Shell Energy AI

Brie

I had to do my own calculation of annual use at Eon was doing it based on a couple of the coldest months and extrapolating that over the entire year.  And adding an extra couple of months in "to keep me from getting in debt".  And then messed up on applying the credits (added them to what was owed rather than crediting my account or DD).  I will switch to a variable DD once I am close to the zero credit/debit level as there's no need to give them any more than necessary in my opinion.

For those in credit I would suggest claiming this back and then going to variable DD.  As long as you can manage being on variable that is.  Some people do prefer a set amount year round.

CoastingHatbox

Shell Energy are absolutely abysmal.

I recently transfered away from them. After advising me that they would be switching the DD to variable to cover any final bill payment (I was ~£350 in credit) and also advising that I shouldn't cancel.. they went on ahead and debitted the usual monthly amount anyway.

I was SOLR transferred to them. I already had Shell Energy Broadband. I found that if I logged out of the broadband account and then logged into the energy account, I could see the broadband account details. Their customer service portal was leaking sessions.

I couldn't get them to link the two accounts because of shortcomings in their CRM system.
They have had an issue displaying Broadband bills on their website for a good while too.

Very relieved not to be a Shell Energy customer any more.

daaave

GraceF125 said:

Thanks daaave, yes, I didn't realise how easy it was to change to Variable dd with Shell so I think this looks like the way to go. If I change it to that does anyone know what will happen to my Credit balance - will they use that to fund the next couple of bills instead of taking a DD? Or do I need to claim the credit back from them?

Yes. They draw down the credit account balance, first. When it gets to zero, they take the DD from your bank account for the full amount that you used the previous month.

I think, if you really wanted, you could request a full refund of the credit. I’m not too bothered though, as I’m only £180 in credit.

RedImp_2

I’m with Shell and what they say is DD amount is inclusive of Govt support so actual amount paid is £66 less till April in case that fools you

mac.d

Looking at a couple of accounts I have access to & know the annual usage figures, I think all they are doing is taking your estimated annual usage and using the current prices to calculate what the monthly direct debit should be for the next 12-month period, but ignoring any credit balance in your account. It also ignores the 6 months of £66 Gov support, because as others have said this is not being applied as a credit to your account but subtracted from the direct debit each month instead.

I'd be happy to put the direct debit to the minimum they allow, keep an eye on it but mainly consider in March what the balance is then and what the next price cap is.

Tangiers

I have a similar problem. To give an idea how little electricity I used, my monthly payments were £30 per month a year ago and Shell recently informed me that my direct debit had increased to £140. My heating is provided by my landlord's biomass system and I pay him for hot water and heating so I only pay Shell to pump the hot water around the system. However, my main complaint at the moment is that I can never see my account on their website so I have no idea what is the current status. I sometimes manage to log in but usually get a message which is supposed to make me giggle saying, 'Oops... something went wrong'. When I log in, though, the account area is always 'not available' - even at 1.00am!

People posting on Twitter about it just get boiler plate responses asking for their account details to be sent via DM - which many companies seem to believe is in breach of data protection laws but nonetheless is pretty bad practice for a multinational corporation to be doing its business on a social media site because its own website does not function.

GunJack

Direct from Shell account:-

How we calculate your monthly amount

We review your account frequently to make sure you're paying the right amount.

First, we calculate how much energy you're likely to use between now and the anniversary of when we collected the first Direct Debit.

We then combine your predicted energy use with your current account balance. This leaves us with your total remaining amount to pay.

We divide this amount by the number of months left. This gives us your new recommended monthly payment.

Remember, the 12-month period isn't based on the calendar year, but the time you've been with us.

Predicted energy use

£3216.49

Minus current credit

£392.01

Remaining amount

£2824.48

Divided by remaining months

13

---

New monthly payment

£217.00

The new monthly payment doesn’t include your Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. This will be applied to your Direct Debit payment when we come to collect it.

GunJack

So in theory they do take into account credit balances, but I do think their estimated annual usage and credit balance and therefore the maths is err....questionable

 

CookieRose

liz_bartun said:

Same for me, they've put it up from £150 (was the minimum they'd let me pay though they wanted £195) to £274 from 1st December. That's before £66 reduction. The lowest they'd let me set it to was £218. So I changed my payment to variable direct debit. I've been saving the extra £45 per month they originally wanted, in case I used more - I haven't yet. I'm also currently in credit by £260, although the bill is due tomorrow so that will go down.

Re the 14 months, OP, were you with Pure Planet before Shell took over? For me that takes it to the anniversary date of the switch. I presume it's because they know we can't really go anywhere else at the moment.

You can go somewhere else!  I left Shell a couple of weeks ago and am now with Octopus - saving quite a lot in the process with it!

liz_bartun

CookieRose said:

liz_bartun said:

Same for me, they've put it up from £150 (was the minimum they'd let me pay though they wanted £195) to £274 from 1st December. That's before £66 reduction. The lowest they'd let me set it to was £218. So I changed my payment to variable direct debit. I've been saving the extra £45 per month they originally wanted, in case I used more - I haven't yet. I'm also currently in credit by £260, although the bill is due tomorrow so that will go down.

Re the 14 months, OP, were you with Pure Planet before Shell took over? For me that takes it to the anniversary date of the switch. I presume it's because they know we can't really go anywhere else at the moment.

You can go somewhere else!  I left Shell a couple of weeks ago and am now with Octopus - saving quite a lot in the process with it!

I won't save any money by switching to Octopus as they are charging the same rate. How are you saving quite a lot?