Electricity arrears

JCW1975

Our monthly electricity bill has increased (no shock here) but we have also been told that we are in arrears.
My question is,should they be calculated at different rates so-pre 1st May and after or should it all be calculated at the new tariff?

Our Smart meter hasn't worked for months (numerous attempts to sort) so this will be our first meter reading in quite some time.

Thanks in advance for any advice .

Robin9

If you were already on  a fix which perhaps doesn't run out got months then no..

Has your Smart suddenly burst into life or is the meter reading Estimated ?

pochase

Is your smart meter completely broken and you cannot read it manually, or is just the automatic transmission broken.

I assume from you post that either way you did not submit any readings at all. So how do they know you are in arrears, did you compare the estimated readings with a real reading (if possible).

The new capped rate kicked in on 1st of April, not 1st of May. They will "try" to split the usage between the differen rates, but it might be not 100%.

JCW1975

Hi ,thanks.
So they have told us how to read without using the Smart meter but will not split the usgae.

jbuchanangb

Your "bill" does not increase, it is calculated monthly/quarterly/half-yearly/on-demand based on the amount of energy which you use. If you arrange a monthly payment scheme, such as by direct debit, the amount you pay each month will be calculated based on how much it will probably cost you for the next 12 months, at the current rates. Then this is divided by 12, and that's what you pay monthly. If you have spent several months making payments which amounted to less than the total of your bills, then the underpayment (arrears) is added on to the forecast 12 months energy costs, before dividing by 12 to get a new monthly payment. Typically the supplier reviews monthly payments once or twice a year.

If your recent bill covered a period starting before the date of a change of tariff, and ending after the change of tariff you can expect there to be two sections, the first at the earlier tariff and the second at the later tariff. If you were on the supplier's Standard Variable Rate, then the tariff changed on 1 April. If you were on a different fixed rate tariff with a different end date, that would be the date used. If there weren't any meter readings on the date the tariff changed, the supplier will use estimates.

Ultrasonic

JCW1975 said:

Hi ,thanks.
So they have told us how to read without using the Smart meter but will not split the usgae.

You smart meter is the big thing in the cupboard, not the little gizmo with the colourful display (that's the in-home display). I'm guessing they did ask you to read you smart meter?

See what it says on your actual bill but I'm virtually certain you'll find they'll estimate how your usage is split between tariff periods. This is what should happen, and normally does. 

Ectophile

It may depend on when the bills have been generated.  If a bill straddles two different prices, then they will calculate a proportion at the old price and a proportion at the new one.  That's the way it always has been done when prices change.

If they have already calculated an estimated bill which covers up to the price rise, then they are unlikely to go back and change it.

matelodave

This is why you should the read your meter every month and compare it to the meter reading used on the bill every month and if it doesn't then send the reading in to the supplier to get the bill corrected.

. That way you'll find out whether the meter is working, you'll ensure that the bills are correct, you will know if you are in credit or arrears  and most importantly you'll be paying the correct price for your energy, especially if there's been an price increase.

Trying to sort the bones out of it all if you've been accepting guesstimates, not reading the meter and allowing arrears to build without keeping control can be a nightmare.