Ovo mid term fixed price rise

Scot_39

You say they are estimating usage - and only giving us the differentials - but I expect the bills actually have their estimated corresponding readings.

And if so - how do those readings compare with your own.

Forget last year - that's at best a useful benchmark - it has no real bearings on what you may or may not have been using now - which can change massively without noticing if you don't stay on top of readings and bills - either by subtle behavior or by say a faulty appliance / meter / installation.

You have three estimated monthly usage statements and 2 readings straddling them.

The "over" estimates you claim - are non trivial - and over time would push the estimated absolute meter "readings" far beyond actual meter readings.

So dig out those monthly statements, and look not at the monthly usage - but the actual estimated readings - the absolutes not the month to month differences - then dig out your readings - and see how the two actually compare.

If - and thats a big if - you are still using roughly the same amount as last year - given the estimates are 50% to 100% out - I would expect to see a large difference.

My mums gas account ended up in a real mess - she owed £600+ - because BG had ignored 2 actual meter readings and two family submitted readings. They had all 4 on her account records as notes - but none of them had been applied / authorised for use by billing system. 

Submitting readings - and then accepting estimated bills that ignore them - if they in fact have ignored them - a mistake.

You shouldn't have to accept anything based on estimated billing if you have been submitting readings.

Give us the numbers - the absolute estimates and the dates - for their's from the monthly statements - and your own actual readings / dates.

It might give us the clear clue whether they are continuously overbilling - or simply catching up from past underbilling / your current actual use.

matelodave

It makes life so much easier if you read your meters once a month, send in the readings and check that your bills are based on those readings rather than estimates.

You can also check the state of your account by checking it on-line so you can anticipate whether you are going into credit or debit and at least understand what is going on.

Estimates are just guesses, however having  a few underestimates can put you a long way into debt which has to be paid back together with your ongoing consumption.

As said above, don't accept an estimated bill, send in a reading and get it corrected

AnotherConfusedPerson

Hi QrizB, I’ll have a look at that next.

Right now I’ve just found the actual reading I gave on 20th Sept 2021, when Martin Lewis was advising everyone to take a photo of their meters.  Glad I did.
For gas it was 2507.

Then I was asked to send a reading on 30th June this year which I did (I’d sent others in between) and it was 2751.

So in 1 year and 9 months I’d actually used 244 kWh.

The unit price right now with OVO is 9.84p.  I’m assuming that’s 9p not £9?

244 x 9.84p = £240.096

If that’s what I’ve used in 1 year and 9 months and it’s cost £240 at today’s unit price, how can they be asking me to pay £250 a month now?!

Also, I’ve always been well in credit with one and pretty much breaking even with the other (I mean gas/electric). 

Is my maths right?  If so I need to call them back with this information.
I’ll look into that info QrizB talked about as well.

If there’s a glaring mistake I’m not seeing please tell me.

Thanks

AnotherConfusedPerson

Forgot to add standing charge of 26.18p per day…

tim_p

Are those figures the numbers from the meter?  Is the meter marked m3 (cubic metres)?  The gas meter doesn’t read in kWh (unless you’re reading a figure marked as kWh - still wrong) it reads in m3. To convert to kWh you need to convert from m3 to kWh, which for a pretty good approximation is 11.2, so that 244 becomes 2733 kWh. A much more realistic figure compared with 244 for 21 months, although still commendably low!
if the meter is marked in cubic feet then it is a whole other figure. So what is it, m3 or ft3?

AnotherConfusedPerson

£170 ish for standing charge.

Total for consumption plus standing charge = £410 ish from 20th Sept 2021 to 30th June 2023.

£250 per month is ridiculous?

QrizB

AnotherConfusedPerson said:

Right now I’ve just found the actual reading I gave on 20th Sept 2021, when Martin Lewis was advising everyone to take a photo of their meters.  Glad I did.
For gas it was 2507.
Then I was asked to send a reading on 30th June this year which I did (I’d sent others in between) and it was 2751.
So in 1 year and 9 months I’d actually used 244 kWh.

It doesn't quite work like that.

2751-2507 = 244. However gas meters don't measure kWh, they measure either cubic metres or hundreds of cubic feet.

• A cubic metre of gas is about 11.3kWh. 244 cubic metres will be about 2750kWh.
• A hundred cubic feet of gas is 2.83 cubic metres, and 32kWh. 244 hundred cubic feet will be about 7800kWh.
  

Your meter will be marked to say whether it measures hundreds of cubic feet (ft3) or cubic metres (m3). You can probably see this marking in your photos.

Meters with four digits are usually measuring hundreds of cubic feet, but your readings might have been 02504 and 02751 in which case they are likely to be cubic metres.

AnotherConfusedPerson

It’s cubic feet.  So that’s 7800 x 9.84p + £170 standing charge / 21 months = £373.58 per month.  And that’s just for gas 😕
I need to call them and offer more than £250 per month!  Easier said than done.
Thanks for your help 👌  Makes it easier to stomach if I understand the figures.

molerat

AnotherConfusedPerson said:

It’s cubic feet.  So that’s 7800 x 9.84p + £170 standing charge / 21 months = £373.58 per month.  And that’s just for gas 😕
I need to call them and offer more than £250 per month!  Easier said than done.
Thanks for your help 👌  Makes it easier to stomach if I understand the figures.

Your maths are a bit off.

7800 kWh is £767.52

Standing charge is £170

= £937.52 so £44.64 over 21 months

Somewhere on your bill they should show what they think your estimated annual consumption for each fuel is, what are those figures ?

AnotherConfusedPerson

Oh heck this is why I need help!
I’ll have a close look for those figures when I get a chance tonight.
Thats good news though, thanks 😊