Bills gone up after removing ex from account???

rhijones

Hello! 
I recently came out of a long term relationship so contacted all the joint bill providers to remove ex from the bills. Considering he was nowhere near as energy conscious as I am, I kind of expected some of my bills to reduce in some way, even a little, seeing as there was only one person. How wrong was I! After 3 months as a single occupant, I am now being charged £80 over what we were paying as a couple for gas and electricity, despite being on a smart meter which shows I should be paying 1/3 of what the bill is, accounting for the standing charges remaining the same and any price increases.

No change to the tariff has been made and feel like im constantly being fobbed off with a different excuse everytime. Its happened to other bills as well such as Internet and insurance. When I've called them they state that I am classed as a new customer now so they over charge to be cautious and help build credit for the winter months when they know I'll use more/as a buffer against risk, but ive been paying my bills in full, on time for years with them, i just removed a named person off my accounts. Surely 15 years of reputation couldnt have gone out the window to warrant 3x more each month is a bit ridiculous. I've been on the phone to them and the other bills over and over but am getting nowhere. Has anyone else had this happen, and what logic do they use for tripling bills if you declare you're on you're own or is there a scam of charging extra to those who they perceive to be in a vulnerable situation and wont argue? Because this is the only logic I can see at the moment! 

Ayr_Rage

I presume they have increased your monthly DD, they are NOT tripling your bills.

The bill is what it is, so if that is actually a third of the monthly DD then switch to DD Whole Amount Monthly if available with your provider then you'll be paying only for what you use, monthly in arrears and never have any of your money sitting in their account.

You just have to budget for the much larger bills in the cooler months.

kazwookie

What is your actual usage per month in kwh?

The £80 is this the DD charge?

How much is in your online account?

Have you changed your DD down?

BarelySentientAI

Your direct debit is not your bill. 

In the end you will only pay for what you used.

You are not being charged more.

Robin9

@rhjones

Can we go back in time a little please ?

Have a look at the last bill you had with your partner.   What was the bottom line - ie were you in credit or debit ?  What was the letter against the meter reading -  A C E S or Our Read/ Your read ?   What was that read ? What was the estimated Annual Consumption?  What was the DD ?

On the latest bill - What was the letter against the meter reading -  A C E S or Our Read/ Your read ?   What was that read ?

elsien

Also slightly baffled by your comments that your Internet has gone up because unless you have signed up to a new deal or are out of contract and rolled over the costs what you signed up to on a fixed monthly rate. Internet and insurance don’t build up credit as a buffer, so no idea why you think that is happening? 

If your insurance has renewed and you didn’t shop around, it will have gone up because the insurance prices are ridiculous at the moment for everyone. 

I think you need to be clearer about what the issues are with your other bills outside of your utilities. 

dunstonh

When I've called them they state that I am classed as a new customer now so they over charge to be cautious and help build credit for the winter months when they know I'll use more/as a buffer against risk, but ive been paying my bills in full, on time for years with them, i just removed a named person off my accounts

If the contracts were not in your name or joint names, then you are a new customer.   And they are correct that if you are using budgeting rather than bill payment then your payments from May to October tend to build summer credit to offset increased use over the following 6 months.    

If they were in your name, then removing an ex partner shouldn't change the account or the payment unless you were already in arrears.  Broadly speaking, on budget plans, May is the month you want your account to be zero.  If you are in arrears in May then you are not paying enough.  If you are in credit then you are paying too much.

You are not being overcharged.  You are billed on your use.    The monthly DD is a guess at future use and future cost.  If you don't agree, tell them to lower it but check your actual usage first and have it to hand.  i.e. tell them your annual usage in kWh and not in money.

 or is there a scam of charging extra to those who they perceive to be in a vulnerable situation and wont argue?

Nothing you have said hints at your being charged extra.   That is a misunderstanding on your part.  There is no scam.

Scot_39

Are you on annualised DD or standard credit - now and before ?

You say you are being expected to build up credit - which sounds like annualised DD.

But you also then say hwve been paying your bills on time - which sounds like standard credit (pay whole amount on receipt of bill).

If you switched payment method when changed names then they will definitely have you building credit for winter.  When bills can easily be 3-4x summer levels if not more for many.

And yes 1 adult earning vs 2 - is likely seen as a higher credit risk for a household 

And if we're on standard credit - monthly variable direct debit - pay monthly in arrears for used - is the most similar arrangement - and you still get cheaper DD vs standard credit rates.

(But others have even switched to smart prepay now cap c£47 cheaper and top up by regular e.g. weekly payments from bank.)


As to other bills like Internet - like phones - those often increase by rpi or cpi plus 3.9% if not in fix - as per Ofcom agreement to fund part of 5g and fibre rollout plan. Recently that's seen 10% plus increases for everyone.

And car insurance - they do seem to favour couples - having another named low risk driver often lowers premium.  Not sure same true about home. 
But premiums been rocketing for both - switching it seems is still key.
My home insurer wanted 40% more at renewal for 3rd year with them - I switched and although could find a few cheaper policies cs last year - still paid 5% more with provider chosen - took a couple of hours on a comparison site then checking a few insurers site for exact cover details to switch to save that 35%.