Help needed! please xxx

Bens_Mom

Hi,
Please can someone advise.... I live in Bournemouth and after finding out my dd with Scottish Power had been cancelled, phoned them and have set it back up again HOWEVER, my bills have incresed by 25.00ish a month - thats on there cheapest rate!

They say i can phone every month to try and get it down... Having real trouble with the gas and electric checker here - saying BG is cheaper - but they are so awful on there customer svs, dont wanna go with them...

Can anyone help me?

DirectDebacle

Bens_Mom wrote: »

Hi,
Please can someone advise.... I live in Bournemouth and after finding out my dd with Scottish Power had been cancelled, phoned them and have set it back up again HOWEVER, my bills have incresed by 25.00ish a month - thats on there cheapest rate!

They say i can phone every month to try and get it down... Having real trouble with the gas and electric checker here - saying BG is cheaper - but they are so awful on there customer svs, dont wanna go with them...

Can anyone help me?

First thing you need to do is check that the D/D with S.P. is covering your usage. I am assuming you have both gas and electricity with them.

To check the amount you need to know the amount in kWh per annum that you use for gas and for electricity. You can check this accurately by using your old bills. The kWh you have been charged for will be shown on them. As a guide the average annual usage for gas is 21000 kWh for gas and 3300kWh
for electricity. If your gas/electricity is charged on a two tier system then do the following.

For gas take the toatal kWh per year and deduct 4572 from this figure. Multiply the remainder by the LOW rate and multiply the 4572 by the high rate. Add the two together and divide by 12. This will give you the monthly payment on your D/D to cover your gas for a year.

Repeat the calculation for electricity as follows. Deduct 900 from your total annual electricity usage and multiply this figure by the LOW rate. Multiply 900 by the HIGH rate. Repeat the calculation as described for gas to get your monthly cost for electricity. Add the two monthly amounts together and that should be the monthly D/D you pay to cover gas and electricity for a year. This will not include any credit/debit that exists on your account. If the price on your bill does not include VAT then don't forget to add this on (5%)

If you are not on a two tier price then just multiply the kWh you use a year by the price you are on and add any standing charge that may apply. For example if the standing charge is £0.14 per day multiply this by 365 and divide by 100 to get the annual standing charge in £s.

Now you know the kWh you use each year for gas and electricity you can do a proper comparison. Using D/D amounts on comparison sites does not give an accurate result. So use the kWh annually when entering usage on these sites NOT monthly D/D amounts.

tiktk

We switched to SP last November after talking with a nice sales person who said £40 a month would be ample to cover gas and electric. Two direct debits later and they upped it to £82 per month. I've been shopping around and it seems little is to be saved by swapping and changing.

I'm looking to cut energy consumption by using alternatives like 12v appliances ran off a battery with a solar charger

DirectDebacle

tiktk wrote: »

We switched to SP last November after talking with a nice sales person who said £40 a month would be ample to cover gas and electric. Two direct debits later and they upped it to £82 per month. I've been shopping around and it seems little is to be saved by swapping and changing.

I'm looking to cut energy consumption by using alternatives like 12v appliances ran off a battery with a solar charger

This illustrates why it is important to know your consumption in kWh per annum for gas and or electricity. All too easy for a competitor to ask how much your D/D is per month and then immediately shave £10-£20 or whatever off it to sign you up knowing it will be jacked up in a month or two.
energy prices are constantly rising and the days of cheap gas and electric are gone. I suspect most drivers know what their car does to the gallon. It is now necessary to know what kWh your house does in a year.

Cardew

tiktk wrote: »

I'm looking to cut energy consumption by using alternatives like 12v appliances ran off a battery with a solar charger

A solar charger(unless it is a huge panel costing several hundred pounds) will save you a few pence per year.

The ones you see advertised for £20 or so have a maximum output of less than 2 watts. So provided you had wonderful sunny 12 hour days, every day for 6 weeks, you would produce electricity worth [STRIKE]10 pence[/STRIKE]. 12 pence to allow for inflation!

DirectDebacle

Cardew wrote: »

A solar charger(unless it is a huge panel costing several hundred pounds) will save you a few pence per year.

The ones you see advertised for £20 or so have a maximum output of less than 2 watts. So provided you had wonderful sunny 12 hour days, every day for 6 weeks, you would produce electricity worth 10 pence.

But Cardew if the prices keep going up it will be worth a lot more won't it? lol

Cardew

DirectDebacle wrote: »

But Cardew if the prices keep going up it will be worth a lot more won't it? lol

Thank you! Very valid point;)

Please note I have edited that post as I accept we should inflation link our figures!

Bens_Mom

Thank you for that info - ill have another look - x