SSE Hiking Direct debit

Philip_Jackman

I have recently come to the end of my fixed price tariff with SEE, and since March SEE SSE have been increasing my DD which at the end of the fixed price tariff stood at £143.00 per month. Additionally at the end of the fixed price tariff I was £137.72 in credit (nearly 1 month in credit). Now SSE have calculated my electricity usage at  £2078.42 per year on the new standard tariff.
HOWEVER, To calculate my new DD, SEE have taken the £2078.42 and divided by 9 (NOT 12) to arrive at a DD of £231.00 per month. If you take this figure and divide it by 12 my DD should be £173 per month. However, if you take into account that I am in credit by £137.76 my estimated annual payment should be £2078.42-£137.76, i.e. £1940.66, or a month DD of £161.72. Now if we take into account the £400 from the government paid directly to the electricity supplier (SEE) the annual bill would be £1640.66 or a monthly DD of £137.00 
What SSE are doing charging me £231.00 per months means that be this time next year SEE would have £1128 of my money. SSE are clearly doing this to ease their own cash flow. This has to be wrong.

MattMattMattUK

Philip_Jackman said:

I have recently come to the end of my fixed price tariff with SEE, and since March SEE SSE have been increasing my DD which at the end of the fixed price tariff stood at £143.00 per month. Additionally at the end of the fixed price tariff I was £137.72 in credit (nearly 1 month in credit). Now SSE have calculated my electricity usage at  £2078.42 per year on the new standard tariff.
HOWEVER, To calculate my new DD, SEE have taken the £2078.42 and divided by 9 (NOT 12) to arrive at a DD of £231.00 per month. If you take this figure and divide it by 12 my DD should be £173 per month. However, if you take into account that I am in credit by £137.76 my estimated annual payment should be £2078.42-£137.76, i.e. £1940.66, or a month DD of £161.72. Now if we take into account the £400 from the government paid directly to the electricity supplier (SEE) the annual bill would be £1640.66 or a monthly DD of £137.00 
What SSE are doing charging me £231.00 per months means that be this time next year SEE would have £1128 of my money. SSE are clearly doing this to ease their own cash flow. This has to be wrong.

None of those numbers really mean anything. What are the energy rates on your tariff (SVR?) and what is your annual usage (it will be on your bills).

Philip_Jackman

The £2078.42 will be the cost of our electricity over the next 12 months on the price capped standard tariff based on the last 12 months annual usage of 6,477.75kWh. Just by spreading the cost of this figure across 9 months rather than 12 is a clear indication that SEE are fleecing thier customers in order to improve their own cash flow. 

MattMattMattUK

Philip_Jackman said:

The £2078.42 will be the cost of our electricity over the next 12 months on the price capped standard tariff based on the last 12 months annual usage of 6,477.75kWh. Just by spreading the cost of this figure across 9 months rather than 12 is a clear indication that SEE are fleecing thier customers in order to improve their own cash flow. 

If you are sure you are correct then take it up with them, they will likely back down, especially in light of recent Ofgem direction with regard to monthly Direct Debit payments. It may also be wise to have someone else check your figures ahead of that, which is why knowing what your annual usage and rates (the SVR varies by region) would allow someone to do. 

Alnat1

If you are moving to their SVT they will also have accounted for the fact that the charges will be going up in Oct and have factored that into the calculations.

Lots of people will be in credit at this time of year as usage will have dropped now the heating has been off for a couple of months. You need to build up the credit over summer to help you budget for the high winter bills.

Philip_Jackman

Alnat1 my electricity usage does not really vary that much over the year. My heating is Oil powered and the hob is powered by LPG. The electricity powers my lights, TV, PC and internet, Fridge Freezer, and the EV charging point. All of which amounts to a constant usages from month to month regardless of the time of year.
IF SSE go ahead with this DD I will be over £1200 in credit by this time next year.

MattMattMattUK

Running your usage on the headline SVR (it will vary based on your region) and factoring in the estimated October rise your annual bill would be £2,494, or an averaged monthly Direct Debit of £208. £231 would not be unreasonable when compared to that estimate.

