Utility Warehouse - Budget plan reconciliation

bluepirate1883

How many people are getting caught out with this budget plan reconciliation which can add a significant amount to an energy bill at the end of the contracted term? Do other energy companies do this as well?
My final bill more than doubled, despite actual meter readings being provided previously.

WiserMiser

Welcome to the forum.

For those of us who have not used UW, it would be helpful if you could explain the problem a bit more.

Are you talking about a so-called 'Fixed' DD that turned out not to be sufficient to pay for your actual usage?

bluepirate1883

Thank you.
Having reviewed it again, in light of your comments, I think your assessment maybe correct, although there is no clear breakdown.
The confusion lies in the breakdown of the charges, where electric and gas are split as you would expect but then UW then add an item called Other energy charges which covers the Budget plan reconciliation. 

dunstonh

I use UW but what you are referring to is not specific to UW.   It applies to most suppliers where you use a budgeting plan.

How many people are getting caught out with this budget plan reconciliation which can add a significant amount to an energy bill at the end of the contracted term?

The key is to not set a monthly amount that is too low.   

My final bill more than doubled, despite actual meter readings being provided previously.

you appear to have seriously understated your use to UW when you set it up  (same would happen with any supplier if you did that).   

How did you calculate your monthly payment?   Did you give them your annual units used or did you just give them a random monthly payment amount?
UW give you a bill each month.  That tells you if you are ahead or behind in the billing.   When you got those bills and you saw it going into debt, did you take any action?

WiserMiser

The answer is to pay by Monthly Variable Direct Debit.  It puts you in total control of your budget, not your supplier.

Of course, you'll pay more in winter and less in summer, so you may wish to pay the same amount each month into an easy access savings account so that you get a bit of interest, not them.

Unfortunately, not all suppliers offer MVDD.  That's something that Martin should campaign for, not the misguided No Standing Charges idea.