Meter readings

[french frank]

Whatever you do, don't do that! You will be giving yourself a whole pile of trouble if you take that route. I would double check, then double check again that you definitely haven't had this rebate payment. Make sure it hasn't appeared on your bank statement as it's quite easy for it to slip through unnoticed. Your council should have telephone/email contact point for any queries relating to this rebate. Last, but not least, check with friends or neighbours to see if they have had theirs as it will give you a date to work from when checking bank statements.

I had mine on May 17 and the payment reference was just my council's name, nothing more.

I was flummoxed when I saw it on my statement and thought it should have been put in the OUT column as council tax or something, me paying them not them paying me. It certainly wasn't clear. Just checked - it came in on 10 May and was just marked Bristol C Council.

[Petrushka]

I was flummoxed when I saw it on my statement and thought it should have been put in the OUT column as council tax or something, me paying them not them paying me. It certainly wasn't clear. Just checked - it came in on 10 May and was just marked Bristol C Council.

It just so happened that my rebate coming in was the next entry on my bank statement to my Council Tax DD payment going out so there wasn't much difference between the two. The rebate figure was also very easy to miss unless you were looking for it.

[muzzer]

Tangentially, my water meter has just been replaced following a burst main and consequent repairs. When I asked the guy putting the new (external) one in today whether a reading would be taken from the removed (internal) one and/or how the correct usage would be determined, he shrugged and said ‘it won’t. It’ll be free.’ Having also watched many thousands of litres literally flowing down the drain earlier this week I can’t help thinking something is not quite right.

[oddoneout]

Unlike others in our block I haven't received the £150 council rebate they told us would automatically be paid into our banks accounts if we paid Council Tax by direct debit, so I'm not too sanguine about the chances of getting this payment, even though I pay by joint gas/electric bill by direct debit also. I've tried contacting the council but the online categories don't have a subsection dealing with such matters and the switchboard is on permanent hold. I've tried emailing a local councillor but so far had no replay - maybe she's on holiday. .

Councils struggled with the council tax rebate as they weren't set up to deal with that kind of transaction and were having to work their way through as best they could, some more successfully than others. My council seems to have been reasonably quick to find a solution. I pay by standing order over 10 months and opted to wait for a recalculated bill which would have the revised amount owing after the money had been deducted from the total. I then altered the standing order to miss the last payment of the year which will leave me with a small overpayment to come off next year's bill, and an extra month of not having it going out of my account.
The energy companies are a bit more used to having to deal with the sort of adjustments that the £400 credit involves, although I realise that's no guarantee they'll do it correctly...

[oddoneout]

I've just had another email from my energy supplier adjuring me to set up an online account. I have a sneaking suspicion this might progress from a suggestion to a demand, which would be tiresome. The contact I have currently works fine with quarterly meter readings accepted without having to log in to an account, just using their online version of the automated telephone route. The several supposed advantages of having an online account are either of no interest or completely irrelevant - bit like the smart meter blurb - and the subject line "meter readings made easy" just made me snort with derision, since signing up would just add extra steps to what at the moment is simple, quick and straightforward.

[Andrew]

I've just had another email from my energy supplier adjuring me to set up an online account. I have a sneaking suspicion this might progress from a suggestion to a demand, which would be tiresome. The contact I have currently works fine with quarterly meter readings accepted without having to log in to an account, just using their online version of the automated telephone route. The several supposed advantages of having an online account are either of no interest or completely irrelevant - bit like the smart meter blurb - and the subject line "meter readings made easy" just made me snort with derision, since signing up would just add extra steps to what at the moment is simple, quick and straightforward.

Until a few years ago all public utilities invoiced quarterly, as this tied in with the meter readers' rounds. The introduction of so called "smart" meters (frankly, I should be amazed if any of them would even qualify as "sub normal" meters!) was supposed to assist in the gathering of data for billing....except that most meters worked of only the company who'd installed them; change energy suppliers and the system stops working. This would be analogous to buying a car, to find it only runs on (say) Shell petrol and no other-ridiculous! The monthly meter readings assist the energy companies with cash flow, though not the customers... That Said, the technology is beginning to settle down now, which should help in the future.

As to the payment method: never, but NEVER sign a direct debit where an energy company is concerned and don't believe those promises about how easy it is to deal with errors-it isn't! Allow them to email you with the cost and then pay them yourself. By all means pay using electronic methods, but that's not a direct debit and you're still in control.

These are only my thoughts, but the comments regarding direct debits are the result of bitter experiences.....

M

[muzzer]

That’s all well and good but many if not all of the best tariff deals stipulate payment by direct debit and/or installation of a meter.

[oddoneout]

That’s all well and good but many if not all of the best tariff deals stipulate payment by direct debit and/or installation of a meter.

Until things settle down (collapsed companies, power games with gas supplies) the tariffs issue will continue to be rather a non-starter in terms of choice/best deals?
I do pay by DD but on the meter readings submitted quarterly. Like Andrew I have had bad experiences of the DD route in the past when it has been a (supposedly)fixed(but not to suit me) monthly sum, and would not go down that route again unless unavoidable. By agreeing to replacing the original quarterly payment on receipt of paper bill arrangement with the DD version I not only got some financial advantage (or more accurately avoided a charge to continue with the existing arrangement) but the bill is correct each time as it doesn't depend on a mix of company meter readings and guesstimates as previously. So far (about 5 years now I think) I haven't had a problem - I hope saying that doesn't talk up a problem!

