Gas and electricity charges

Never heard of Bulb or Octopus. Have been with E-on for a few years so annual estimates are given . Have had an email from them today reducing my Direct Debit payment by £16 per month. That ‘s good news but does include the time I was in hospital so not using electricity ( no gas ) . I guess it will go up again as I will no doubt be using more electricity over the winter months but it’s a change to pay less at the moment.

I have checked the sites every year to see the best deal and changed most years. A few years ago I got a large bill when I ended the contract and then the same the next year and I queried it and they actually had to refund a bigger amount and that happened last year too. They seem to try and get a lump sum when you leave and if you just pay they win. I began with bulb 10 months ago and they have predicted a large end bill and wanted large monthly payments but I read the meters monthly and send readings and they calculate a bill and I am hugely in credit at present.

I tend to assume that prices will always rise, and always look for fixed-price contracts. It means that I can budget for a year in advance; and only need to worry about it, and look for the next good deal via sites like Martin Lewis', once a year.

I had an email from E-on to say my direct debit payments needed to increase by more than double, only six months into the contract and during the summer! I phoned to complain and the guy agreed with me that they can't even forecast an accurate consumption until you've been with them for 12 months, so it stayed as it was.

Get on Martin Lewis’ moneysavingexpert site and see if you can get a better deal somewhere else (if you’re not tied in where you are).

I also am with Octopus and like Teetime it was the best deal for me. I was getting fed up with my previous supplier putting my DD up one month and occasionally down the next but it never seemed to stay the same as it does with Octopus.

We have always stuck to quarterly bills based on actual readings, mine or theirs. We still pay by DD. We put money aside each month, calculating the amount on the previous year's bills plus approx 5%.

That way there are never any arguments with our supplier about how much we owe them.

We now have Octopus which was the best deal for us and no price prices so far.

If your consumption hasn't gone up then dispute the rise. I had the same issue with Together energy and refused to pay and cancelled my direct debit until they agreed. They did agree as long as I promised to pay the outstanding amount when the contract finished. I did and it was lower than the previous months by nearly half. They had wanted to increase my payment by 50 quid a month. They're not always right.