Gas and Electric Direct Debit Increase

KLOWE

I have been told be E.ON I'm not paying enough for my energy:

You should know, based on our latest estimates, you're actually using an average of £9.36 more each month than your monthly payments account for. 

I am absolutely shocked at this, not because it's another price hike, but because, according to E.ON I am in credit for £800, as instructed i have replied to their email, asking them not to increase my payments,  but, still have not had a reply from them. Please, what can i do?  

Robin9

Have you done your own sums using Actual meter readings ?

Are your Eon tariffs the ones that bill every 6 months - take care then with what the credit is shown online.

When did you last have have bills based on actual meter reads ?

EssexHebridean

It’s not a “price hike” is it? That would mean that they had told you that your unit rate or standing charge (or both) were increasing - but your post doesn’t seem to suggest that is the case? 

I agree with Robin that for peace of mind doing your own calculations would be very sensible. Alternatively put aside the extra they have suggested into a savings account of your own - perhaps with a little extra to allow for the likely price increase we are all expecting. That will it will be ready and waiting if it does turn out that their calculations are correct. 

(Edited for typo only) 

ariarnia

the problem is the word 'estimates'. you say eon say your 800 in credit but if you think there estemate about your dd is wrong then why do you think there estemate about your balance is right? 

some question for you to think about (and answer if you can/want to)

when did you last give a meter reading (do you regularly give meter readings or check that your smart meter is sending readings correctly)? 

when did you last have a bill (and was it based on actual readings or estimates)?

do you know how much you use annually? 

are you currently on a fix or are you on the standard variable (which is going up in april)? 

KLOWE

I have a smart meter, are you saying there is nothing smart about the smart meter, I thought the idea of them was to inform the energy companies exactly how much energy we use, am I being naive.  

Robin9

It may have been Smart once but not necessarily now.

Look at your bills  - what letter is against the meter reads ?  A, C E, S or our read / your read ?

Don't confuse Smart meters with bills and estimates of consumption.

ariarnia

KLOWE said:

I have a smart meter, are you saying there is nothing smart about the smart meter, I thought the idea of them was to inform the energy companies exactly how much energy we use, am I being naive.  

no. but its technology and sometimes it fails. 

or your smart meter is working perfectly and its eon computer that's having a bad day. 

or (as someone already said) your balance is a snapshot and you are due to pay a large bill in the near future so your credit isnt actually as high as you think it is. 

basically you came on here with a problem.

we are happy to help you diagnose the problem but it means eliminating some easy things first. 

and one of the quickest and easiest ways to rule out a few problems is to do a basic manual check of your annual usage using your meter readings to give a rule of thumb for what your dd should be to pay for your expected use over the year. 

dunstonh

I have been told be E.ON I'm not paying enough for my energy:

That is not what they have said.     Your direct debit is not the price you pay for your energy.  It is the cost of the energy you have used or are projected to use.

I have a smart meter, are you saying there is nothing smart about the smart meter, I thought the idea of them was to inform the energy companies exactly how much energy we use, am I being naive.  

A smart meter can help but it all depends on how you use it.  If you expect readings from the smart meter to an app to show your real use, then you can get accurate models of what you use and how much you are paying.
However, any projections of future use are an estimate and based on your average use multiplied by current and projected pricing, you are not paying enough.

2022 was very mild. We don't know what 2023 will end up being like.    But if you take your 2022 actual use and add around 20%, you will probably be closer to the average.   Then you multiply that by April 2023 prices.     Then divide it back by 12 to give you a fair guide to what you should be paying.      If you have any credit left by May, then that is the amount you can draw out or use to lower the next 12 months.

[Deleted User]

KLOWE said:

I have a smart meter, are you saying there is nothing smart about the smart meter, I thought the idea of them was to inform the energy companies exactly how much energy we use, am I being naive.  

Sadly, smart metering in this country is far from mature. All meters and comms hubs are firmware updated on a quarterly basis. Sometimes the updates can cause problems. For example, last month my comms hub went into isolation. Even though it was showing the correct LED lights, there was no DCC network connection. It was easy to detect as I use third-party apps that do a daily data pull.

For those consumers who choose not to monitor their smart meter system, the supplier will use estimated readings when billing  - until the smart metering issue is resolved. 

FWiW, even though I picked up on the issue before my supplier did, it would have been detected as it executes fortnightly smart meter health checks. I don’t know if all suppliers have similar automatic testing.

Novice_investor101

I’d agree with the other posters that say check when your last bill was & when the next one is due. 

I’m £733 in credit with British Gas but only be because they haven’t billed my account since the 30th September. Once I take off the usage (from my electric smart meter & my own calcs for the gas dumb meter) I’m actually only about £100 in credit. That’ll get used up in heating costs this month. My next bill is due end of Feb. 

I’ve already increased my DD to start building credit for next year’s winter bills.  

[Deleted User]

Novice_investor101 said:

I’d agree with the other posters that say check when your last bill was & when the next one is due. 

I’m £733 in credit with British Gas but only be because they haven’t billed my account since the 30th September. Once I take off the usage (from my electric smart meter & my own calcs for the gas dumb meter) I’m actually only about £100 in credit. That’ll get used up in heating costs this month. My next bill is due end of Feb. 

I’ve already increased my DD to start building credit for next year’s winter bills.  

The ‘problem’ with debit and credit balances is that consumers believe what they see on the statement/account.

A debit/credit balance is only accurate for one day with the caveat that an actual meter reading must be used.