Shell Energy Billing

Sam0101

Has anyone else noticed how Shell Energy manage to "creep" into the current months energy usage by 6 days before billing?  I send end of month reading to Shell and are never used -  always a further 6 days added on to bill. I have smart meter also and readings never taken at month end by them.  When questioned, always seem to want to creep bill even further forward with more readings and will recalculate going forward only.  Oddly, standing charges are correct - month by month, only tarriffs are crept forward.  I pay by variable direct debit. 

pochase

Do I understand you correctly that you submit a meter reading to Shell, but they add additional units to it when they create the bill? 

And they charge you standing charge only up to lets say the 25th, but add assumed 6 days worth of KWh to the bill

I would raise a formal complaint here and make them pay.

poundsNpence

My latest variable DD bill from Shell covers 23April to 23May and is correct for those dates and uses smart meter readings. It  does always seem to take a few days before I'm able to view it in the app or online though, but no, I'm not seeing any "creep".

Sam0101

To clarify, Standing charge is rolled up to end of Month, perfect, no issues.  Smart meter readings taken 6 days later into the current month. so my take on this is that they are creeping the KW usage into the current month, Technically capturing just short of a weeks worth of forward usage in the previous months bill. 

Ordinarily would not be too much of an issue, however with a revised price cap coming up in October, and, considering the last price cap change and the mess Shell made of that bill, not good on a number of fronts.  Not withstanding, that if they repeat the same errors, they cannot correct the bill, but only go even further forward into the current months bill.  Contact centre staff cannot remedy or correct mistakes, they can only enter updated usage on the day of the query / complaint. I have no complaint with the call handlers, Shell Energy have rigged the billing cycle in their favour.

Ultrasonic

Sam0101 said:

 I send end of month reading to Shell and are never used...

I have smart meter also 

You don't need to submit readings if you have a working smart meter.

What frequency have you got it set up for smart meter readings to be taken? If it's daily then the extra days will be presumably be being billed accurately so there is nothing to worry about.

Sam0101

Half hourly

samal

With Shell DD dates are not same as Billing dates (which may not be end of the month).
My DD date is 22nd of the month, I billing date is 25th of the month, I send readings on 24th of the month (sometime 25th am). They always use the reading I send them. 

QrizB

Sam0101 said:

Half hourly

That's fine then, you're bering billed by Shell on a monthly cycle with accurate smart meter readings. You're paying for the energy you've used, no more and no less.

Your complaint seems to be that Shell are using a month that runs from eg. the 7th to the 6th but you'd prefer first to last.

Sam0101

No, my complaint is billing irregularity and saddling me with a 6 week bill, not monthly.  Anyway jettisoned them and now with Octopus and no billing issues.  I don't think Shell were happy about variable direct debit.

[Deleted User]

Pedant warning:

What frequency have you got it set up for smart meter readings to be taken?

For those on a 30 minute usage profile, suppliers carryout a smart meter data pull once every 24 hrs. The meter (there is a separate pull for gas and electricity) sends data comprising of midnight register readings and an XML file which contains 48 by 30 minute usage data.