British Gas saying I'm in debit

SamJohnson97

Hello, 

I moved into my property (4 bed semi detached) two months ago on the 1st July. Following this, I set up a direct debit with British Gas of £257.50 per month on the SVT, after sending them the meter readings 11377 electricity and 13981 gas. 

Now, two months later after sending them £515, they are saying I'll currently be in £170 in debit by the end of my plan. Our current meter readings are 11743 electricity and 14023 gas. Can someone explain where they are getting this £170 from? It's just me and my partner in the house. The heating obviously hasn't been on and we have a smart meter which shows most of the time electricity usage is £2.50 a day at the very most, sometimes much lower. Any help would be appreciated 

QrizB

In two summer months you have used 366kWh of electricity and 42 units (most probably  470kWh) of gas. It's likely that thos is more energy than BG expected you to use on this time, and so they have increased your estimated annual bill proportionately.

£170 on a £3k bill is not a huge change.

Be aware that, from October, your SVT prices will be increasing by an average 80% and your monthly DD could be closer to £500.

macman

Your have used 366 kWh of electricity at your unit rate, plus standing charges.  So do the maths to check. Is your gas meter metric or imperial? We can't calculate your kWh usage without knowing this.
Is the property gas CH and DHW?
They are saying £170 in debit by 'the end of the plan'. That is presumably a projection 12m ahead, so allows for the fact that your consumption (mainly of gas) is going to soar once the winter starts. Most of your gas usage now will be hot water.
And are you aware that SVT will rise by 80% on 1/10, and then again on 1/1/23, so any calculations done in July are now completely outdated?

brewerdave

SamJohnson97 said:

Hello, 

I moved into my property (4 bed semi detached) two months ago on the 1st July. Following this, I set up a direct debit with British Gas of £257.50 per month on the SVT, after sending them the meter readings 11377 electricity and 13981 gas. 

Now, two months later after sending them £515, they are saying I'll currently be in £170 in debit by the end of my plan. Our current meter readings are 11743 electricity and 14023 gas. Can someone explain where they are getting this £170 from? It's just me and my partner in the house. The heating obviously hasn't been on and we have a smart meter which shows most of the time electricity usage is £2.50 a day at the very most, sometimes much lower. Any help would be appreciated 

I've had this "discussion" with BG Customer Services on Chat. They couldn't tell me either how the end balance is calculated and when the plan end date is !! My experience in the past, has been that this balance goes up and down without any input from my end ,either meter reads or payments.
However, last month they decided I was underpaying (electricity only) on my fixed deal, and wanted to increase my DD by ~ £!8 pm - I agreed to the increase reluctantly .
Input my meter reads yesterday which this morning has led to a "you are paying too much message" and want my DD to return to effectively the same as previous months!

BooJewels

I have had a perpetual battle with BG over several years on this subject - their estimates for my own use have no basis in reality. 

Every time I build up some credit in summer, they give it me back and reduce my DD, telling me that I'm over-paying.  Now they won't let me put my DD back to what I want as I'm 'currently under annual review' - which has seemingly been taking place over about 6 weeks or more.

They have always underestimated my use by about half of what it actually is - despite many years of data contradicting their figures.  So I just put the refunds in a savings account ring fenced for them and make manual payments any time I go into debit.  I've just got into the habit of being very careful with my own meter reading and calculations and keep on top of it, independent of their numbers - not helped by them having a very odd billing cycle of seemingly 'whenever they feel like it'.  I would have moved away, but once prices started rising I was on a very good fix that made it worth staying.

PennineAcute

One thing to bear in mind (and I had a similar problem with BG) is that you have only just moved in, so their estimates will be based on the previous owners' past usage.  If this is greater than your usage, then BG's estimate will be higher.  If it is lower than your usage, then BG's estimate will also be out.

Your monthly electricity usage is fairly static throughout the year (assuming that your heating is gas) and (on the same assumption) you will use approximately 20% of your annual gas usage between April and September, with tthe remaining 80% between October and March.

With the new October rates a month away, energy companies are now incorporating this increase into their estimates and monthly direct debit calculations.  With an average 80% increase, this would probably account for your estimated £170 debit.

dunstonh

Remember that between around May to early October, you only use around 15-25% of your annual energy.    So, you can't just take the summer months use and average that over a year.  You need to cater for the colder months and BG are doing that, albeit on an estimate basis.   Then you have to factor the larger increases that are coming.