Meter readings

[cloughie]

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

My guess is you’re on a temporary Summer lull!
I pay monthly DD but it is on the basis of the monthly reading I submit to them - yes I’ll be thumped by bigger bills in winter but at least overall I’ll be paying for what I have used and not building up their surpluses!

[Old Grumpy]

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

Yup, but obviously variable consumption. We are relatively new customers with BG and so they may still not have a good handle on our consumption. We do have smart meter, though.

[antongould]

Yup, but obviously variable consumption. We are relatively new customers with BG and so they may still not have a good handle on our consumption. We do have smart meter, though.

They should have a reasonable handle on our usage, provided you haven’t moved into a new castle, as there are national figures which, when they had the honour of gaining you as a customer, they would have access to ……

[Old Grumpy]

They should have a reasonable handle on our usage, provided you haven’t moved into a new castle, as there are national figures which, when they had the honour of gaining you as a customer, they would have access to ……

Funnily enough we did move into a new castle and we told we had to go with BG as they were the suppliers.

[antongould]

Funnily enough we did move into a new castle and we told we had to go with BG as they were the suppliers.

All becomes clear …… don’t forget the drawbridge tonight ……

[antongould]

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 ….

Sad, to me at least, that BBC News online carried a piece with the headline “Energy Bills Could Go Up Before October Price Cap Rise”. They said Ofgem had said this which is even more worrying …… bills/charges are not going up before 01/10/2022 but monthly direct debit payments should be to smooth the customers changes in payment amount. It is know for certain that charges will rise in the year ahead and so, sadly, monthly payments need to increase.

[Petrushka]

Sad, to me at least, that BBC News online carried a piece with the headline “Energy Bills Could Go Up Before October Price Cap Rise”. They said Ofgem had said this which is even more worrying …… bills/charges are not going up before 01/10/2022 but monthly direct debit payments should be to smooth the customers changes in payment amount. It is know for certain that charges will rise in the year ahead and so, sadly, monthly payments need to increase.

Well, you've just made the case right there that the monthly direct debit is a rip off that is completely against the customer's interest and only benefits the energy company. How can DD's go up in advance of any gas/electricity not yet used? Getting people to believe that it is a kindness on their part to 'smooth the changes' just shows what a massive con it is.

[Bryn]

With savings interest rates still very low, I don't think pre-emptive DD rises are that onerous. Were those interest rates significantly higher, I would agree that it's out of order and that using a savings account to control cash flow and pay monthly for the fuels used would be more to the advantage of the wary consumer.

[antongould]

Well, you've just made the case right there that the monthly direct debit is a rip off that is completely against the customer's interest and only benefits the energy company. How can DD's go up in advance of any gas/electricity not yet used? Getting people to believe that it is a kindness on their part to 'smooth the changes' just shows what a massive con it is.

There has been a considerable body of research to prove that most customers on MDD do want their payment changes to be as smooth as possible and believe me, which I am sure you won’t, that’s why the scheme was originally set up. I am sadly old enough to remember the days of coin prepayment meters …. when you went round in the summer you found many meters with far, far too much money in … you emptied it refunded the excess to them and watched as they fed it all back into the meter …. for winter ….. weekly monthly payments are how many, many people manage their lives and if their payments need to go up they want to know about it as soon as possible …..

[antongould]

With savings interest rates still very low, I don't think pre-emptive DD rises are that onerous. Were those interest rates significantly higher, I would agree that it's out of order and that using a savings account to control cash flow and pay monthly for the fuels used would be more to the advantage of the wary consumer.

Sadly Bryan IMVVHO your average energy customer isn’t a wary customer ……..

[Study Session]

Until a few years ago all public utilities invoiced quarterly, as this tied in with the meter readers' rounds.

Any my experience of them is that they are either crooked or incompetent. A 'reading' caused me to face a bill 10x the genuine cost because someone hadn't done hundreds tens and units at school. Took two years to get a refund. Never had an apology. I now read my own every fortnight to keep the buggers in line.

[oddoneout]

I've just had a letter from my energy "supplier" - a political missive which deliberately or otherwise sidesteps the part such a company might have in price rises that aren't wholly attributable to "circumstances beyond our control". However it has prompted me to note in my diary to send a meter reading (and possibly take photos)on 30th September, to ensure that post price-rise the increased prices only apply to consumption from 1st October. It worked for the April price rise, with the bill split, "before and after", as per my readings rather than a notional company calculation - aka income favourable guesstimate.

[antongould]

If I have interpreted Ofgem’s press release correctly, for us midst the pit heaps the % change in rates are

kWh rate Electricity +76% Gas +93%
The much loved daily standing charge - Electricity -3% Gas -0.5%

Eye watering indeed

[Andrew]

I recently emailed my energy "supplier" (=middleman) along the following lines: As you buy your energy in advance and at pre-arranged prices, but do not have the energy delivered at that time, would not you allow your customers to adopt the same policy? Could I not, for instance, buy and pay for in advance say £1,000 worth of gas AT TODAY'S PRICE and ask you to store it, thereby allowing me to draw off the gas as and when I needed it, the amount drawn being noted by the meter?

It was meant as a "tongue in cheek" suggestion, although this is, in fact, precisely what these (so called) energy suppliers do, albeit on a much larger scale. Without a hint of irony, the reply I received (at least I did receive a reply!) was that my suggestion would be too complex to administer. Ah well, it was worth a try......

[LHC]

I recently emailed my energy "supplier" (=middleman) along the following lines: As you buy your energy in advance and at pre-arranged prices, but do not have the energy delivered at that time, would not you allow your customers to adopt the same policy? Could I not, for instance, buy and pay for in advance say £1,000 worth of gas AT TODAY'S PRICE and ask you to store it, thereby allowing me to draw off the gas as and when I needed it, the amount drawn being noted by the meter?

It was meant as a "tongue in cheek" suggestion, although this is, in fact, precisely what these (so called) energy suppliers do, albeit on a much larger scale. Without a hint of irony, the reply I received (at least I did receive a reply!) was that my suggestion would be too complex to administer. Ah well, it was worth a try......

Is this not the same as the fixed price deals that energy suppliers offer to direct debit customers? My gas price per unit is fixed for the current year, and I know that larger businesses also fix their prices well in advance. For example, the organisation I work for agrees a fixed price for its energy, usually for around three years in advance. The risk is always that the price could be high at the time you are seeking a fixed rate deal, and the fixed rate will always reflect how the energy companies predict their prices are likely to fluctuate in the future, so it may not be as cheap as the average price at the time the advance deals are being agreed. One of the main benefit for businesses in doing so is that their energy costs will be known and relatively stable for their budgeting periods. Businesses may also be able to negotiate lower prices simply because their total spend will be so high (my employer was one of the largest single users of electricity in London with an annual spend in £millions at the time I was involved in this ).

I was fortunate that my price was fixed just before the large increases started to come onto the horizon. If I'd waited a month longer, the available fixed prices would have been much higher. Of course, when my current deal ends, I will most likely have to accept a much higher price for the next year.