Gas and leccy bill rant (1 Viewer)

[PhilandMena]

Following on from my home insurance moan. ( now resolved , much cheaper) British Gas wish to increase my monthly gas and electric bill by £20, purely on forecasted usage. I am already £155 in credit. They do this every flipping year and then I have to go to the effort of contacting them to try to leave it where it is. I have a smart meter being fitted soon which will allow me to adjust payments if my usage does go up. Well they can jog on.

I used to be with British gas and left them to Join OVO. My savings are significant. After Joining OVO I asked thenm to fit smart meters which they did for free (They wait for you to ask however, even though all smart meters are being paid for by the Government). I also have the Hive system fitted so I can control my energy when not at home. With the smart meters fitted, there is no monthly readings undertaken by OVO, it's done on a daily basis and I am billed monthly (I can see each day how much I have used). Anyway, moving on. At any time I can ask for some or all or my credit to be paid back into my bank account. To date, since joining OVO I have had no request for additional payments. Why would they when they can see my real time usage.

 

[PhilandMena]

I just thought I would add, I can read my gas and electric meters from my tablet or Laptop. My smart meters also have a connection to my Router ! All free.

 

[Puddleduck]

My energy supplier rant is that because there is no mains gas here we can't get a dual fuel discount.

Mind when stopped by the enthusiastic young people trying to get me to change supplier I can get them to agree to supply gas as well as electric after checking they really do supply gas ...... then make a fuss when they realise we are not on mains gas .... "But you said you could supply gas to me. Now I need you to do the connection. Yes, I know the nearest mains is 8 miles away but you said ..... and a verbal contract is binding and I have a witness." lol

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PhilandMena]

Jez, here I go again LOL. Just has a quick look at my online readings which I can see in real time, hourly, weekly, monthly, and annualy. My total annual bill from November 2015 to, today is: Elec. £331.93 and Gas £158.56 (Better Energy online).
We overwinter outside the UK.

 

[TerryL]

I'm currently having an "issue" concerning Smart Meters. I want them fitted but because we have solar panels I'm told we can't, excuse being something to do with being unable to take the solar input into account. Personally that doesn't wash, all I want is for the meters to send the numbers in rather than having to do it myself every month.

 

[JockandRita]

After some years with Scottish Power, and them wanting to hike up the DD payments every year, we went with OVO over three years ago, and haven't looked back since.
They installed a smart meter (I have no knowledge of possible disadvantages), which tells them what they need to know, and I can go online at any time when away from home, and check any unusual usage. We pay £67 pcm both both energies, and have £157 in credit. When away from home, (April to October) the daily cost for gas is 39p, and for electricity, it's 63p - 69p pending use of auto timers for lights.

Cheers,

Jock.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[roamingman]

British Gas are a terrible company to deal with. I would switch to someone else.

I'm with EDF on a fixed price plan. The last two times the plan has ended and I've had to start another one the monthly payment has gone down.

I know it won't be the same for everyone but it works for me.

We have British Gas great company only pay £11.40 per fortnight.

 

[Bart]

we get 4% interest on credit balances, I am happy to let them put mine up

Woot ,, awesome,, pity my oil supply company was not as generous, as i pay by DD every month and since oil prices dropped i never adjusted the amount we paid in,, so last week i got a cheque from them ( after requesting it ) for the total amount of credit i had which was £600+

 

[Bart]

Also on the note of electricity prices , my son just lately got his own place with a payg elec meter in it,, at the rate of 13.33 per unit , while there is me with a meter and paying by DD paying more than him , i pay 13.39 Per unit , yes i know its my fault for not shopping around,, but ill not bother now, as i am trying to see the house so i can try going full time in the MH

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brimal]

Easy to switch supplier. My Sister in Law was paying way over the odds with BG.
We did a comparison check with MoneySavingExpert and one or two other comparison sights and saved her over £20 per month and she got £15 per fuel cashback. Do it, it's "Simples"

 

[Langtoftlad]

Another happy OVO customer, even though they're not the absolute cheapest.
For me, hassle free customer service is worth something.
They recently said I was paying too much & would I like to reduce monthly.
No thanks, quit happy with my 3% on credit balance .

 

[Melvin]

Smart meters, do they cause any problems when changing suppliers, I thought I read somewhere that the company owned the meter and that ment that you were locked into them.​

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PhilandMena]

Smart meters, do they cause any problems when changing suppliers, I thought I read somewhere that the company owned the meter and that ment that you were locked into them.​

No problem moving with smart meters. Check with your current service provider who will confirm this for your peace of mind.

 

[jockaneezer]

So, will I still be able to fit this over the front of my smart meter ?

 

[mexican pete]

Hi, I was with BG then switched to Sainsbury's only to find they were a front for BG!!! Switched to Co-op two years ago and my bills dropped by at least 25% so do your homework to get a good deal.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[TerryL]

For those wanting to stay with BG (like me - have had enough problems with others I've tried) MoneySavingExpert recently did one of their "wholesaler" tricks with BG which also included existing users. They predict I'll save £240 p.a. If so, due to solar panels, my energy costs for a year will be......................zero! Yeh, right, we'll see!

 

[32143]

We are with Scottish power our first winter away our electric at home was about £200 a month, with heating on very low for only a couple of hours a day, switched off completely for one month by our neighbour. It was the highest bills we had ever had, took ages to sort out complaining, eventually they came out and fitted us a new meter and monitored our usage which dropped dramatically, we ended up getting a credit of about £550 which lasted us a full year, I took a reading every month for the last year and they took payment out of the credit it just ran out this September, but I did notice when I went online each month to add reading they showed my valance in credit and at any point I could have clicked to request the full amount back to us.

