trying to save money cost me.

Davydonny · 9 July 2018 at 10:59AM

I have moved from Scottish Power to Flow for a cheaper monthly payment, but Scottish Power as taken £171 out of my bank for a final payment. I tried sorting it through e-mails and this morning by chat, it seems they used a reading of 10281 estimated for my gas when it should have read 10258, the lady says I will get £8 refunded? is this amount correct, I have no idea how they work these costs out ? Thank you.

[Deleted User] · 9 July 2018 at 11:28PM

It sounds about right for a small discrepancy

Davydonny · 10 July 2018 at 7:48AM

Thank you, but where did they get the £171 from in the first place I never missed a payment by direct debit, yet the final bill is nearly 4 months DD payments ? And my weeks pension taken straight from my bank account leaving me nothing to live off

Ectophile · 10 July 2018 at 9:28PM

Most likely, you've been paying the wrong amount for several months. The energy companies like to recalculate your direct debit amount just once a year, based on what you've used over the last 12 months.

If your energy usage changes, you could end up quite a bit in credit or in debt by the time they get around to calculating it again.

Robin9 · 10 July 2018 at 10:08PM

Davydonny - when you switched from SP to Flow did you give actual annual consumption or just your present DD ? As Ectophile says you have probably been underpaying and if this is the case you will be underpaying Flow.

If you are not already in the habit read your meters at least monthly and give them to Flow, keep your own records and read and understand your bills.

G_M · 10 July 2018 at 10:52PM

Davydonny wrote: »

Thank you, but where did they get the £171 from in the first place I never missed a payment by direct debit,

The amount you owe depends on the amount of energy (gas/electric etc) you use.

It does not depend on the amount of your DD.

Your DD is set up based on how much energy they (and you) think you will use in the future. But this can be wrong.

If you use more energy than they/you expected, then your DD is, at some point, adjusted.

But in this case, because you were closing your account and moving supplier, they needed to immediately take the outstanding amount (£171) as you had used more energy than you'd paid for.

You have not lost any money - you would have had to pay this at some point, and if Flow is cheaper, then you will save yourself money in the future.

The refund sounds about right to make up for the difference between the 10281 estimated reading, and the 10258 actual reading.

ed1178 · 15 July 2018 at 4:18AM

As others have pointed out, it seems you have been underpaying your old supplier for resons already explained.

In your situation, it is worth speaking to them and explaining the situation- that a large payment will cause you temporary hardship - and see if they will agree to take it in a few, smaller instalments. As you are no longer a customer, they are probably not obliged to assist in this way, but there is no harm in politely asking! It might be sensible to approach them with a reasonable offer that you feel is affordable to you.

As others have suggested the key to avoiding this situation in the future is to regularly check your meter readings and bills, ensuring your direct debit is sufficient to cover your expected usage. You will use vastly more energy in the winter, so don't be tempted to scrimp on payments over the spring and summer, but build up sufficient credit to pay the higher winter months bills. Personally I prefer to overpay year round to avoid nasty surprises, then ask for credit back when I feel there is more than a few months worth on account.

trying to save money cost me.

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