It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

linz

Florenceem said:

I use Ald. washing up liquid after being a Fairy user for years.

My local Farmfoods stocks a certain make of W-u-l, I cant remember it off the top of my head but it was £7.50 for a massive 5l carton last time I bought one. Lasts for months & I just decant into an existing smaller bottle. Better for the planet too in a small way I guess!

ladyholly

My thought was mainly depriving the utility companies of the interest they will earn rather than the pittance that I would. They are making enough profits and I dont see why I should add to them any more than I have to.

leftatthetrafficlights

@ladyholly - I'm with you on this!

I'm on the variable standard contract with my provider (who are a green provider so not subject to the price cap so I pay more anyway 🤦‍♀️) so I put readings in monthly and pay for what I use - I have an allocated budget amount which I am currently under (just!) but there's no way I would go on a fix and give the energy company excess cash that I can be earning interest on!

Several years ago I was on a fixed price tariff with a different company, ended up with over £700 worth of credit which took them over 4 months to refund when I changed supplier- I really needed the cash at that point and there was no reason for the delay so I made the decision that I would never be in the position where my money was withheld from me again!! Even if I only earn £1 in interest on what I budget for its £1 that is mine and not theirs - I know that people have lots of reasons for wanting the security of the money being in their energy account and I understand that entirely  but if you know what your costs are by reading meters and allocating your budget accordingly then I think that the cash is better in your own account than theirs! 

srn

ladyholly said:

My thought was mainly depriving the utility companies of the interest they will earn rather than the pittance that I would. They are making enough profits and I dont see why I should add to them any more than I have to.

My point exactly on the previous page and if you multiply this by the number of customers who are in credit it must run into millions of pounds of interest for the companies.

srn

leftatthetrafficlights said:

@ladyholly - I'm with you on this!

I'm on the variable standard contract with my provider (who are a green provider so not subject to the price cap so I pay more anyway 🤦‍♀️) so I put readings in monthly and pay for what I use - I have an allocated budget amount which I am currently under (just!) but there's no way I would go on a fix and give the energy company excess cash that I can be earning interest on!

Several years ago I was on a fixed price tariff with a different company, ended up with over £700 worth of credit which took them over 4 months to refund when I changed supplier- I really needed the cash at that point and there was no reason for the delay so I made the decision that I would never be in the position where my money was withheld from me again!! Even if I only earn £1 in interest on what I budget for its £1 that is mine and not theirs - I know that people have lots of reasons for wanting the security of the money being in their energy account and I understand that entirely  but if you know what your costs are by reading meters and allocating your budget accordingly then I think that the cash is better in your own account than theirs! 

Same here, standard variable and pay each month for what I use.  8 months for me to get the money owed to me back when my supplier went bust.  Never again.

TheBanker

ladyholly said:

My thought was mainly depriving the utility companies of the interest they will earn rather than the pittance that I would. They are making enough profits and I dont see why I should add to them any more than I have to.

My supplier is Bulb, so no huge profits being made there! You could argue I am doing everyone a favour as the couple of pence interest they are making from my balance is a couple of pence less they need from the government. 

Wednesday2000

I got this email last night from Ovo energy.

Your most recent check-in showed us your monthly payment isn’t enough

It won’t cover your estimated energy use and costs, and as of today your balance is set to be -£1,202.86 by 02 September 2023. We need you to increase your monthly Direct Debit to £273 This is an increase from your current amount of £180.39.

calleyw

srn said:

My point exactly on the previous page and if you multiply this by the number of customers who are in credit it must run into millions of pounds of interest for the companies.

Not sure where you get that idea from.  Most business bank accounts don't offer any interest and they get charged per transaction, so each cheque they write etc. You can always tell people who don't understand how business run and the costs involved. 

QueenJess

calleyw said:

srn said:

My point exactly on the previous page and if you multiply this by the number of customers who are in credit it must run into millions of pounds of interest for the companies.

Not sure where you get that idea from.  Most business bank accounts don't offer any interest and they get charged per transaction, so each cheque they write etc. You can always tell people who don't understand how business run and the costs involved. 

I can’t speak for bulb specifically, but all big businesses will be earning interest on their cash. The usual treasury team will cash pool to leave only the on hand cash needed pretty much immediately so they have a large amount of cash to offset debt and also earn interest.

I’m sure smaller businesses will do this, but to a much lesser extent due to fewer resources etc.

arnoldy

I can’t speak for bulb specifically, but all big businesses will be earning interest on their cash. The usual treasury team will cash pool to leave only the on hand cash needed pretty much immediately so they have a large amount of cash to offset debt and also earn interest.

I’m sure smaller businesses will do this, but to a much lesser extent due to fewer resources etc.

Aside from the defence industry there are very few industries that have negative working capital. The energy companies are effectively being paid before they do any work, another example of the ineffective regulation of a quango called OFGEM. We would not put up with having to be £1,000 in credit with Tesco before they supplied us with cornflakes.