Gas bill rise

daniel1970

Hi to all could anyone give me any advice I’m on a fixed rate tariff with British Gas and I’ve just been notified by them that my monthly direct debit is going up from £133 a month to £210 a month because they say my usage has gone up it this right as I thought if your On a fixed tariff you pay the same every month for the term of your contract regardless of what you use   Thanks in advance for any replies 

[Deleted User]

A schoolboy error I am afraid. Fixed energy tariffs do not mean unlimited usage. You pay for what you use. Your contract duration; unit price and the standing charge are fixed.

TheMilkmansDad

the "fix" element refers to the tariff and not the DD. Are you bills correctly based on accurate readings? Are you in Debt or Credit?

Phlik

I'm afraid you thought wrong, your monthly direct debit is calculated on you previous annual use, if that is underestimated or you use more than previous years then you'll be paying too little over the fixed period. This is why it pays to summit regular readings otherwise you can get a nasty shock when it catches up with you.

However it doesn't necessarily mean they haven't made a mistake, check the meter readings used on your latest bill correspond with the readings on your meter.

EssexHebridean

You need to confirm or deny what they are saying about your usage - so sit down and work out what you have actually used over the past year - and compare that with what they are estimating - do the two figures match? If they do, then chances are you are currently underpaying and the DD will need to increase. If in fact your use is lower than they are estimating, you can challenge them. 

daniel1970

Thank you kindly for all your replies I’ve been on a fixed tariff for a few years and this has never happened before and I’m now in debt I’m now paying about 130£ more on top of my direct debit I thought the idea of fixed tariffs was they evened out ie pay less in summer more in winter thanks again for replies it’s all very confusing trying to work out units of what you use and how much it costs 

Robin9

@daniel1970 -  please do sit down and follow Essex's advice.

Yes the idea of DD's is to even things out but that only applies if the guesses at the beginning come true - use more and you need to pay more.

Give us those meter reads and tariff details please and we'll try to help.

Include todays readings please

The_Fat_Controller

If you have been with BG for a while your latest bill will have a reasonable estimate of your annual usage in kWh for both gas and electricity.

daniel1970

Top pic is electric then gas and jan to feb bill 
thanks again for help very much appreciated 

daniel1970

Gave them a metre reading today and this is my latest bill 

Robin9

The words on your bill say ESTIMATED  .. BG is not using the Smart data if it is getting it.   The estimates are pretty close but you need to give BG your reading.

The meter is 7 years old. So 9900 KWh per year

Electric is 6000 KWh  -  and that is very high for a gas heated property. WHY?   BG's estimate is lower than the actual. You need to BG this reading.