Lin

 

[Minxy]

We're with Eon - best deal and also get Tesco points too = Eurotunnel tickets!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

I sort-of-followed stories and TV ads about switching. I actually started the process some time ago but lost patience with the website I was using so abandonned the idea.
Then, just over a year ago, our local authority advertised that they had come to some arrangement with a supplier to offer good terms and an easy-to-follow process to see what the new supplier could offer.
I was with BG and Eon paying around £138 a month. The new supplier came up with a ridiculous figure to supply both gas and electricity for £66 a month. So where's the catch - I still haven't found it.
I've been paying £66 a month since then, get very informative usage statements each month and am now in £55 credit.

I know we all have different circumstances and different power usage but difficult to understand how my current supplier can charge half of what my previous suppliers were charging - and still make a profit.

Just a bit of an update.
Since signing up to my new supplier, OVO, and paying £66 a month instead of £138 with British Gas and EON, I've been expecting a letter from OVO saying "Dear Sir, sorry but we miscalculated......"
But it hasn't come. Every month I submit meter readings and every month I get a statement showing my credit balance increasing by about £10 a month. It currently sits at £81.
So, in the 9 months being with OVO I've saved £650 AND have £81 in credit. That's a big chunk of money and still saving.
We live in a standard 3 bed bungalow with all the usual power uses. Mrs GW likes the house warm and insists on a bath tub rather than shower.
I fully expect a price increase after the initial 12 months but by then I'll be quids in anyway.

It's very difficult to accept that the OVO charges are correct, and they're making a profit - so how much profit were BG and EON making?

It gets even better for us as we're down here in the sunshine until March so much my £66 payments will be added to my credit balance.

If you live in the Southend, Essex region and haven't looked at Southend Energy, I recommend you go take a look.

Too early for a cold beer? Nah

 

[buttons]

Following on from my home insurance moan. ( now resolved , much cheaper) British Gas wish to increase my monthly gas and electric bill by £20, purely on forecasted usage. I am already £155 in credit. They do this every flipping year and then I have to go to the effort of contacting them to try to leave it where it is. I have a smart meter being fitted soon which will allow me to adjust payments if my usage does go up. Well they can jog on.

Along with those new smart meters go thousands of meter reader and administration jobs. They are not installing them for the user, just themselves with plenty of spin.....

 

[Steve]

we get 4% interest on credit balances, I am happy to let them put mine up

The same with me much better than the bank rate and i even get money back on the DD i pay bit of a win win

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hchris]

We have been with OVO for about 3 years found them to be very good our bill went down when we first went with them unlike all the others were the bill allways seem to go up.

Chris

 

[Gaston aires]

I sort-of-followed stories and TV ads about switching. I actually started the process some time ago but lost patience with the website I was using so abandonned the idea.
Then, just over a year ago, our local authority advertised that they had come to some arrangement with a supplier to offer good terms and an easy-to-follow process to see what the new supplier could offer.
I was with BG and Eon paying around £138 a month. The new supplier came up with a ridiculous figure to supply both gas and electricity for £66 a month. So where's the catch - I still haven't found it.
I've been paying £66 a month since then, get very informative usage statements each month and am now in £55 credit.

I know we all have different circumstances and different power usage but difficult to understand how my current supplier can charge half of what my previous suppliers were charging - and still make a profit.

This indeed happened to us, but alas yesterday the swines put up prices by 50%.
I guess its winter prices.
Phil

 

[maison]

How things have changed!

In 1977, (I know, prehistoric times), we moved into an apartment and set up with a supplier. At the end of three months our electricity bill was ............zero.

We left it a week then queried it with the supplier. They checked the meter and found that, when we had moved in and stored things in the cupboard where the meter was, we had broken the glass on the front. A glass particle had stopped the meter revolving.

We asked the engineer what would happen next and he said a new meter would be necessary, waiting time about a month. We asked what we should do in the meantime. His reply...

"Turn of your gas and use as much electricity as you can".

There was no charge to swap the meter. Would that happen now I wonder?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gooney]

Another vote for OVO, been with them for 3 years and had gas and electric smart meters for 15 months, no hassle and easy to understand bills.

 

[Minxy]

We moved from EOn to EDF about a month or so ago as they were the cheapest offering at the time, we won't get Tesco points anymore but that's outweighed by the lower cost especially since we're now using Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller instead of putting the points towards crossings.

 

[pappajohn]

We have an old fashioned quarterly bill account.
My regular submission of meter readings mean we pay for what we used....no more, no less.

You are £155 in credit (read as 'in their bank') and they are collecting interest on it.
Not much you may say....but there are many thousands of customers in credit and it all adds up to a lot of interest.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hchris]

We have an old fashioned quarterly bill account.
My regular submission of meter readings mean we pay for what we used....no more, no less.

You are £155 in credit (read as 'in their bank') and they are collecting interest on it.
Not much you may say....but there are many thousands of customers in credit and it all adds up to a lot of interest.

OVO pay 3% Interest on credit balance

 

[Minxy]

We have an old fashioned quarterly bill account.
My regular submission of meter readings mean we pay for what we used....no more, no less.

You are £155 in credit (read as 'in their bank') and they are collecting interest on it.
Not much you may say....but there are many thousands of customers in credit and it all adds up to a lot of interest.

True but if you pay monthly you know exactly how much is going out and also get a discount for paying by DD which basically offsets the interest you'd lose on the money if it was in your account anyway, so no real difference.

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

OVO pay 3% Interest on credit balance

Even better! I think I'll increase my monthly DD - that's better interest than a savings account.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}