So Enegry taking money from my credit?

illbeurhuckleberry

Hello persons reading this.

I'm at a loss. Every month a DD leaves my bank AC to pay SO enegry GAS & Electric.

For example this month they took £52.00 from my credit and I still paid £54.00 direct debit.

Prior to this my monthly DD was £79.00  but as my credit built up they would simply take the cost of gas and electric for that month out of my credit and continue collecting my DD.

I hane challenged them on this and their rational is that I may use more gas and electric. This is based on nothing. For the past  year I have never used more than my monthly DD.

Can anyone enlighten me please?

QrizB

It would help if you can give some more information.

• What tariff are you on? Has it changed recently?
• What is your typical annual consumption of gas and electricity, in kWh?
• Have you been supplying regular meter readings? could you share them with us?

Once you give this info we might be able to explain what's going on.

QrizB

Also:

• About a year ago you were looking to move to BG. Did you join So Energy then, or were you already with them and stayed?

Gerry1

I believe that SO Energy offer Variable Direct Debit where you are billed for your exact usage rather than topping up a kitty with Fixed Direct Debit.  That would make things easier to understand, although of course your bills will be higher in winter and lower in summer.

[Deleted User]

illbeurhuckleberry said:

. This is based on nothing.

Hi,

are your bills/statements based on actual meter readings or estimates?

jbuchanangb

This is the whole point of monthly direct debit. You put money in every month which builds up a credit. The energy supplier calculates the cost of the energy which you have used and deducts it from your credit. Since I joined SSE for gas last April I have paid in £398, and they have taken out £231.72 so there is a credit balance of £166.28. In February I will put in another £44, and they will take out some huge amount. Something similar is happing for you and SO Energy.

MWT

illbeurhuckleberry said:

Hello persons reading this.

I'm at a loss. Every month a DD leaves my bank AC to pay SO enegry GAS & Electric.

For example this month they took £52.00 from my credit and I still paid £54.00 direct debit.

So this is about right then as your monthly costs are roughly the same as your monthly payment at the moment so your balance will not be growing much each month.

The more useful information would be how high your balance is after the bill goes out...

illbeurhuckleberry

QrizB said:

Also:

• About a year ago you were looking to move to BG. Did you join So Energy then, or were you already with them and stayed?

Hi. I joined So enegry last year having left southern electric that the current owners used.

illbeurhuckleberry

QrizB said:

It would help if you can give some more information.

• What tariff are you on? Has it changed recently?
• What is your typical annual consumption of gas and electricity, in kWh?
• Have you been supplying regular meter readings? could you share them with us?

Once you give this info we might be able to explain what's going on.

Hiya.
So I was paying a fixed Dd of £79.99 per month. I was only using about £52 of gas and electric. So my credit balance great to £385.
Its only been in the last few months where they take money from my credit balance and my DD continues to go out.
Do last month I paid £113 for a £52.09 gas and electric bill. Thetes no credit given to my credit balance when I over pay.

I know people have tried to explain this bit I just do not understand it.

I put in monthly meter readings. So gas last month was 03852 znd this month its 03858.
Clear as mud- probably not. 

jbuchanangb

When you had built up a credit balance of £385 it made sense to reduce your monthly payment to £52. The supplier will deduct their charges from the credit balance, and will add your monthly payments to the credit balance. Month by month the balance will go up a bit or down a bit, depending whether the charges are less than or more than your payment. The way to work out whether a further change to you monthly payment is needed is to calculate the expected charges for the next 12 months, at today's rates, deduct today's credit balance and divide by 12. However as prices are expected to increase substantially in the next few months, it might be prudent not to change the monthly payment, but to monitor the gradual reduction in the balance as charges increase.

MWT

illbeurhuckleberry said:

Its only been in the last few months where they take money from my credit balance and my DD continues to go out.
Do last month I paid £113 for a £52.09 gas and electric bill. Thetes no credit given to my credit balance when I over pay.

Take a close look at your last two bills.

The final balance on the older of the two will be the same as the opening balance on the most recent, so you can see where that number comes from.

Then you can add any DD payments you have made to that balance, and deduct the costs for what you have used and you will get to the closing balance on that bill.

If your cost for the energy used is more than your DD that month the balance will go down.

If your DD is higher than the costs for that month your balance will go up..

Typically the balance should rise from spring through until the autumn, and then will start to fall from the autumn through until spring.

Does that help?