Switching energy at end of winter

HarriettPotter

So on the basis of info about the energy rising and it being a good time to swap I did a comparison on monthly payments and made the leap. I now have regrets and don’t think I can do anything about it: 

New supplier has billed me (first bill) soon after my existing supplier billed me so essentially 2 x payments in one month to get started. I’ve then looked at my old suppliers via the app and have seen a huge final bill with ‘budget plan reconciliation’ totalling nearly £500. 

This means I will pay 178 to my new supplier plus 495 to my old supplier all in one month. 

I assume that my old supplier has balanced out the payments year round - because I’ve left at the end of winter I must have been in debit which they now want as we head into summer where I would have accumulated credit / cancelled out any debit. I should have checked this but was concentrating on the monthly savings projected. 

So basically it would have been better for me to stay put and pay more per month until after summer and move supplier then? 

Is there a timeframe in which I can reverse this mess?

I had booked a holiday but probably have to cancel it to pay for this instead.  

400ixl

If you are still in the 14 days cancellation period then you can cancel. May still take a few weeks for the payments already made to unwind.

When were you last billed by the current supplier and was that on actual readings or estimated, and have you provided a reading to the new supplier for their billing to start?

TroubledTarts

You owe what you owe and it would have caught up to you eventually.

Always check your bills for actual not estimated usage and do your own calculations.

Keep_pedalling

As you have run up a bill of £178 with the new supplier it look like you are beyond the 14 day cooling off period.

Was your previous supplier billing you quarterly on a pay as you go basis? 

HarriettPotter

TroubledTarts said:

You owe what you owe and it would have caught up to you eventually.

Always check your bills for actual not estimated usage and do your own calculations.

Yes I am aware I owe it and I'm not trying to get out of paying it! Christ. 

I’m saying isn’t it best to just swap at the end of winter so you don’t accumulate the ‘debt’ but are in credit / break even. 

Basically if I swapped supplier in October I would have been paying a bit more a month up to that point but wouldn’t have a giant final bill like this as essentially I’d be ‘overpaying’ through the summer months. 

HarriettPotter

Keep_pedalling said:

As you have run up a bill of £178 with the new supplier it look like you are beyond the 14 day cooling off period.

Was your previous supplier billing you quarterly on a pay as you go basis? 

I pay the same amount every month. 

I’m out of the 14 days by 2 days. Wish I held this off until winter 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

HarriettPotter

400ixl said:

If you are still in the 14 days cancellation period then you can cancel. May still take a few weeks for the payments already made to unwind.

When were you last billed by the current supplier and was that on actual readings or estimated, and have you provided a reading to the new supplier for their billing to start?

My old supplier took their regular DD end Feb. New supplier started new DD 15th March. 

I have a smart meter and gave readings to new supplier at start of supply. 

I just wish I waited. Idiot not to have spotted this. 

Scot_39

It just depends on your current balance - and any estimated billing erorrs for those without accurate measured readings reflected on latest bills.

There is therefore no universal right or wrong time to move across the board.

For many now would probably be the optimal time to switch.  Having wiped out summer credit with winter use - but having summer time to build up credit for next winter at new supplier.

My annual DD review decade plus ago with EOn was in June - and got 2 statements 6 months apart - when I moved over to EOn Next - in Apr - it moved to April - statements monthly but now my DDs and balances are reviewed quarterly with cap changes - on what looks to be a simple target to 0 in 12 monhts basis.

Many others - to their annoyance judging by complaints here - are now being moved to be in sufficient credit ahead of winter - explicitly to stated minimum £0 balance on annualised plans by the end of say Mar iirc at one supplier.

Ovo iirc started explicitly moving some of their annualised plans over to that always in credit model - last year - and iirc - the initial target date maybe was Mar 26 (or was it even further like Mar 27) - to adjust current account balances - for zero minimum balance - to give a longer time to shift the average account balance upwards.

Others had levels set to annual/10 to build up a buffer etc.

So depending on old supplier and timing in their imposed cycle - you may owe, or get a credit refund.

And depending on when you join the new - on an annualised plan - you may face a simple 12th or a higher initial payment - to ensure you do not go negative - if switch in winter - if they have a min balance condtion.

One iirc for some new new customers - was at one time setting a nominal annual/12 DD - but took actual if higher for iirc the first 6 months - to avoid granting them any credit - for instance.

Sarahspangles

If your new supplier is going to be cheaper than the old one for the period of your fix, then moving now was the right thing to do. If you hadn’t switched, you would still have owed the old supplier the ‘final bill’ - you would be repaying it over the next few months, plus your direct debit may have been increased so you don’t go so far into debt, and to cover the increased tariff cost.

What you have now is more like a cash flow problem. If you had paid for a holiday, you would have been doing that without factoring in your debt.

t0rt0ise

HarriettPotter said:

TroubledTarts said:

You owe what you owe and it would have caught up to you eventually.

Always check your bills for actual not estimated usage and do your own calculations.

Yes I am aware I owe it and I'm not trying to get out of paying it! Christ. 

I’m saying isn’t it best to just swap at the end of winter so you don’t accumulate the ‘debt’ but are in credit / break even. 

Basically if I swapped supplier in October I would have been paying a bit more a month up to that point but wouldn’t have a giant final bill like this as essentially I’d be ‘overpaying’ through the summer months. 

Most suppliers don't like you ever to be in debt nowadays, so it's strange that that was allowed. The days of being in debt over winter and slowly paying it off are generally over. Most companies now like a credit balance the whole time hence the many complaints from people trying to get their money back. It's also strange that they didn't block the switch. Which company is it?

Have you checked that the bill is actually correct?

Swipe

Another thread to remind newcomers to MSE to keep a spreadsheet for utilities and enter weekly/monthly readings. I'm surprised Martin doesn't advocate for this.