Electricity

Indeed so - I too am lucky enough to be able to pay, but just do not know what families on low incomes and benefits are going to do - they must be worried sick.

Yes, the price of oil has risen and will continue to rise as a result of the Russia/Ukraine situation.

well at least we haven't got missiles raining down destruction on us in our beds at 3am, and on our loved ones.
some shenanigans.
not the word i would use.

My fixed tariff, dual fuel, finished end January, I was paying £91 a month. The new figure seems about £134, but this month they still took old amount.

I had an e Mail the other day saying from April 1st, it will increase by nearly £1000 annually, about £217 a month!

Aargh!!!

Got an email from Octopus yesterday - my DD is going up from £160 to £250 in March. I can afford it, but really at a loss to understand such an increase.

My DD with Octopus went up from £56 to £96 - I used the online facility to reduce it back down to £50.

The DD amounts are only an estimate of what they think you will use and energy costs, you re not obliged to keep to that amount. Of course you take the risk of being in deficit then having to pay a one-off amount, but my view is it's better in my account than theirs.

I don't want to build up a credit - I'm surprised when someone says with pride that they're in credit to a large amount. The energy companies have millions of £s of their customers' money!

The actual charges, using readings not estimates and not just what is taken as direct debit, are the only way to know how much your electricity is costing you.

Which is why I don’t succumb to the constant attempts to get me to pay by DD even if they will give me £5 off or whatever. I submit the meter readings, they email me a bill, I pay it.

I was informed by Octopus that Smart Meters supply usage figures to the Supplier with no necessity for meters to be read, so bills are accurate.
I, for one, don’t mind building up a credit during Summer months, but I believe Energy Companies must return the overpayment when it reaches a certain figure?

Why would you want your money in someone else's account?

As far as I understand things, you have to request return of your own monies and that some companies are quicker at it than others.

Plus, from what I've read on here, there are customers in credit with now defunct companies who are having difficulty accessing their accounts to see if their credit has been transferred to the new supplier.

GSM, yes, we also pay the bills quarterly to declared readings.

If anyone is afraid of big winter bills, it is easy enough to put a standard sum of money aside every month into a savings account so that the cost of fuel is spread smoothly over the year and pay your bills from that.

What is more, you are the one who gets the itnerest on it the money in the account, little as it be.

Absolutely MOnica. I had a DD for electricity years ago. Never again!

I am also with Octopus and I was paying around £58 a month for gas and electricity and recently that has leapt to £98 and will go up again in April. I have a smart meter because I cannot read my outdoor meters.

Heaven knows where it will end but I intend to stay warm and fed.

We have a ‘variable’ rather than a ‘fixed’ Direct Debit mandate with our energy supplier.
We submit the readings monthly and they take the exact amount with no need for a credit or debit to ever build up build up.

Absolutely agree with the people saying "No" to Direct Debit. Why let a company hold on to your money? Keep it in your own account! I much prefer submitting a meter reading each month and paying the bill right away. After a bill for £110 in January (normally only around £55 - it's a tiny house!), I adjusted thermostats, turned down radiators in bedrooms and avoided using the gas oven. February bill was £65, so feeling a bit more prepared for the rise in April.

I can easily change the amount I pay to octopus every month. They suggested a new amount when my fixed rate was renewed. I estimated that it was too much so I changed it to a lower figure, easy to do online. I won`t build up massive credit but will go into next winter in a comfortable position

karmalady

I can easily change the amount I pay to octopus every month. They suggested a new amount when my fixed rate was renewed. I estimated that it was too much so I changed it to a lower figure, easy to do online. I won`t build up massive credit but will go into next winter in a comfortable position

That's what I do, I keep an eye online, and up my DD to make sure the month's fuel costs are covered. I can access daily usage online so it is quite simple

My latest offer from EDF.

My fixed deal comes to an end on 31st April.
At the moment I pay £94/month so quite an increase.

I’m also with Octopus and my bill went from £56 up to 93 last November and so far it seems about right for what I’ve used. Dreading the next rise.

Tbf, you can see the charges on your bill, regardless of how much is direct debited.
But I'd guess that a lot of people back off at the sight of all those numbers!
Along with the use of estimated readings, the result is those people have no idea if their bills are accurate and if they are paying the right amount.

Don't be one of those people!

Wellbeck I was shocked at those use of words also.

Johnson is not doing enough to help customers. He prefers to let the companies make windfall profits.

I'm with British Gas and pay by variable direct debit. It means I pay for what I've used so am never in deficit nor paying more than I've used. Thankfully the prices are going up just as the warmer weather comes so I won't feel the hit until next autumn! My DD moved home recently too so we are sharing the bills which helps. With both of us here we are using more power, but not twice as much, so it is helping me to save. I'll notice it more when she moves out again!

My Gas bill DD went from £33 to £41 per month accompanied by a notification to the effect that it will go up again in April! As cold makes my body seize up but starving makes it dead what do I do???? Decisions decisions! How can the companies sit on their huge profits, pay their investors & ‘Top Bods’ huge amounts & leave us with the choice of heating or starve? Good way to get rid of the unwanted, unneeded older population to make space for all the self entitled younger people who think older people have it easy & should not have a pension! Got this from a young man who came into the Charity shop I used to Volunteer in pre covid! He was in a foul mood for some reason, I did not ask just walked away before I said too much! Still no idea what to do about the Gas increase though!