fixed rate energy bill is ending and Direct Debit is increasing

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: my fixed rate energy bill is ending and DD is increasing by £200 per month.

BatOllie

sparkiemalarkie said:

Hi I'm with British Gas for gas and electricity. The fixed rate is now ending towards the middle of this month......the new DD is increasing by over £200 per month!!


sx

I'm on a fixed rate with British Gas who just tried to increase my direct debit by over £100 pm. I assumed the fixed rate was for the direct debit,  not units of electricity,  so they tell me my usage has been higher than anticipated.  I may be stupid for not understanding but they have agreed to lower my direct debit again until November.  The fixed rate was until February.  Now I'm back to being scared to use any electricity at all!

Robin9

sparkiemalarkie said:

Hi I'm with British Gas for gas and electricity. The fixed rate is now ending towards the middle of this month......the new DD is increasing by over £200 per month!!


sx

It's time to sit down and get some figures together - last 12 months actual consumptions, your meter readings, the old tariffs and the new ones.

bagand96

Robin9 said:

sparkiemalarkie said:

Hi I'm with British Gas for gas and electricity. The fixed rate is now ending towards the middle of this month......the new DD is increasing by over £200 per month!!


sx

It's time to sit down and get some figures together - last 12 months actual consumptions, your meter readings, the old tariffs and the new ones.

The OP's post was in 2022, the thread has been resurrected by a new poster.  I'm not sure who the board admins are for this board, but it might be worth splitting @BatOllie's post to a new thread to avoid confusion?

bagand96

BatOllie said:

sparkiemalarkie said:

Hi I'm with British Gas for gas and electricity. The fixed rate is now ending towards the middle of this month......the new DD is increasing by over £200 per month!!


sx

I'm on a fixed rate with British Gas who just tried to increase my direct debit by over £100 pm. I assumed the fixed rate was for the direct debit,  not units of electricity,  so they tell me my usage has been higher than anticipated.  I may be stupid for not understanding but they have agreed to lower my direct debit again until November.  The fixed rate was until February.  Now I'm back to being scared to use any electricity at all!

@BatOllie might be worth you asking the Forum team to separate your post to a new thread, as this thread is 3 years old.

As you've found out your fixed energy tariff relates to the unit cost.  You pay for the amount of energy you use, this will vary, so monthly bills will vary.  The DD is a payment to the account and bills are deducted from the account.  The idea is your monthly DD is an average and will cover the annual use.

If your account is in debt then reducing the DD back down unfortunately is just kicking the can down the road.  the debt won't go away and the increased DD would be designed to pay off the debt as well as meet your energy costs in future.

It will be worth you taking some time to understand your use and bills.  Log in to your British Gas account.  Look at your bills to understand your use and the costs.  Check the bills are accurate.... are they based on actual meter reads or estimates?  Are you on a smart meter?

Robin9

I have asked the Forum to create a new thread

MSE_Stephen

BatOllie We've split this into a separate thread for you.