meter readings ever 3 months before the invoice date. This should be done by meter collectors however easy to do yourself. Then use online fascillities to enter the read. With PGEN the selfserv is very good and the online tarrif will save you money, and also no one cares if online customers ring the normal freephone number so all good. Then monitor the account to make sure the Direct Debit is working correctly, if not alter it yourself online. May-pressto, you control everything. Therefore little chance of other people stuffing it up for you.

solarstone

Thanks AMBATES for your explanation. By helping us to understand the way it all works it certainly clarifies why some things go wrong and what we as the consumer can do, to limit the F ups.

What's your extension number and I'll ask for you next time I ring up ;-) ...!!

AMBATES

heheh, sadly I left last week to return home from Uni, but if you ever need help then private message me and I will try to help out before you have to sit in the queue at the call centres.

Peter-Pan_5

Thanks ambates,they put our dd up to £40 month,then told me they owed

me £43 for online discount,we live in a 1 bedroom terraced house.