E-on direct debit huge increase.

Silverlining28

Hi all first time poster here, I've been in my one bedroom flat since Jan 2021 paying E-on £47 for electric our flats contain no gas.

This morning I wake up to this email saying my DD is being increased to a whopping £137.

I dont watch the TV very often and haven't had the heating on since March/April 21. 

Bit worried over this as we enter the cold months im not sure i can afford such a high amount. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Silverlining28

The last meter check was submitted on 6th October and shows

Day - 693
Night - 2755

No idea what's causing the usage at night to be so high.

Neil_Jones

Silverlining28 said:

Hi all first time poster here, I've been in my one bedroom flat since Jan 2021 paying E-on £47 for electric our flats contain no gas.

This morning I wake up to this email saying my DD is being increased to a whopping £137.

I dont watch the TV very often and haven't had the heating on since March/April 21. 

Bit worried over this as we enter the cold months im not sure i can afford such a high amount. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Your direct debit is not your bill:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

Also I would argue £47 a month payment for an all electric property was too low in the first place.

This sort of situation almost always occurs because meters are not being read, the bills are all estimated (usually on the low side) and when an actual meter reading appears, this is what happens.

So best thing to do first:  Get some recent bills out and check if you are being billed on estimated readings (they'll have an E by them) or actual readings (they'll usually have either a C or an A by them).  If all your recent bills have E's by them then... oh dear.

Silverlining28

Electricity readings

6 Jul 21 to 6 Oct 21 00575 A 00693 A 

6 Jul 21 to 6 Oct 21 02266 A 02755 A 

Streaky_Bacon

Have a look at your bills as Neil suggests and take some readings over the next few days to see how much you are actually using.

Then the question is whether the new DD matches what you are spending and/or will spend over the winter months.

You say that there is no gas, so I assume that includes you having electric heating.

Is there a storage heater which may be running at night?

Electric heating is often ruinously, and with prices surging at the moment it will become even more so.

Are you on an Economy 7 tariff, to get the cheapest electricity at night? (which will be important if you do have a storage heater)

Silverlining28

Yes electric heating but I've had it switched off since April. No storage heater running just TV left on standby and my phone plugged into charge up.

My current tariff is 

Fix 1 Year v6

Silverlining28

Neil_Jones said:

Silverlining28 said:

Hi all first time poster here, I've been in my one bedroom flat since Jan 2021 paying E-on £47 for electric our flats contain no gas.

This morning I wake up to this email saying my DD is being increased to a whopping £137.

I dont watch the TV very often and haven't had the heating on since March/April 21. 

Bit worried over this as we enter the cold months im not sure i can afford such a high amount. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Also I would argue £47 a month payment for an all electric property was too low in the first place.

[Quote] On average you will find yourself paying around 20p for each KWh of electricity used. While this is not set in stone, based on average levels of consumption your typical household will spend around £400 per year, which works out at around £33 per month.

Neil_Jones

I'd argue £33 a month is far too cheap.  Its the need to heat that drives up the bills, unless you like shivering.  That figure only really becomes plausible once you get into Spring.

Also I think that may be if you take gas as well, since a 1 bedroom flat can minimise its annual electricity usage to as little as 2k per year, and gas is used for hot water/heating... which is not an option in an all electric flat.

Anyway what are your unit rates?  How much are you paying for daytime, for night time and standing charge?

Silverlining28

Neil_Jones said:

Anyway what are your unit rates?  How much are you paying for daytime, for night time and standing charge?

Electricity charges
Fix 1 Year v6 ends 2 Apr 2022
Usage charges £109.84
06 Jul 2021 to 08 Oct 2021 Normal units used 607 at 18.096p each £109.84
Standing charges £17.09

06 Jul 2021 to 07 Oct 2021 94 days at 18.185p £17.09

Curiousgirl1

What is the actual balance on your bill? Are you in credit or in debit. If you moved in in Jan 21 I would assume your annual review for your direct debit will be due about Jan 22. If you are in debit the direct debit will have been adjusted to try to get you to a zero balance at annual review, would be the same if you are only in a small amount of credit so will seem very high but will only be until the review 

stewie_griffin

What where the meter readings when you moved in. Was there a balance on your last statement. Check your bills to make sure you pay separate rates for the day and night usage.