Advice please :O)

icequeeniecash · 8 November 2005 at 3:43PM

Hi there, I got a letter through from Scottish Power today telling me that my direct debit amount is going up from £36.50 to £49.50. We are £58.27 in credit at the moment but they are still putting it up. Last year until our payments were revised in May 2005 we were paying £24/month DD. At the end of the winter we owed them £21.00 so they put our monthly payments up to £36.50, now we are in credit and they are putting our payments up to £49.50. We have used 777 units of gas in the last year.

I was so angry on the phone but managed to keep my cool though when I asked to speak to someone else that might be able to explain it a bit better the girl said that it was her job and she could put it down to £45 per month, wow a whole £4.50 off. Lucky me. I understand they have got to allow for the winter but surely my gas can't have doubled in price since last winter. Does this seem right? Any advice would be great. Another quick question, are the units of gas the same as kwh? If not then how do i convert it?

Many thanks, Kimbers

joe13 · 8 November 2005 at 4:13PM

icequeeniecash wrote:

Hi there, I got a letter through from Scottish Power today telling me that my direct debit amount is going up from £36.50 to £49.50. We are £58.27 in credit at the moment but they are still putting it up. Last year until our payments were revised in May 2005 we were paying £24/month DD. At the end of the winter we owed them £21.00 so they put our monthly payments up to £36.50, now we are in credit and they are putting our payments up to £49.50. We have used 777 units of gas in the last year.

Some months ago Scottish Power asked us to increase our direct debit from £56 per month to £116 as we were in debt to them. I refused to pay, if we had paid the 116 per month by the end of the year we would have been massively in credit. We settled on £89 per month. This was still a huge hike in price.
I agree the charges have gone up massively over the last 2 years, but so I think have all the power suppliers.

njm_2 · 8 November 2005 at 4:37PM

I had a similar experience relating to a DDR (not with a power company) where they proposed to increase it for no apparent reason. I telephoned them and refused to accept the increase. They reviewed their figures and realised that they had made a mistake – they even admitted so – that must be a first!
Since you are in credit I think they are being unreasonable as you have already created a buffer to cover your increased usage during the winter months. Try contacting them again and refuse to accept the increase, if they get funny then make a formal request to have the overpayments refunded and advise them that you will take this up with Energywatch.

"Another quick question, are the units of gas the same as kwh? If not then how do i convert it?"

Do you have a imperial (ft3) or metric (m3) meter?

For an imperial meter you need to multiply the meter reading by 31.3 and that should give you the kWH’s. (To convert gas units to kilowatt hours: gas units used x imperial to metric conversion factor (2.83) x volume conversion factor (1.022640) x calorific value (39.7) divided by kilowatt hour conversion factor (3.6) = kilowatt hours used.)( This is the same as: gas units used x 31.3 = kilowatt hours used)

With a metric meter you need to multiply the meter reading by 11.22 and that should give you the kWH’s
To convert gas units to kilowatt hours: gas units used x volume conversion factor (1.022640) x calorific value (39.7) divided by kilowatt hour conversion factor (3.6) = kilowatt hours used.)(This is approximately the same as: gas units used x 11.28 = kilowatt hours used

Your gas bill will state you Conversion factor and Calorific Value as these might differ from those quoted above.

Cardew · 8 November 2005 at 9:50PM

Just a word of caution on this.

With the billing methods they use, being in credit by £58.27p does not mean quite that! This is because your account is debited each quarter but it is credited each month when your direct debit is received.

Take this hypothetical example:

Last bill on 1st Sept showing a £40 debit balance.

You pay £50 direct debit monthly on the 5th of each month.

So on 5th Sep, 5th Oct & 5th Nov your account is credited with £50 a total of £150 and your account is in credit by £110. (£150-£40)

On 1st Dec you get a bill for, say, £170 and you are now in debit by £60.

This is exactly what happens to me if I check my account on-line just before a bill is due - I always am well in credit. However in reality I could have a debit balance.

On your consumption of 777 units last year. Assuming it is an Imperial meter,(as it surely must be) you used 24,165kWh.

With the latest price rises I calculate that a similar consumption will cost approx £540 next year(assuming there are no further price rises)

That is £45 a month. If indeed you are not in credit(see above) £49.50 doesn’t seem unreasonable.

icequeeniecash · 8 November 2005 at 10:49PM

Our last bill was dated from 03/08 till 30/10 so it seems like I really am that much in credit unless I'm working it out wrongly. In May this year we were paying £24, now we are paying double that because for last winter we were £21 over, it just doesn't work out right in my head.

I think I'll change to another company, even if its just a little saving then it is better than nothing. Working it out on the comparison sites with my yearly kWh it works out at only £413 with Atlantic Electric & Gas compared to the £600 a year Scottish Power are quoting me over the phone. Which is less than I was paying before the price rise. I was actually cheaper with my old gas boiler, tank, and gas hob than I am with a brand new boiler and no other gas usage. Doesn't seem right does it?

Thanks for the advice and input.

Kimbers x

Advice please :O)

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