Philip_Jackman

MattMattMattUK Did you factor in the £137 that I am currently in credit or the £400 from the government in September paid directly to the electricity suppliers, or the £150 I will receive on top as a disabled person.re run the figures 5 months@ £2078 per year and 7 months @ £2494per year £854 + £1455 = £2309, less the £137 we are already in credit less the £400 from the government = £1772. Divide this figure by 12 gives £147 per month. £84 per month less than they want to charge me, or £1008 per year.

MattMattMattUK

Philip_Jackman said:

MattMattMattUK Did you factor in the £137 that I am currently in credit or the £400 from the government in September paid directly to the electricity suppliers, or the £150 I will receive on top as a disabled person.re run the figures 5 months@ £2078 per year and 7 months @ £2494per year £854 + £1455 = £2309, less the £137 we are already in credit less the £400 from the government = £1772. Divide this figure by 12 gives £147 per month. £84 per month less than they want to charge me, or £1008 per year.

The £400 is not factored into any energy companies calculations, it was only announced a few hours ago.
The disabled persons £150 has nothing to do with energy bills, it will be paid via the benefits system. 
The £137 credit makes a difference of £11.41 per month, but that is still within the margin of error for the estimated increase in October. 

Your annualised energy consumption and factoring in a lower end increase in October puts your annual energy bill at £2493 based on the headline SVR (it could be higher by region), taking a slightly more pessimistic but still very possible rise it could be around £2,618. That is a range of £207-218 pcm and could possibly be higher (again region and October increase being the unknowns). Their estimate for the Direct Debit whilst a little high is not unreasonable. If you dislike the idea of their estimate you can propose a lower but realistic figure, alternatively you can change to pay your bill in full every month, with no annualisation of the cost. 

Philip_Jackman

Yes I know the £150 is paid to me directly that is why i did not include it in my calculation. you really don't get it do you so I'll try to put in words of one syllable. SEE have already calculated my predicted annual bill based on my regional SVR and my annual electricity usage. That figure is £2078 NOT the £2493 you seem so insistent in using. I know what my regional SVR is and I come to exactly the same figure as SEE £2078 per annum. They should at a minimum be accounting to the amount I am in credit and the previously announced (in April) repayable loan which they were receiving directly. Which ever way you cut is the proposed DD is completely unreasonable and it can only be an underhand attempt by SEE to improve their cash flow. Every customer of SEE needs to be aware of this and check their bill very carefully.

MattMattMattUK

Philip_Jackman said:

Yes I know the £150 is paid to me directly that is why i did not include it in my calculation. 

You specifically said: Did you factor in the £137 that I am currently in credit or the £400 from the government in September paid directly to the electricity suppliers, or the £150 I will receive on top as a disabled person 
That demonstrates you were in some way including them in your calculation otherwise why mention them? If you were not including them they would would you say "did you factor in"?

Philip_Jackman said:

you really don't get it do you so I'll try to put in words of one syllable. 

You can either insult people who are trying to help you, or if you feel that you are more knowledgeable than them then you could provide them with the your regional SVR so that they can see you are correct. When your numbers do not add up then it is wise to show your workings, your numbers do not add up so...

Philip_Jackman said:

SEE have already calculated my predicted annual bill based on my regional SVR and my annual electricity usage. That figure is £2078 NOT the £2493 you seem so insistent in using. I know what my regional SVR is and I come to exactly the same figure as SEE £2078 per annum. 

It seems highly unclear, as based on your usage figures and factoring in the October price rise there appears to be no region where your energy usage in kWh can equate to £2,078 pa.

Philip_Jackman said:

They should at a minimum be accounting to the amount I am in credit and the previously announced (in April) repayable loan which they were receiving directly.

That scheme was never finalised, the government was still in negotiations with the energy providers how it would operate, how it would be paid, funded etc. so it was never going to be factored in at this stage, just as the £400 will not be factored in for several months to come unless individual bill payers alter their monthly annualised Direct Debit payments.

Philip_Jackman said:

Which ever way you cut is the proposed DD is completely unreasonable and it can only be an underhand attempt by SEE to improve their cash flow. Every customer of SEE needs to be aware of this and check their bill very carefully.

Well I guess you could decide that just because you do not like something, or do not understand something it is "unreasonable" whilst refusing to clarify any of the points raised. I was under the impression that you had come to the energy board for to attempt to understand the issue, or ask for advice if not then please take note of the section of the forum I have linked to below.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/praise-vent-warnings