energy suppliers are evil!

Coates_2

lately i've decided to take the bull by the horns and try to control my energy usage and bills. i'm sick of these estimates i keep getting and have been worried that i have been racking up a huge bill all the while.

scottish power haven't read my meter for nearly 6 months (shocking) and so i moved online to input them myself, i was shocked to see that i have paid over £150 less than i should have, SP's reaction to this is to CUT my dd by £5 a month! how on earth is that going to help? are they happy to see me build up debt to a stage where i can never pay it off and therefore never leave them? had i not checked it would just continue to build up!

i don't understand how they work out how many kwh they say i use, my daily figures are between 10 and 15 a day for electricity, their website says i'm closer to 100 :S

it's so confusing and i'm gutted i know owe so much money when the four of us in the house already spend £124 a month on gas and electricity

SwanJon

You're doing the right thing by giving them accurate readings & going online.
Keep giving them readings as often as you like.
They only have to read your meter once every 2 years, and if it is in your house it is more difficult for them to get to it on a quarterly visit (so not really shocking that read it almost 2 quarters ago).
If you contiinue to provide accurate reads (always challenge an estimated bill), and look around for energy efficiency advice that fits your household.

going2die_rich

You can ask for any amount you have accrued back, but obviously this amount is normally used to build a buffer for winter months for when you use energy more to heat your home. So would then have to ensure you have that money set aside to cover it.

By they way it's not evil, it's good business sense to acrue your customer money and gain interest on it. It's poor customer's sense for not ensuring they provided meter readings regularly if they weren't being taken. Suggest you learn from it and actually trust yourself rather than businesses to look after your interests.

Coates_2

thanks for the advice jon, rich though i don't think you have read my post properly, i haven't given them too much money, i have given them less than i should and so now i have a large bill to pay! to compensate they lowered my dd - where's the sense in that??

redmel1621

Hi coates, I too was sick of my dupplier either undercharging me on my dd or overcharging me, which meant each quarter i owed them or they had my money sitting in their bank, so i decided to scrap dd altogether.

I nw put my monthly amount into a seperate account (the amount i was paing to them dd) and each quarter when they send me a bill, which is ALWAYS an estimate, i give them a ring with the correct reading and wait for a correct bill to fall on the mat which i then pay out of the money i have put aside.

I have only done this for 2 quarters so far but it seems to be going well, and they are always way, way off with their estimates...another benefit is i can leave whenever i want because they can never come up with some 'surprise' money tat i may owe them, which would prevent me leaving.

I am finding that this way I am actually paying for what I am using, instead of what they think I am using.....and it is more of an incentive to cut back on usage as I know I will see the benefits of it when the bill comes in. Instead of just paying a never-ending monthly dd which does not give any idea of usage at all.

At the moment I am doing this with the gas and the phone bill. But will extend it to the water (am on meter) once a bit more sure of how it's going.

Mel x

Cardew

redmel1621 wrote: »

Hi coates, I too was sick of my dupplier either undercharging me on my dd or overcharging me, which meant each quarter i owed them or they had my money sitting in their bank, so i decided to scrap dd altogether.

I nw put my monthly amount into a seperate account (the amount i was paing to them dd) and each quarter when they send me a bill, which is ALWAYS an estimate, i give them a ring with the correct reading and wait for a correct bill to fall on the mat which i then pay out of the money i have put aside.

I have only done this for 2 quarters so far but it seems to be going well, and they are always way, way off with their estimates...another benefit is i can leave whenever i want because they can never come up with some 'surprise' money tat i may owe them, which would prevent me leaving.

I am finding that this way I am actually paying for what I am using, instead of what they think I am using.....and it is more of an incentive to cut back on usage as I know I will see the benefits of it when the bill comes in. Instead of just paying a never-ending monthly dd which does not give any idea of usage at all.

At the moment I am doing this with the gas and the phone bill. But will extend it to the water (am on meter) once a bit more sure of how it's going.

Mel x

The Direct Debit discount is normally far more than you will ever get in interest.

It is not so surprising that the OP is in debit by £150. We have just emerged from the winter and you would expect to be in debit at this time of the year. Over the next few months, during the summer, consumption will be far less and that debit will be paid off and you enter next winter with a credit balance. That is how the DD system is supposed to work.

If people simply checked their bills and phoned in incorrected estimated meter readings, they wouldn't have these problems.

Coates_2

thanks mel and cardew, i will continue with the dd and see if the amount i owe goes down over the next 3 to 4 months. i did want to see if i could leave SP for a cheaper supplier but i don't have a spare £150 to get rid of the debt

i guess i'm most annoyed cos i'm a good customer, my dd never bounce and i'm quite stringent about my money these days having previously had bad debt.