Estimated Usage

Alp1ne

My energy supplier constantly overestimates usage when offering renewal of fixed tariffs.  They have the actual annual figures for previous years to hand (as do I because I take monthly readings) so they have no excuse but they always over estimate by some margin. The thing is, their inaccurate info is used by the Cheap Energy Club so I had to remember to edit the annual usage figures before seeking new suppliers.   Isn't there a law that requires them to use accurate information? It must be deliberate data manipulation.

DE_612183

I would guess they add in a % increase to avoid getting into debt.

At the end of the day - it's just an estimate.

Brie

Worse is when they overestimate when setting up your DD.  I had one being reviewed a couple of years back and the company pretty much doubled what they wanted me to pay.  When I challenged this it turned out that they had used just the figures on my January bill, multiplied that by 14 (??) to get the annual use and then divided that by 10 (????) to get the monthly DD amount.  This was to keep my account "safe" apparently.  I recalculated it using my full year figures and obviously came up with something much less that that based on the coldest darkest month of the year.  The customer service person I was talking to had the good nature to give a dejected sigh and said she knew it was all a crock.  And then set up my account with the amount I had come to.  

QrizB

Alp1ne said:

Isn't there a law that requires them to use accurate information?

No. They need to use accurate info for billing, but estimates of future use will always be wrong.

Alp1ne said:

It must be deliberate data manipulation.

If you don't like estimates, switch to paying by monthly variable DD. You'll pay your exact bill each month, no more and no less.

Note that not all suppliers offer MVDD.

cannugec5

My last three bills (Octopus) have shown my estimated annual usage as 11,400 then 10,700 and most recently 5,600! 

My ACTUAL usage last year was 9,500. 

As others have said. It can only be an estimate unless you have a crystal ball. Whenever looking for quotes it’s always best to use your own figures. 

With the most recent silly low estimate they suggested I should reduce my DD. I didn’t as I knew it would end up too low. 

Swipe

As mentioned, their erroneous estimates get sent to the national meter registrar and are sometimes used when getting quotes from other suppliers. Eon Next has doubled my estimates and I was having to call up every couple of months to get it reverted back to what it was previously. In the end, I just switched to variable direct debit.

EssexHebridean

Pretty much every supplier allows you to enter your own accurate readings to get quotes as far as I know - always a far better idea than relying on estimates anyway. 

Swipe

EssexHebridean said:

Pretty much every supplier allows you to enter your own accurate readings to get quotes as far as I know - always a far better idea than relying on estimates anyway. 

All well and good until one or two months into your new supplier contract they double your direct debit based on the erroneous estimate recorded at the national meter registrar. Better to just go with a variable direct debit if that is the case.

EssexHebridean

If you have accurate use figures yourself  then any such attempted doubling can be challenged successfully in any event - remember, the supplier has a duty to ensure that the amount they charge on the DD is fair and reasonable. 

As has been said here before, variable DD is an excellent solution for many folk, but can be a complete road to disaster for many others, and particularly at this time of year making it a blanket recommendation is a dangerous game. (And before it’s said, there can be many reasons why budgeting for VDD can be an issue, and not all of them relate to people being “too stupid to manage it”) 

Swipe

EssexHebridean said:

If you have accurate use figures yourself  then any such attempted doubling can be challenged successfully in any event - remember, the supplier has a duty to ensure that the amount they charge on the DD is fair and reasonable. 

As has been said here before, variable DD is an excellent solution for many folk, but can be a complete road to disaster for many others, and particularly at this time of year making it a blanket recommendation is a dangerous game. (And before it’s said, there can be many reasons why budgeting for VDD can be an issue, and not all of them relate to people being “too stupid to manage it”) 

Not really, just create a standing order to put what you would have paid on fixed monthly into a savings account with your main bank and move the amount over ready to be taken when you get your bill. Any existing credit on the energy account will be used against any bills before it is requested by variable DD.

mmmmikey

Swipe said:

EssexHebridean said:

If you have accurate use figures yourself  then any such attempted doubling can be challenged successfully in any event - remember, the supplier has a duty to ensure that the amount they charge on the DD is fair and reasonable. 

As has been said here before, variable DD is an excellent solution for many folk, but can be a complete road to disaster for many others, and particularly at this time of year making it a blanket recommendation is a dangerous game. (And before it’s said, there can be many reasons why budgeting for VDD can be an issue, and not all of them relate to people being “too stupid to manage it”) 

Not really, just create a standing order to put what you would have paid on fixed monthly into a savings account with your main bank and move the amount over ready to be taken when you get your bill. Any existing credit on the energy account will be used against any bills before it is requested by variable DD.

It's not that easy unfortunately, which is why I agree that this isn't a good blanket recommendation. For example, having a savings account can affect your entitlement to benefits - and no doubt there are other examples. That's not to say I think your standing order / savings account is necessarily a bad idea, it's just that (as you've sort of demonstrated with your post) the implications of doing this aren't always obvious.