Energy Bills

[ClareC]

I have had a letter from Scottish Power wanting to increase my monthly direct debit from ?68 pm to ?118pm, I know gas and electric as gone up but this seems rather excessive given its the end of summer and the heating hasnt been on for months!!!

Does this sound reasonable for a Victorian house ( 4 beds inc loft conversion)? Has anyone researched which energy company is best value in this area?

[Carrie]

I'm with Scottish Power and my bill is much higher than that for gas and electricity - albeit for a bigger (5 bed)property - they have also justincreased my monthly payment by about ?30 per month. I was so incensed that I went straight online to try and find a cheaper supplier - but I couldn't find anyone cheaper than Scottish Power ( a am on their hydro - green tariff by the way)

[karter]

hi Carrie and Claire, have a look at your bills, how much are you paying per killowatt hour for electricity and gas?

[ClareC]

Just checked the bill, the price per kW of electricity seems to have increased from 8.834 to 10.855, the standing charge of 13.390 per day has remained the same.

Gas was 2.515 pe kWHand has increased to 3.441, again the standing charge as remained the same at 9.990 per day

I have 10 days to change provider.

[ClareC]

Just did an online price comparison - British Gas seems to come out tops although price increases of between 20 and 30% are expected soon.

[karter]

I would not go with Br Gas, they ripped me off big time and said i was in a contract when i was not, they apparently had sent out the paperwork which i never received, my bill had almost doubled they realised their mistake then let me go. You could always check out www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk

[Tatty Mum]

Check out this thread "Re: Gas/Electricity advice" (sorry don't know how to copy link) they may charging you for an imperial meter when your meter is actually metric

[lofty]

Why dont you check if you're in credit on your bill.

We were in credit by about ?50 after the last quarter and I got an email from Scottish power saying they were putting our direct debit up by ?20. I called them to say this was not needed as our current DD was enough to keep us in credit even with the onset of winter. They didn't change it after I'd explained it to them. I think they just have an automated system and don't really check that closely.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Reminds me of what happened last year.:))

British Gas turn up to inspect my Boiler.The Guy is assessing the situationwith the usual (British Workman) sharp intake of breath...:-$..."No,No,Don't know" etc...who turns up but the local Manager who I caught "teefing" in a previous life from his previous Employers.Strangely,this episode did not,clearly,find its way onto his CV.:)

He was rather shocked to see me as he had left "under a cloud" that I was only too well aware of.

Miraculously the work COULD now be done and amazingly I never did get charged for it either.

Funny Old World Sometimes.>:D<

[ClareC]

Sounds good to me :))

I called BG to change to them - 3 separate comparison sites said they were the cheapest. Was told all the paperwork will be through soon and I have a 7 day cooling off period upon receipt of the contract - all good so far!

Yesterday a woman from BG called me at work, asked if I had a couple of minutes - I explained I had a conference call shortly so was fine to speak as long as it was just a few minutes. All started well with her asking if I was happy with the agent that got me to change....... erm pointed out there was none, it was off my own back etc. She confirmed a few general details which I thought a little odd seeing as if they were wrong I would advise them when the contract came through. Then came the crunch.... did I want my transfer fast tracked. Of course I did, however, I cottoned on that what she was actually trying to do was get me to waive my legal right to the cooling off period despite not having seen the T&C's or checked its accuracy.

Hmmmmmmm it really wasnt obvious, I only realised as I work as a Solicitor so know how the law works around these things, I suspect, without that knowledge I would have accidentally lost my rights and been tied to a minimum contract at goodness knows what cost...... I am now having second thoughts about BG given this tactic of trickery.... why do they need to trick people like this?

[Petrichor]

Have you looked at www.ebico.co.uk?

[SCSB79]

we pay ?100 a month for gas and leccy and we're in a modest 2 bed flat. No double glazing so think that's maybe why ours is so high. We're with NPower.

[lofty]

We have a 3 bed house and pay ?40 a month. Do you leave the lights and heating on all day??? Mayeb you work or have someone at home most the time?

[RobP]

The media have been warning us for a while now that bills will not rise, they will rocket like the proverbial taikonaut! And they have. I'm keeping the heating off, putting on an extra jumper and wishing for a warm winter. When your bills do drop through the letterbox, check your meter and phone in with the correct reading, those estimated bills can screw you over, especially at these prices.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article4434019.ece