Grumble Thread

[Bryn]

Believe it or believe it not, but this is one supplier's explanation:

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/what-ar...ey-increasing/

I guess you havenow received their price change email. Ouch!

[french frank]

I guess you havenow received their price change email. Ouch!

I had an email on 18 March saying that with the end of the government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme my reduced DD will now return to what it had been before the reduction.

[Bryn]

I had an email on 18 March saying that with the end of the government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme my reduced DD will now return to what it had been before the reduction.

Ah, I got an email from them this evening, announcing their new level of pricing from this Saturday. It included an apology:

"We're sorry that we haven't been able to give you the normal amount of notice of this price change. The new government Energy Price Guarantee discount was released on the 15th March, and we've worked as quickly as possible to share how this will affect your payments."

[french frank]

Ah, I got an email from them this evening, announcing their new level of pricing from this Saturday. It included an apology:

"We're sorry that we haven't been able to give you the normal amount of notice of this price change. The new government Energy Price Guarantee discount was released on the 15th March, and we've worked as quickly as possible to share how this will affect your payments."

The 'ouch' came a while back, before the government started its payments, so the notification is only to say that with the end of the discounts the DD will resume what they notified some months back. I think as we emerge from winter my usage will be considerably less than my payments, so I await with interest to see what they will do.

My sanguine attitude stems from the fact that I would be one of their Trustpilot reviewers and the knowledge that should they make vast profits much will get ploughed back into projects designed to increase renewable energy output.

[DracoM]

[oddoneout]

The 'ouch' came a while back, before the government started its payments, so the notification is only to say that with the end of the discounts the DD will resume what they notified some months back. I think as we emerge from winter my usage will be considerably less than my payments, so I await with interest to see what they will do.

My sanguine attitude stems from the fact that I would be one of their Trustpilot reviewers and the knowledge that should they make vast profits much will get ploughed back into projects designed to increase renewable energy output.

Renewable energy companies were making big profits due to the tie-in with gas prices, but apparently from 1st January a cap was introduced.
The government payments made no difference to either my DD or my estimated bills as the payment went straight into my bank account - which was not what I was originally told would happen with the monthly rather than quarterly DD. I'm not fussed, the main thing is that I got the payments - there was a period during the final death throes of the SSE/OVO transition when it all looked rather uncertain as to what was going to happen and when. The debit build-up would have been less if they'd been set against the bill, and certainly for those struggling would have been a better arrangement.

[french frank]

The government payments made no difference to either my DD or my estimated bills as the payment went straight into my bank account

I got no payments under the EBSS and I understood payment was to go directly to the suppliers. As my DD more than halved, that's what I assumed had happened. The supplier also indicated each month what my payments have been and what the (various) discounts were.

[Dave2002]

I got no payments under the EBSS and I understood payment was to go directly to the suppliers. As my DD more than halved, that's what I assumed had happened. The supplier also indicated each month what my payments have been and what the (various) discounts were.

It seems to get more complicated if one doesn't have a gas supplier. Seems we can send in a copy of a recent oil bill - somewhere - maybe to our electricity provider - to get an allowance to offset against the cost of oil. I don't know the details, but apparently a delivery note is not sufficient, it has to be a receipted invoice. The allowance for electricity is handled directly by the electricity company.

[french frank]

I got no payments under the EBSS and I understood payment was to go directly to the suppliers. As my DD more than halved, that's what I assumed had happened. The supplier also indicated each month what my payments have been and what the (various) discounts were.

Going back to the email I received, they say:

"Your Direct Debit will increase by £67, which was the original amount it was reduced by to factor in your Government EBSS payments. This adjustment will help make sure you don’t build up any debt over the year. If your account is currently in credit, this is normal and will support your balance through the winter months when your energy usage increases. "

They also have a blog which explains how they deal with DDs: "If your account is in credit, any customer can ask for a refund at any time. Your account balance is always available on your statements and via your online account, so you can see how much credit or debit is on your account [...] "If your account is in credit, any customer can ask for a refund at any time. Your account balance is always available on your statements and via your online account, so you can see how much credit or debit is on your account." It also says that if you build up a credit "We’ll recommend keeping credit in your account to support you to manage peaks in costs better (e.g.the winter period) but ultimately the credit is yours and will be fully refunded if requested."

[oddoneout]

It seems to get more complicated if one doesn't have a gas supplier. Seems we can send in a copy of a recent oil bill - somewhere - maybe to our electricity provider - to get an allowance to offset against the cost of oil. I don't know the details, but apparently a delivery note is not sufficient, it has to be a receipted invoice. The allowance for electricity is handled directly by the electricity company.

The EBSS payments were for electricity, is the gas/oil a Scottish thing?

[Old Grumpy]

It seems to get more complicated if one doesn't have a gas supplier. Seems we can send in a copy of a recent oil bill - somewhere - maybe to our electricity provider - to get an allowance to offset against the cost of oil. I don't know the details, but apparently a delivery note is not sufficient, it has to be a receipted invoice. The allowance for electricity is handled directly by the electricity company.

Our gas ((LPG) is supplied by Calor. Our government rebate came as a credit transfer by our electricity supplier, British Gas.

[Dave2002]

Our gas ((LPG) is supplied by Calor. Our government rebate came as a credit transfer by our electricity supplier, British Gas.

Indeed, but apparently Octopus need some documentation - a receipt from the oil company. I'm not dealing with this, so don't know the full details.

[french frank]

Ah, I got an email from them this evening, announcing their new level of pricing from this Saturday. It included an apology:

"We're sorry that we haven't been able to give you the normal amount of notice of this price change. The new government Energy Price Guarantee discount was released on the 15th March, and we've worked as quickly as possible to share how this will affect your payments."

I've now had that email with the apology, which I wouldn't have considered necessary. The calculations are pretty Byzantine, but it seems (? tbc) that with the ending of the the EBSS on 31 March, but the government's Energy Price Guarantee continuing until the end of June, I shall be paying more than under the EBSS but less that I would have done after the previous monthly DD increase notification. Not sure whose fault it is for the complicated situation.

[oddoneout]

Indeed, but apparently Octopus need some documentation - a receipt from the oil company. I'm not dealing with this, so don't know the full details.

This sounds odd to me. The idea was that it was all handled automatically, no need to apply. This

You don't need to apply, it will be applied to your energy account automatically by your electricity supplier.

is from here https://octopus.energy/blog/energy-c...gybillspayment [QUOTE]
More here for Scotland https://consumeradvice.scot/the-ener...ions-answered/ although I can't, at first skim, see any reference to needing to supply additional documentation.

[Dave2002]

Now trying to listen to Richard B’s pieces from yesterday. [New Music Show] What clever people made the BBC Sounds app so that it’s not possible to rewind or go to a specific point in the programme?!!