Shell and debt

Mstty

Different supplier?

And likely the £8000 for two year use is a mistake and they know that it just needs rectifying.

Certainty of a debt over uncertainty?

Gerry1

TGB2022 said:

Gerry1 said:

Registrations for the next Warm Home Discount schemes should start relatively soon.  Keep an eye out and you may well qualify for £150 (was £140).  Shell were one of the participating companies last time.

More urgently, register NOW for the PSR

It sounds like you're set up with Pay On Receipt of Bill (aka Cash / Cheque).  If so, that's likely to be the most expensive way to pay, so that's compounding the problem.  Direct Debit is likely to be noticeably cheaper.

my income is too low to do a DD with a variable rate tariff. i just can't cover it when it is high (winter) and i would get overdrawn and face fees from my bank.

I think you may be confusing two different things that happen to have 'Variable' in the name.

• A Variable Rate tariff is what most of us are on (Ofgem's capped Standard Variable Rate tariff) or will default to when a fixed rate tariff expires.

• A Variable Direct Debit is one where you are billed for your usage in the previous month, quarter or whatever.  As you note, the amount collected will be higher in winter.  But it's not the only form of DD that's on offer.
  

However, a Fixed Direct Debit won't necessarily be higher in winter, so that may suit you better.  IF your usage matches your estimated consumption then a Fixed Direct Debit would normally stay the same.  Unfortunately, the capped tariff rates are expected to rise again October and therefore Fixed DDs will also have to increase accordingly, but the amount paid will also increase with other form of payment.

The key point is that if you are not paying by some form of Direct Debit, you are likely to be paying more than is necessary: there aren't many suppliers who charge the same rates irrespective of how you pay.

wild666

If the heating is gas then try turning down the temperatures on the boiler to 55 degrees for heating and lowering the thermostat temperature to 18 degrees plus lower the water temp. to 50 degrees. There are only three appliances that need to be on 24/7 and they are the fridge, freezer and route.  Absolutely everything else can be turned off at the socket when it's not in use. You could also buy a hot water bottle to put against the body when it's cold or the winter months as well as using the heating.

Are your earnings low enough for you to get tax credits? 

victor2

TGB2022 said:

pochase said:

TGB2022 said:

step change already said they won't help me when i called them, so i don't think it matters, but thank you.

What @MWT is saying is that you posted in a thread that is used to get attention from StepChange, but will be ignored by most normal users, therefore no response from users.

You should open a new thread in the forum instead of adding to an existing one.

Aaah, I see. Well someone above already answered my question: yes, shell can farm off debts without discussing it with customers, so I have my answer. I’m !!!!!!.

You got a very detailed response from StepChange, despite them not being able to help the self employed. 
There are a lot of people on here offering advice and help. Perhaps you should take a step back and explore the options, or get someone to help you to do so? 

Robin9

Mstty said:

Different supplier?

And likely the £8000 for two year use is a mistake and they know that it just needs rectifying.

Certainty of a debt over uncertainty?

Until @madrugada87 comes back we won't know if it is a mistake 

The point I am trying to make is here is @TGB2022 being chased for £60, doing his very best and worrying and the other poster has run up a debt (it may be disputed and eventually we may know more) but he apparently isn't being pursued for £8000.

Some suppliers do seem to be aggressive and others just sloppy.

Mstty

That was as never in doubt Robin. I think everyone would agree going straight to debt collection company for £60 is ridiculous.

TGB2022

Robin9 said:

Here we have OP with a "small" debt  - very significant to him - and doing his best to seek a solution.  But on another post we have £8000 owing and not a suggestion of it being pursued.

You mean someone else owes £8000 (to shell?) and they are not being persued for it? 

TGB2022

Gerry1 said:

I think you may be confusing two different things that happen to have 'Variable' in the name.

• A Variable Rate tariff is what most of us are on (Ofgem's capped Standard Variable Rate tariff) or will default to when a fixed rate tariff expires.

• A Variable Direct Debit is one where you are billed for your usage in the previous month, quarter or whatever.  As you note, the amount collected will be higher in winter.  But it's not the only form of DD that's on offer.
  

However, a Fixed Direct Debit won't necessarily be higher in winter, so that may suit you better.  IF your usage matches your estimated consumption then a Fixed Direct Debit would normally stay the same.  Unfortunately, the capped tariff rates are expected to rise again October and therefore Fixed DDs will also have to increase accordingly, but the amount paid will also increase with other form of payment.

The key point is that if you are not paying by some form of Direct Debit, you are likely to be paying more than is necessary: there aren't many suppliers who charge the same rates irrespective of how you pay.

I’m not confusing anything but perhaps didn’t express myself correctly. I was on a DD when I was on a fixed rate tariff and the monthly payment amount was the same every month and manageable and I could budget. Since green collapsed and I am now on a variable tariff, the DD would also vary each month. I could not afford to pay the increased winter amounts so I set up a standing order which was designed to function like the fixed rate DD of old in that the payments over the summer would pay off the winter debt. I get what you are saying about it being higher overall doing this but if I didn’t, I would have gone overdrawn in the winter which would have resulted in high fees from my bank. 

TGB2022

wild666 said:

If the heating is gas then try turning down the temperatures on the boiler to 55 degrees for heating and lowering the thermostat temperature to 18 degrees plus lower the water temp. to 50 degrees. There are only three appliances that need to be on 24/7 and they are the fridge, freezer and route.  Absolutely everything else can be turned off at the socket when it's not in use. You could also buy a hot water bottle to put against the body when it's cold or the winter months as well as using the heating.

Are your earnings low enough for you to get tax credits? 

I don’t use my heating any more and already turn everything off at the plug when not using. I have not investigated tax credits. I didn’t think you could when you are self employed. I will investigate, thank you.

Gerry1

TGB2022 said:

Gerry1 said:

I think you may be confusing two different things that happen to have 'Variable' in the name.

• A Variable Rate tariff is what most of us are on (Ofgem's capped Standard Variable Rate tariff) or will default to when a fixed rate tariff expires.

• A Variable Direct Debit is one where you are billed for your usage in the previous month, quarter or whatever.  As you note, the amount collected will be higher in winter.  But it's not the only form of DD that's on offer.
  

However, a Fixed Direct Debit won't necessarily be higher in winter, so that may suit you better.  IF your usage matches your estimated consumption then a Fixed Direct Debit would normally stay the same.  Unfortunately, the capped tariff rates are expected to rise again October and therefore Fixed DDs will also have to increase accordingly, but the amount paid will also increase with other form of payment.

The key point is that if you are not paying by some form of Direct Debit, you are likely to be paying more than is necessary: there aren't many suppliers who charge the same rates irrespective of how you pay.

I am now on a variable tariff, the DD would also vary each month.

That can only mean that you are on a Variable DD.  A Fixed DD would not vary each month, although it could be increased from time to time if your usage turns out to be more than expected or if the tariff rates are increased.

You still seem to think that a fixed tariff means a Fixed DD and that a variable tariff means a Variable DD. That's not the case, they are completely independent.