To want Elon Musk to pay my gas and electricity bills?

[simoncowellsdog]

Ok, so this is tongue in cheek and really just a rant but HOW are people affording life at the moment?

Just entered my readings for gas and electricity and monthly DD has increased from £217 to £471.... me and OH both work full time. We both already do a 2nd job each which we fit around children etc and there's barely anything left at the end of each month. Now we're expected to magic another £200 a month out of nowhere on top of rising costs of food etc
I know it's the same for everyone but seeing the news that Elon Musk has £44billion to purchase fucking twitter just makes me feel a bit sick. We work so hard and it's purely to keep our heads above water with maybe a takeaway or cinema trip once a month as a 'treat' Now having to cut back even further so that means literally no treats/ holidays/ days out. Yes we can cancel Netflix etc and reduce any form of unnecessary spending and we'll probably survive somehow and yes I know there are people probably worse off but but my god it's doesn't make it any less frustrating that people have that sort of money to throw about on social media platforms while there are so many out there struggling just to survive

When did you last read them, that seems very high. For comparison we pay £145 a month for a 3 /4 bed

Why has your energy more than doubled? (Gone up £250 a month actually!)

And why should Elon Musk pay for it?

He hasn't just spunked the money up a wall, he's invested it. Paying your lecky bill wouldn't be much of an investment for him, as lovely as I'm sure it would be for you.

Our supplier asks for reads every quarter, so not since Feb time. But we're apparently £600 in debit so DD is going up to cover it. We were on a fixed tariff up until March which was only 12p/kwh elec and 2.3p/kwh for gas but that's come to an end and rates have over doubled. Looked online but there's not anything cheaper per kWh that I can see... unless anyone can recommend anyone? Looked on Octopus, Scottish Power and BG but their rates are all higher than the one we're on now (EDF standard variable)

Is Elon Musk responsible for the rise of cost in living?

When you put in your readings did it show how much you had used and what it cost?
You dont have to accept a higher direct debit if it bears no resemblance to your usage

Yep this. The OP (and people like her) must have got an artificially low quote at some point - probably from another provider, to tempt them over - and now it's been re-set with real amount, and the extra, to claw back what is owing.

We pay £125 a month (gas and electric,) for a 3 bed house. (That's the new price. It was £95.)

Now isn’t the right time to try to switch. Any comparison website should be advising you to not switch right now

Because rates have shot up? Our fixed price tariff came to an end and there's nothing that's anywhere near those rates anymore

And yes yes I'm fully aware that Elon Musk doesn't have to pay my bills, as I said just ranting as it's been all over the news and I'm bloody knackered working all the hours I can it's just another kick isn't it.

I’m very happy for Elon Musk to pay my bills as well.

Other suppliers won't be taking on new customers unless those new customers sign up to an expensive fixed rate. You would be better off staying on your current standard variable rate.

The issue is the debit balance which has led to the increase in your monthly payment. Is there any chance you could pay some of the debt off to lower your monthly payment?

I'd have a look at why your usage is so high too and look to cut it back where you can

@CrashBandicootOnSanityBeach
It wasn't an artificially low quote, I always look at the price per kilowatt not the monthly cost. It's always been around the £200 per month mark (combined gas and electric) and the readings have always fallen in line with this.
The fact is the rates per unit have over doubled so therefore obviously the cost has....

Yes to be fair we're probably not very energy efficient, probably do need to look at ways to lower usage.

And again, no I don't really want Mr Musk to pay my bills. Just feeling a bit fed up that there always seems to be something

The issue is that you have come off a low fixed rate and gone onto an increased standard variable rate (I was the same as my fixed rate ended in February).

I'm with Octopus and my standard variable rate is currently:
Electricity 27.84p/kwh and 49.38p s/c
Gas 7.33p/kwh and 27.22p s/c

This will be similar for all suppliers as its the capped rate.

Elon Musk has £44billion to purchase fucking twitter.

He doesn't have anything like that - but he can borrow it. Just as if you have £35,000 you can purchase a £350,000 house. Sources such as Bloomberg estimate that even though he is "worth" about $260billion, he actually has about $3billion in cash and liquid assets.

Yes those are the same as my rates. I knew it was coming, my rates before were around 12p for elec and 2.3 for gas so the increase was expected.

I was just having a moan about it 😂

In all seriousness though, helpful hints and tips on making cut backs/ savings in all areas would be greatly appreciated so I don't have go knocking on Elons door 😬

Fair point, sorry Elon

Ooft, I've just submitted readings and have used £141.70 of electricity and £84.18 of gas since 1st April. I like that with Octopus you get an immediate balance update as soon as you submit your readings.

Yes it's the same with EDF.
I've never had any complaints with them to be honest, I've always reviewed our fixed price tariff when the time came and kept on a relatively good rate but all the fixed price contracts are now more expensive than the standard variable rate and coming off a low tariff onto the current rates is a big jump

Is your house a big house? Even before the rise, that’s a lot.

with it going up I paid £140 for April for both. 3 bed terrace with me, dp, 18 year old dd and 11 year old ds.

My direct debit was increased by 200%. I challenged it - and am still waiting for an adequate response (they've tried 3 times now -I just keep batting back ' but that doesn't explain wny you increased my direct debit by 200% when prices are increasing by 54%').

To be fair, I was not on top of what my usage was and I wasn't reading it more than once in a blue moon. I have now changed to a variable direct debit and monthly readings so I only pay for what I use as we go along. I have made a massive effort to keep usage as low as possible - nothing on standby, charging the phone when I'm in the car, a policy of 'one thing at a time' (no having the TV on whilst on the laptop and phone!) and I bought an air fryer to avoid putting the oven on for a couple of fish fingers, only showering (no baths). It has had an impact - more than I could have anticipated, and that's just month one.

It's a 3 bed semi but with quite a big extended downstairs space. The rooms upstairs are fairly small but the living room and kitchen are quite big and then to the side there's 2 extra reception rooms - we use one as a study/ office and the kids use the other as a playroom/ tv room. There's also a downstairs toilet.
Windows are probably old and inefficient (definitely older than 12 years??) but we can't afford new ones
Gas central heating, had a new boiler last year.
OH has an electric car so we have a charger which probably adds about £60-£80 month to the elec bill

I bought a fake oodie and slashed my gas bill by half last month. The second DD has gone to bed we turn off the heating. The fake oodie keeps me very warm. I also make more oven dinners than cooking on gas.

It's only the standard variable rates that increased by 54%. If you went from a low fixed rate to a more expensive fix then it could be more. Or even if you went onto the SVR from a cheap fix it could be more than 54%

Being in debit can also cause the monthly payment to increase as its paying off new usage plus the debit balance