[french frank]

We make our choices based on our own priorities, I suppose. My priority is environmental concerns and I happily pay a bit more for 100% renewably generated electricity, and gas which the supplier matches to various environmental offset schemes. The only times I've contacted them, once by phone once by email, i got replies pretty well instantly from a helpful human being. The company is not huge and isn't hassled into maximising profits for shareholders because that's not its overriding purpose. No way am I going to move to any other provider. I got my smart meter for nothing and I treat this as an aid to the challenge of reducing my consumption. I pay by direct debit and should I increase their profits by sometimes overpaying them without noticing, I know that will go to generating more renewable energy.

What can I lose?

[Petrushka]

As to the payment method: never, but NEVER sign a direct debit where an energy company is concerned and don't believe those promises about how easy it is to deal with errors-it isn't! Allow them to email you with the cost and then pay them yourself. By all means pay using electronic methods, but that's not a direct debit and you're still in control.

Despite numerous blandishments from EON I refuse to pay by Direct Debit. The claim that it is cheaper to pay by DD is unproveable and I remain suspicious of such claims.

I am, however, much happier to pay monthly on the grounds that no-one gets their salary/pension paid quarterly and so I feel in control of my own cash flow. In addition, any errors and omissions on the part of EON will be picked up much more quickly, long before it becomes a major problem as happened to me once. I had 45 years of working in invoicing and debt collection, knew which buttons to press and managed to get them to see sense and write off a not insubstantial sum.

Why anyone prefers quarterly bills is a mystery to me. In my view, it is all too easy, given human psychology, to think it doesn't matter for three months but then you get a nasty surprise when a whopping bill has to be settled. Monthly is the way to go.

[DracoM]

Deeply suspicious of Eon Next - and I agree - never pay by Direct Debit.

[oddoneout]

Despite numerous blandishments from EON I refuse to pay by Direct Debit. The claim that it is cheaper to pay by DD is unproveable and I remain suspicious of such claims.

I am, however, much happier to pay monthly on the grounds that no-one gets their salary/pension paid quarterly and so I feel in control of my own cash flow. In addition, any errors and omissions on the part of EON will be picked up much more quickly, long before it becomes a major problem as happened to me once. I had 45 years of working in invoicing and debt collection, knew which buttons to press and managed to get them to see sense and write off a not insubstantial sum.

Why anyone prefers quarterly bills is a mystery to me. In my view, it is all too easy, given human psychology, to think it doesn't matter for three months but then you get a nasty surprise when a whopping bill has to be settled. Monthly is the way to go.

We all have our own ways to manage our money, some of which may be at odds with what others do or think. For a good many years my monthly income has fluctuated wildly and I found it easier to have months rather than weeks to juggle money around to meet bills. Council Tax takes such a big chunk out every month which didn't leave much margin sometimes, hence not doing monthly DD . The majority of bills I knew pretty much what the amounts would be and I didn't have a problem not spending money put aside to pay them. Getting my monthly State Pension has greatly eased that situation , and my broadband is now monthly (but not DD) since a tariff change a year ago, but water and energy remain quarterly and insurance premiums and some other items annually. Wouldn't suit others but that doesn't really matter does it? It's my money and my life. I do reassess every now and then either when tariffs or contracts come to an end or when the likes of insurance offers claim to save money, and I'm prepared to haggle to get a better deal if I think a company is "trying it on", eg for renewals. This is my bit of control, limited as it may be these days, and I very much resent companies pushing me to do things to suit them claiming that it is to my benefit - I think I should be the judge of that.

[antongould]

Until a few years ago all public utilities invoiced quarterly, as this tied in with the meter readers' rounds. The introduction of so called "smart" meters (frankly, I should be amazed if any of them would even qualify as "sub normal" meters!) was supposed to assist in the gathering of data for billing....except that most meters worked of only the company who'd installed them; change energy suppliers and the system stops working. This would be analogous to buying a car, to find it only runs on (say) Shell petrol and no other-ridiculous! The monthly meter readings assist the energy companies with cash flow, though not the customers... That Said, the technology is beginning to settle down now, which should help in the future.

As to the payment method: never, but NEVER sign a direct debit where an energy company is concerned and don't believe those promises about how easy it is to deal with errors-it isn't! Allow them to email you with the cost and then pay them yourself. By all means pay using electronic methods, but that's not a direct debit and you're still in control.

These are only my thoughts, but the comments regarding direct debits are the result of bitter experiences.....

M

I realise that defending MDD (monthly direct debit) payments for energy bills hereabouts will earn me about as many brownie points as praising Lizzie Alker ….. but I feel Andrew that a lot of the problems you encounter will be as a result of the appalling cash and billing systems used by the current suppliers …. nowhere near IMVVHO fit for purpose. If, for example, reading validation and / or billing is incorrect there will be an impact on the MDD output. I was just counting up last night and since I retired I have “won” nearly £500 compensation for myself and friends from these suppliers …. they couldn’t run a WI tea stall.
I was a member of the team that introduced the first Electricity Board MDD system and it worked very well and the customers were more than happy with it …. Our objective in introducing it was not to build up vast credits but to ensure the customer paid as accurate a monthly amount as possible and that the changes in the payment amount where as smooth as possible ….. an oft repeated wish of customers when on privatisation we, as you would, consulted focus groups.
The schemes I have been a member of as I shambolically switch suppliers were nothing like the NEEB scheme and often had, yes, been set up primarily to build up credits ……. But I remain on a scheme and keep a weather eye on it ….

[Old Grumpy]

To their credit, British Gas (who supply my electricity) are quite proactive in suggesting changes to the monthly direct debit amount, based on actual and projected consumption. My payment has just decreased by c. £20 per month, based on their recommendation.

[antongould]

To their credit, British Gas (who supply my electricity) are quite proactive in suggesting changes to the monthly direct debit amount, based on actual and projected consumption. My payment has just decreased by c. £20 per month, based on their recommendation.

You must be on a fixed price deal are you Grumpers …. ???