To ask how much you pay for electricity?

[Daftodil]

Hello!

Sorry for posting here, but new to Mumsnet and not sure which other section to put this in.

Just after some insight into energy prices/providers. I used to pay about £55/month for my electricity with Scottish Power. I used USwitch about 6 months ago which said that I could get my energy for £40/mo with Bulb. I switched. Now Bulb has written to me to say that my account is in debit and I should be paying £75/mo for my energy use.

Has anyone else experienced this? Obviously I will be switching again, but don't want to end up getting another low quote that nearly doubles 6 months later! AIBU to ask: who is your supplier and how much do you pay a month? And was this in line with what you were originally quoted upfront? Just wondering what is a "normal" amount to expect to pay.

Thanks in advance for any insights :-)

Sorry, just to add for context, I live in a 2 bed flat. Electricity only (no gas supply connected). I was with Scottish Power for about 4 years before switching and ended up with a refund as I had been using less energy than originally forecast over that time, so I don't think that I am a ridiculously high energy user.

You're better looking at your usage and unit prices than monthly payments

Bulb are a rip off company. They have done this to so many people.

I'm with Utilita and they seem okay up to now

They all do 6 monthly reviews.

What I find is that I change in the autumn, they calculate my monthly payment as 1/12 of my projected annual usage. 6 months later, I'm in debt - of course, because it's winter, and the debt will be wiped out by the end of the 12 months because of low summer usage. But they increase my direct debit anyway, and, of course, be the end of the 12 months I'm enormously in credit.

As PP said, better to calculate your annual cost on the basis of estimated annual usage and the quoted unit prices, remembering to add in the standing charge and VAT. And it's probably not worth the hassle of moving if the switch site is quoting you only about £40 saving, because the actual saving will be less.

I've switched suppliers a few times, they all start with low monthly direct debits then put them up! In winter obviously you will use more electricity so it looks like your direct debit isnt covering cost so theyll put it up, in summer your use will go down and you'll probably end up in credit. Our direct debit is £150 a month for a 4 bed house , which was think is a lot. DH works from home and we have 4 teenagers I suppose we must use a lot, the house is never empty. Also don't have gas here ( oil central heating) so can't benefit from dual fuel tariffs.

If you go into Uswitch or similar then uploaded your actual kWh usage - you should be able to find it from precious bills. Then you can get an accurate idea of what your likely payments will be.

Also if you have a smart meter then you can see your exact usage in real time and adjust direct debits accordingly.

I'm with Shell Energy. They're the utility company from hell. Is it easy to switch? In Scotland.
What's wrong with Scottish Energy?

Find your old bills and compare your unit usage and your price per unit.

Im with Ovo and its only about 20 a month i don't really use electric apart from charging my phone boiling the kettle etc so its very low usage i don't keep the lights or appliances on when not in use either every thing gets switched off at the plugs makes a big difference

You don't have to pay what they suggest. Tell them how much you want to pay per month, what you think is about right then go from there

I'm always in debit by end if winter and credit end of summer.

When i was in a 1 bed flat i paid £25 a month for electricity, no gas. Now in a 4 bed house and we pay £50 combined

Can companies like Bulb just increase your bill if you're providing meter readings and your usage hasn't gone up? Wondering how this works.

Yes they can increase it if the direct debit was artificially low in the first place and doesnt cover usage.

Yes they can increase, but just call them and ask them to lower it. I'm with British Gas and they always try to up it but never query when i ring up and lower it

Bulb don't do the increase, they email you a suggested figure and let you decide. Obviously if you decline the higher payments you may end up in debt but it is ultimately up to you until that point. I've found them to be very fair and cheaper than British Gas who wanted almost £200 a month for gas and electricity for a 3 bed mid terrace,

DrCoconut oh good. The company we're with are suggested a lower rate as we're over paying slightly based on our usage month to month, but we just thought about leaving it so we have a bit of credit for any 'heavier' usage times of year.

£122.66 with Utilita. They want to increase mine from £54 to £180 to cover £400 of debt and to allow for future increases. I’ve said on your bike. Going forward I’ll pay the quarterly bills and my money will stay in my pocket not theirs.

It is a 4 bedroomed house though, still it’s I think anyway extremely expensive

@ Lazypuppy - who are you with please ?

I second bulb being a rip off company. They save you money for 2 months then start hiking up your direct debits. Our payments went from £80 (ish) per month, up to £135 per month with bulb. We live in a 3 bedroom semi.

I've asked BGas to alter my DD as it was going up by over a hundred pounds (more than doubling) due to the DDs not being enough. I switched to them as they were supposed to be a better deal than one I paid the same (lower) amount with so not too happy. They have lowered the DD on request but I might be left with a shortfall - I doubt this though as hardly use heat for 3/4 of the year.

I hate it when companies lure you in with what appears to be a cheap monthly price as compared to what you are in with a competitor.

You presume this monthly price is what you will pay for your usage but it’s not, the direct debit won’t cover your usage allowing you to rack up debit with them so you can’t leave them and they then ask for a higher monthly direct debit.

I’ve even been on switching sites where you select the competitor’s tariff from a drop down menu and it tells you the unit price you are currently paying and tells you companies which are cheaper - but the unit prices quoted for your current tariff is wrong so when you compare the true prices of what you are paying per unit now with the deal offered, what you are on is actually better!

Unbelievable.

It’s defo best to look at a years worth of usage (the difference how many units your meter said you were on 12 months ago and what you are on now, (the meter readings are on all bills, estimated readings don’t count) to get your annual usage and compare that. Also note down your current per unit price quoted on your most recent bill (and any daily standing charge figures) and compare.

Don’t trust any figure you see on sites, trust your own calculations from your bills. And ignore the monthly direct debit prices. Work out how much last years gas or leccy cost you and divide by 12 add a bit more for inflation and that is roughly how much you need to pay. Don’t pay less. Pay a little more if you wish. Adjust for weather if it was a very cold winter last year and this year isn’t it whatever.

Mine is currently £125 combined for a 4 bed detached in Scotland. That covers our usage. It was at £145ish but we got our credit balance back and the payment was reduced. There is no point moving to a company quoting a lower monthly rate if that is not going to cover your energy usage.

I pay £25 to £30 a month for electricity with Ecotricity. Two bed semi, gas for cooking, hot water and central heating.

I'm with Bulb. Haven't paid for energy in a year. And I'm still in £600 credit.

I think they are fantastic obviously.

They give you £50 referral for every person that uses your link. One my 1 year anniversary of being with them last January they gave me a £100 referral link. I put it on here and on fb and twitter. 20 people used it. Hoping to get the same referral deal at the end of this month and do the same.

They also took my bills from £150 a month (Scottish power) to £115 for a 4 bed, both gas and electric. Never had an issue with them and love that it's all online and also renewable energy.

I use bulb (have electric only, no gas) and I think the monthly price is very high. I send in meter readings and they say the price is correct for the usage and as they're supposed to be the cheapest provider in the area I'm not sure why it's so high

Generic1 That's incredible! I shared my link on a thread under a different username ages ago and nobody has used it yet 😂