Suspicious practice - or one-off errors?

TMFTP

Personal situation first:

We reached the point of year which Southern Electric Gas use to recalculate our DD payments. they estimated our bill at DOUBLE the actual usage. In addition to doubling the individual bill, it meant a £10pm increase in our DD payments.

While they resolved the individual query with no problems, they cannot justify their estimate basis. It is supposed to be based on previous years usages. This still double anything we've previously used.

If it's one case - fine.

But SSE have 5.25 million customers. £10 per month each = over £600Million pa. A percentage of customers will always spot and query this - but how many people just go along with it? "It's only £5/£10 per month...."?

I notice in another thread someone else saying "powergen aren't good at estimates". Why not? Surely, with the potential for overcharging on such a VAST scale they SHOULD be good at it. At least, I'd imagine the regulator being interested in protecting the customer in this way. These companies chose to lose vast amounts of their meter readers. To do this without having appropriate measures and controls in place is nothing short of negligence.

And you can bet your mother that if they have "problems" with estimating it will be in overestimating in their favour...

I have just contacted the Chief Exec of SSE for his "take" on their "take". If anyone's interested in the response I'll put it here.

I'd also be interested in other readers opinions. Has anyone been grossly undercharged on the basis of an estimate?

Note - This is just a personal thing, aggravated by the fact that I was lied to when I contacted their call centre. they "blamed" me for having erratic bills - 330 units one quarter, 42 the next year, same quarter. This is impossible - "are they based on estimates" I asked. "No - actual readings. So how can we realistically estimate you, Sir?"

Of course, on subsequent review of our bills BOTH were based on estimates.

robnye

i have to agree,

they always try to up my monthly payments, but we refuse, so we haggle and then agree to a figure....

what seems silly, we are always in credit with the gas (due to fairly new and efficient bolier), but they are reluctant to reduce the monthly payment on that.

due to give them a ring and ask for a refund soon... just in time for christmas......

dag_2

I'm with robyneye on that one - there's not a lot you can do, apart from haggle it down. Or switch supplier, and hope they pay the credit balance back fairly quickly. Give them lots and lots of meter readings - you don't necessarily have to give them readings on the same day you took the readings, as long as you say what date you did take it.

I've never yet had a supplier insist on using their own estimate rather than my own reading. But even so, they still set DD payments to a level that's likely to build a credit balance, and it's difficult to persuade them not to. They tell you that if you don't like it, you can quit direct debit and go onto quarterly billing instead - which is usually more expensive.

loon_2

have you tried an online tariff? with these you can manage the entire account online, change dd, input reads, etc.

they also work out a lot cheaper than standard tariffs.

TMFTP

I think you're missing the point.

Do I ring BT to tell them how many phone calls I've made? Do I pay an estimate at a garage when I've just filled up with petrol?

These guys had meter readers. They got rid of them WITHOUT ensuring they had a suitable alternative in place.

The system they've implemented is open to abuse by the companies, with no control over the way they "estimate".

Still waiting on an answer, btw.

loon_2

estimate billing is a problem, but for competitive and legaslative reasons, suppliers must outsource to a third party meter readers. suppliers have no direct control over readers. also, meters legally only have to be read rtwice a year for elec and twice in two years for gas. any one that guarentees quarterly meter reads is guarenteeing nothing.

also, it is almost impossible to get read dates in line with billing dates, as it takes time to send the reads to the company, there may be some discrepency, otherwise, incorrect billing.

TMFTP

So, to paraphrase that last post, they're allowed to overcharge us to keep their own costs down.

I don't believe that meters /user supplies cannot be monitored remotely. At no cost. Accurately.


Perhaps with CURRENT processes and systems it's impossible. But why are we restricted to doing what benefits the companies?

loon_2

if supplies controlled the meter readers, everybody would go back to bg and their local supplier. for example, if bg owned all gas meter readers and local elec boards owned theirs. local suppliers could guarentee quarterly in area reads, but could also restrict the reads of their competitors customers in their area. the same could be true for gas. therefore everybody would be forced to go to their local elec supplier and bg and have to pay the higher prices in order to ensure quarterly meter reads.

the only way to ensure accurate reads is to take your own reads and send them to your supplier, or go onto an online tariff, which allows you to manage your account online.

squarecat

OK, we only use a tiny amount of gas (cooker and 2 wall heaters) so it is in our interet to stick with quartlerly billing and take the prompt payment discount. when the bill arrives, I check their estimate with the meter, if it is in my favour I keep quiet. If it is in their favour I phone with new reading and get them to issue new bill, I then have to 10 days from the new bill to still qualify for the discount!

My big grudge is why oh why do they insist on reading the meters during the day when a lot of people are at work. Surely in this day and age they could have some system set up to opt into an evening round.

loon_2

you'll find that a direct debit discount usually outweighs a prompt payment discount, as more companies want customers on dd. As for keeping quiet about est reads, you do realise that you do eventually have to pay for these?