Over frequent requests for meter reading. Intentional?

elkiedee

I'm going to submit meter readings today after just a few days because there's meant to be a price drop from today. British Gas have agreed to give me a refund for a large overpayment, but I'm hoping for a reduction in my monthly direct debit. I have an appointment to have a smart meter installed on 18 April, though I'm not sure it will work. My electricity smart  meter isn't transmitting properly, and it's very high up on the wall making it hard to get manual readings, but I'm getting my teenage son who's much taller than me or his dad to help us.

Gerry1

elkiedee said:

British Gas have agreed to give me a refund for a large overpayment, but I'm hoping for a reduction in my monthly direct debit.

You may find Variable Monthly DD (Whole Bill Payment) more suitable because no credit builds up.  Of course, it means higher bills in winter and lower in summer.

However, if you budget by paying the equivalent fixed DD amount into an instant access savings account every month then you can get around 5% interest instead of donating it to BG !

Qyburn

Milarky said:

I want to 'control; the exercise by submitting reading only once per month at the same time. But I can't 'train' them and they issued a demand for a new reading just 27 days and issued a bill 29 days since the previous.

I had something similar at the start with Octopus. Every previous supplier wanted meter readings on the last day of the month, so that's how I started off. But Octopus treats a reading as applying to the previous day, and they expect the next bill to be on the same day next month, not on the last day. So i put in my reading on 30th September. Instead of waiting till the end of October they went ahead and issued an estimated bill on 30th October. It was a while before I twigged that I needed to put the reading in in the 1st.

pseudodox

Whenever I submit a reading to EDF they bill me to the previous day.  eg I send monthly manual readings on 26th, get billed to 25th, for either 30 or 31 days (or 29 for February this year).  Today being  the rate change I sent an updated reading this morning and will be billed (as has happened at previous quarterly rate changes) up to 31st March.  I am paying MVDD, and my DD payment for the 29 days until 25th March is already scheduled for 10th April I now expect (as has previously happened each quarter) an additional bill for the 6 days to 31st March, which will be taken by DD around 16th April.

Scot_39

Gerry1 said:

elkiedee said:

British Gas have agreed to give me a refund for a large overpayment, but I'm hoping for a reduction in my monthly direct debit.

You may find Variable Monthly DD (Whole Bill Payment) more suitable because no credit builds up.  Of course, it means higher bills in winter and lower in summer.

However, if you budget by paying the equivalent fixed DD amount into an instant access savings account every month then you can get around 5% interest instead of donating it to BG !

Are BG now doing MVDD - I thought that was a major omission / problem when people were signing up on their new accounts system.

Gerry1

Scot_39 said:

Gerry1 said:

elkiedee said:

British Gas have agreed to give me a refund for a large overpayment, but I'm hoping for a reduction in my monthly direct debit.

You may find Variable Monthly DD (Whole Bill Payment) more suitable because no credit builds up.  Of course, it means higher bills in winter and lower in summer.

However, if you budget by paying the equivalent fixed DD amount into an instant access savings account every month then you can get around 5% interest instead of donating it to BG !

Are BG now doing MVDD - I thought that was a major omission / problem when people were signing up on their new accounts system.

Not sure about new sign-ups but my MVDD carried over to BG's new system quite happily.

The OP says she's awaiting a large refund so I assume she's been a customer for while.  If she's on the old system she should be OK.  Anyway, no harm in asking and if they say 'No' then just Ditch & Switch !