Bulb Energy bill looks like i am being over charged !

paulmol

macman said:

This makes no sense. You only get switched to a PPM if you fail to agree a repayment plan on the credit meter, or agree a repayment plan and then breach it. Then a PPM would be enforced. Suppliers don't fit them for fun, as there is a considerable cost to do so, way above the £150 that is the maximum they can charge for a warrant.
You have PPM's for both fuels, but you said there was and is no debt on the gas. Why would they then fit a PPM on both supplies, rather than just the leccy?
Why have you not queried the low debt repayment months ago, if you agreed 10%?  It would be visible each time you topped up that they were only taking a tiny amount.
Have you made a formal complaint, in writing (not by phone)?

Both meters are smart meters , so we pay by an app. They can switch from DD to PPM with out changing the meter ( they can also disconnect you without entering the property but that's a different issue !)

so not as to confuse this bill issue i did not go in to the debt repayment, i have called them and they have said that the debit has been reduced by £66 this month  "but it is not showing on the bill correctly" 

paulmol

ariarnia said:

if the op is interested in suggestions for what to do next. the most sensible thing would probably be to contact bulb and ask them about the bill  (then come back and tell us so other people with the same problem can find the answer) 

they do web chat and email which are probably easiest because then a copy of the bill can be sent for them to see. 

https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/requests/new

This is the response from bulb which this confused me even more ! Why do the Energy Support Scheme payments make a difference? The £639 is the total amount of credit applied to the account in the period Why would you take of the Energy Support Scheme payments ? are they not credit on the account ? they say £64.88 of your top ups went towards reducing your debt amount This is not correct  my bill shows that the debit was reduced by a total of £22 ? they also talk about emergency credit but if I have used £5 of emergency credit and top up £20 the meter then shows I am £15 in credit , so regardless of using emergency credit the amount is corrected at the next top up Jesse (Bulb Help) Dec 19, 2022, 12:29 GMT Hi    I have looked into this for you On Page 4 of the statement, it breaks down the top ups made during the billed period - I have attached a screenshot of this for you. The Total top ups made shows a total of £639, however, this includes the three Energy Support Scheme payments as well  So if we take off these, it shows a total of £440 of top ups made by yourself. You currently have a debt on your electricity meter, and this is paid towards a bit at a time by your top ups. Over the period of 15th September to 13th December, £64.88 of your top ups went towards reducing your debt amount. This was the debt that was on your Account before it was changed to Smart Pay as you Go  Within this period, there were also points at which Emergency credit was paid back   Due to your meter being Smart Pay As you Go, you pay for your energy as you use it. If the meter balance ever goes below £0, emergency credit is used and then paid back with the next top ups  You can view your top up history via your Online Bulb Account for periods before the one in this statement too  I am currently looking into the Gas side of things as well for you and will have an update for you on this shortly  Please do not hesitate to get back in touch if you have any further questions   Thank you    Best Wishes   Jesse

EssexHebridean

So what - they are applying the EBSS help but then removing it from your account again rather than allowing it to be used for the cost of your energy? Surely not?! 

macman

The EBSS payments have been credited as a top up.

EssexHebridean

macman said:

The EBSS payments have been credited as a top up.

Yes - but then Bulb have said

paulmol said:

The Total top ups made shows a total of £639, however, this includes the three Energy Support Scheme payments as well  So if we take off these, it shows a total of £440 of top ups made by yourself.

which sounds as though they are disregarding them when it comes to the OP's energy costs? If they were using them to divert more of the OP's own contributions to the account towards the debt, that could be understandable, but that doesn't appear to be what's happening either. 

paulmol

EssexHebridean said:

macman said:

The EBSS payments have been credited as a top up.

Yes - but then Bulb have said

paulmol said:

The Total top ups made shows a total of £639, however, this includes the three Energy Support Scheme payments as well  So if we take off these, it shows a total of £440 of top ups made by yourself.

which sounds as though they are disregarding them when it comes to the OP's energy costs? If they were using them to divert more of the OP's own contributions to the account towards the debt, that could be understandable, but that doesn't appear to be what's happening either. 

even then the numbers still dont add up !

ariarnia

paulmol said:

EssexHebridean said:

macman said:

The EBSS payments have been credited as a top up.

Yes - but then Bulb have said

paulmol said:

The Total top ups made shows a total of £639, however, this includes the three Energy Support Scheme payments as well  So if we take off these, it shows a total of £440 of top ups made by yourself.

which sounds as though they are disregarding them when it comes to the OP's energy costs? If they were using them to divert more of the OP's own contributions to the account towards the debt, that could be understandable, but that doesn't appear to be what's happening either. 

even then the numbers still dont add up !

they might depending on what emergency credit there talking about and how thats recorded on a bill (how the use is recorded but also how the credit being paid back is recorded). 

i'd go back and say thank you for the response but you have a couple of questions.

why wouldn't the ess payments be shown as credit on the final meter balance? where has that credit gone if not added to the meter credit balance?

even putting aside the ess payments how does £440 in top ups minus £387 of use equal £1.50 balance?

is use of emergency credit included in the bill as electricity costs (the meter would continue to measure energy used on emergency credit)?

paulmol

ariarnia said:

paulmol said:

EssexHebridean said:

macman said:

The EBSS payments have been credited as a top up.

Yes - but then Bulb have said

paulmol said:

The Total top ups made shows a total of £639, however, this includes the three Energy Support Scheme payments as well  So if we take off these, it shows a total of £440 of top ups made by yourself.

which sounds as though they are disregarding them when it comes to the OP's energy costs? If they were using them to divert more of the OP's own contributions to the account towards the debt, that could be understandable, but that doesn't appear to be what's happening either. 

even then the numbers still dont add up !

they might depending on what emergency credit there talking about and how thats recorded on a bill (how the use is recorded but also how the credit being paid back is recorded). 

i'd go back and say thank you for the response but you have a couple of questions.

why wouldn't the ess payments be shown as credit on the final meter balance? where has that credit gone if not added to the meter credit balance?

even putting aside the ess payments how does £440 in top ups minus £387 of use equal £1.50 balance?

is use of emergency credit included in the bill as electricity costs (the meter would continue to measure energy used on emergency credit)?

The emergency credit is where your top up runs out  and they allow you to use £5 emergency , it becomes a debit on the meter .when you next top up the emergency is paid back from the top up. For example if i use £5 emergency  and then top up £20 i get £15 of electric , think of it in the same way as a bank over draft but with out the charges for going over drawn.

At the end of the day its irrelevant, the bill shows how much i have paid in top ups and the total cost of the electric used including the standing charge   

EssexHebridean

I think Ariania understood what the emergency credit was but was wondering how it was included on the bill - it doesn't appear to be, to my eyes. With 18 x top ups there, if you went into EC each time before topping up for example that could equate to up to £90 of "invisible" top ups which is quite substantial. 

ariarnia

EssexHebridean said:

I think Ariania understood what the emergency credit was but was wondering how it was included on the bill - it doesn't appear to be, to my eyes. With 18 x top ups there, if you went into EC each time before topping up for example that could equate to up to £90 of "invisible" top ups which is quite substantial. 

yes. i would think the emergency use would be included in the meter readings but because they mentioned it when asked about the bill its worth checking if theres some weirdness about the bill that means thats why things dont add up. theres obviously something so we can't rule anything out especially when it comes to energy suppliers bills being set out in a not obvious way.