energy price increase for my electric bill which i think is unfair

[masterofdoomv1]

im with sse energy i changed to them (stupidly ) August last year and i was told it was a fixed price for 2 years no increases my direct debit was set up for £46 for electric and £41 for gas sse have now told me theyre increasing my electric from £46 a month to £67 a month as ive just got bill in saying my electric is supposedly £34 in arears which i find weird as i live on my own and i only use electricity for one room at a time i think its bad that they can increase your direct debit like this without concent i was with scottish power before if you fell in arears with them they allowed you to catch up or make a payment for any outstanding balance they didnt just increase your direct debit by 50% how should i handle this? as im worried and angry but dont want to phone them with an attitude and make things worse

Do you have any evidence that you dd won’t increase?

Often they quote a price based on an average rather than your actual use. Your usage goes up and down, but not the cost per day and kilowatt have risen. Have a look at your contract. I bet it says dd may vary

That sounds low to me. Have you been submitting meter readings or are your bills estimated?

It’s not the direct debit that’s fixed, it’s the price of each unit of energy. So if you use more energy you’ll pay more. You’ll have used more over the winter but it often balances out over the summer when you use less.

Also you should be able to call them and make a one off payment if you prefer rather than have the higher direct debit, although the original monthly amount may need increased slightly so you aren’t in arrears next year.

Read your meter and work out what you have used based on the unit prices. You should know what your closing readings were for your previous supplier. Fixed price isn’t the same thing as changing your monthly DD if you are using more (or less) kWh

What @StillUp said. People don’t understand it’s the price per KWh that’s fixed. If you use more you pay more. The initial agreed amount is based on an estimate of use
To keep it accurate put in a reading every month

i dont understand though that theyre saying im using more per month than when it was me and my parents that lived in the house (my parents passed away last year) like i said i only use one room at a time so how can it go up by that much a month doesnt make sense i still think as well they should notify you you have an outstanding balance and give you the choice of paying that or increasing your direct debit at an agreed ammount times are difficuilt just now

Energy usage is higher in winter. You might not be using as much electricity but you may be using more gas to heat the house as there are two less bodies to generate heat.

I would say from our time with SSE they’re always keen to increase the direct debit in the winter months when you’re using more. Your direct debit takes into account what you’ll be using over the whole year and you effectively pay more than you use in summer to keep payments even throughout the year. When we were with SSE I made a one-off payment in the winter and reevaluated my usage and direct debit in the spring time and would up then if necessary, otherwise you could end up in significant credit with them by the summer.

also freddie i can only go by what i was told on phone when i phoned around for a new supplier but i guess theyll tell you anything to get you to sign on lets not pretend that companies dont mislead people

Have you submitted a meter reading ? Using electricity in just one room doesn’t sound feasible , don’t you have a fridge / freezer plugged in

strange that inthenight my parents paid £100 per month with three of us living at the same property yet im living on my own at same address and im paying £108 yet im using less because im living on my own what a rip off

£36 in arrears isn't very much when you only really had August, September and October to build credit before hitting the energy intensive winter months.

of course i have fridge freezer plugged in theyve always been plugged in mrs but my parents paid £100 a month with three of us living here with fridge and freezer plugged in yet im living on my own i must be using less yet im paying more

have you submitted a recent meter reading that the £34 arrears payment is based on?

that amount of increase for a small arrears payment seems disproportionate if it covers winter usage.

call them and ask what they are basing the increase on.

Request a smart meter to help you understand what you are using daily.

ultimately if you are on a fixed contract then they can't charge you for more than what you are actually using. if you build up credit on account they also have to return it upon request

ill phone them tomorow goergie find out whats going on see what they say

Do you have things like electric showers in the house?
Do you know what your usage is?

The average usage is 2900 KWH per year for electricity.

You really need to try and work out what devices in your house use energy so you can see what devices you can cut down on.

Everybody is paying more.

I am with sse. You fix the amount you pay per KWH. So then you pay what you use at that rate. Once a year they look at your bill, work out annual costs and see if the DD needs to go up to cover the coming year.

This is due to changes the Government made a number of years ago to stop people running up large bills they then could not pay. At the same time the company has to refund any overpayments back, which frustrates me as I am happy they keep it as it’s not a lot but means I do not feel I have to worry about putting on the heating

You can make a one off payment to them and they keep the DD at the same level

Do you have a smart meter? If so you can track daily costs and work out why it’s going up. Or is it from readings, in which cases were previous ones estimated and this is a read one?

You may well only be in one room at a time but using the washing machine, cooker if electric, fridge all costs, do you have a freezer? Dishwasher? LED lightbulbs? TV on standby, The fact that there were three of you may not be relevant, as you will still use all the appliances.

Just call them, i have never had a problem, they will explain, just don’t go off at them, it’s not necessarily their fault

theres an electric shower yes but i dont use it anymore than previously cake it just defies logic that sse are saying a single person is using more power than three did at the same address thats what i dont get

i think its bad that they can increase your direct debit like this without concent i was with scottish power before if you fell in arears with them they allowed you to catch up or make a payment for any outstanding balance they didnt just increase your direct debit by 50% how should i handle this? as im worried and angry but dont want to phone them with an attitude and make things worse

I guess they have an idea of your usage now and can see where things are going with the current amount you pay and what they predict you'll pay. So have increased your DD so you will end up back on track rather than building up more debt.

i wont go off at them chloei know that doesnt help anyone i have a smart meter no dishwasher we used to have one but did away with it i find it better washing dishes by hand ill try umplugging things when i go to bed and yeah i have a smart meter

sse are saying a single person is using more power than three did at the same address

Are you sure about that? Have you actually checked your consumption in kwh rather than just comparing your monthly direct debit amount? They're two very different things....

@masterofdoomv1

theres an electric shower yes but i dont use it anymore than previously cake it just defies logic that sse are saying a single person is using more power than three did at the same address thats what i dont get

of course i have fridge freezer plugged in theyve always been plugged in mrs but my parents paid £100 a month with three of us living here with fridge and freezer plugged in yet im living on my own i must be using less yet im paying more

You could be using less energy - but the energy you are paying for is costing more - as there were some good deals before.

ok im getting confused lol too much to take in ill phone them tomorow and see if i can arrange to pay more each month but at a lower level see what happens thansk for feedback people

@masterofdoomv1 Did you miss the memo that said energy prices are going up massively?

Yes even for you.