Is anyone NOT paying as much for gas and electric as they thought?

[GasAndElec1]

I am aware that this issue is really affecting a lot of people and genuinely this is in no way a post to rub anything in. I'm concerned that something is wrong with the way provider is calculating what I'm using because my gas and electric doesn't seem to have gone up at all.

I am not on a fixed rate tariff. I'm with e.on who for ages recently were changing their system to e.on Next which meant I was unable to use their portal for a while or put in metre readings, I couldn't even use it to up my direct debit so was expecting when it finally finished that I'd be in a lot of debit with them as I'd just been paying the same as I always had prior to the April increase.

Anyway, the system move has been completed for a while now and I've been putting metre readings in and I'm still in a lot of credit on both electric and gas and I'm just a bit confused about it.

We live in a 3 bedroom with 3 kids and me and DH, I've been on maternity too so been home a lot and we were sort of bracing ourselves for a huge issue. We pay £70 a month for electric and £100 for gas, that's what we were paying prior to April and it appears it's still enough (I appreciate it'll go up again in Oct).

It just worries me that something has gone wrong when I see people talking about spending hundreds and hundreds every month. It seems like we're the only people who don't appear to have been massively affected by the increase and it's worrying me that they'll suddenly notice an error and go 'oops now you owe us hundreds'.

Is anyone else finding they aren't paying as much as they thought they would be after the April increase?

We recently had over a thousand back from BG we moved to a bigger house in March 2021 and I thought the payments where much higher.

I've kept the money separate just in case this winter it turns out it wasn't a mistake.

We’ve just had our DD revised downwards by £120. They’d set it based on the previous owner’s usage, and then we arrived and also replaced the boiler. We’ve got a cushion already built up for winter. I think they revised it due to the pressure and investigations being started by the regulator.

Same here . But I'm dreading the autumn/winter really. I think that will show if it's been an error or not.

Ours has gone down (by that I mean the amount they are asking us to pay by direct debit) and we also got a refund a few months ago as we were in credit. It’s costing about £80 a month currently for both, would be less without my husband’s love of the tumble dryer. Obviously we’ve not got the heating on or many lights given the time of year.

We are in credit on our gas and electric but are paying a higher amount now, I think the credit is so it can even out come autumn.

By costing I mean on smart meter useage, we are paying £120 ish.

We are not using as much as I thought, but then we did have an increase back in October so we clearly weren’t underpaying to start with, which I think a lot of people have been prior to this years increases. 3 bed semi with 4 occupants. Our DD was 130. We have put it up to £200 per month based on our suppliers increases but we have only used £100 in May, June and I presume July and August will be the same, maybe even Sept if it’s warm. So presumably we would have still built up a bit of credit on the old DD. I don’t really get it! And is that without the 400 discount ? I have no idea!

Ours went up a little, but the last month electric and gas cost us £59 together. But then we didn't use the gas a lot as not needed the heating on.

I think a lot of the ones with massive bills are also the ones who insist on the heating being on all day and have the thermostat set to a specific temperature so it will be on/off all day. In winter, we set our heating to come on twice a day and try to not put it on a third time, unless it's very cold.

It could also be people who got taken off a fixed rate that was actually too low and then got put on their proper rate that they should have been on, so the prices went up dramatically. A lot of people don't bother putting in readings either, I'm doing it every month to keep track of it and so I'm not getting their estimations which are always too high.

Me but only because DH died a couple of months ago so our usage has reduced dramatically. I am no longer having to do 2-3 loads of washing a day, the dishwasher goes on every other day and all his equipment is no longer plugged in.

Yes
Im on the old fashioned pre pay so it’s the most expensive tariff you can get
I keep a balance of £100 a week and top it up each week

Last month It cost me around £20 a week up from around £15 a week

I don’t stint on my electric at all although I rarely use my dryer - cooker and probably use the washing machine every other day

Also have a 5 seater hot tub that’s on 24-7 set at 38 degrees and used daily for around 45 mins - 1hr

My electric from what it was previously has gone up by £3 a day for the cost of the hot tub so an extra £21 a week

I can afford this so not worried even when the price goes up again

otherwise I wouldn’t have bought a hot tub

I reckon anyone on a DD is being scammed the amount they are being charged is mad

My gas has only gone up by about £4 a week to around £9 a week and again I don’t stint on having showers probably have 3-5 showers day between 3 people

although the heating isn’t on at the moment I wouldn’t worry about putting it on when I need to

I live in a fairly modern 3 bed house with 3 adults

Our last 3 bills have been £98 for both. That's no heating and no tumbledryer. We are paying £175 in DD so accruing credit for September onwards. We are definitely being more mindful which isn't a bad thing.

i think EON Next are slow, we are also with EON next and only got an updated bill through yesterday, in which or tiny 2 bed house with 2 adults living in (heating hasnt been on for months, savvy with electrics etc) has doubled from £70 PM - which left us in credit - to £140pm

I also thought i was going to be safe, i think they just take there time. have you done meter readings?

We’re with eonNext. We were paying £117 for a 3 bed single skin end terrace, DH and I both work from home. They put it up to £191.01 (can’t forget the penny!) and at the moment we’re increasing our credit by £100 each month.

I know it’s warm and light, but it’s reassuring to know we’ve got that buffer for winter.

We're with Octopus (svr) and pay £170, which was set by us on the app. Last month gas was £15.70 and electric was £54. Been pretty much like that for the last few months.

We're £495 in credit and hoping to use that as a buffer for the winter.

Strangely enough on the forecast Octopus suggest DD at £186 pm on svr and £265 for a fixed rate x

We've stayed roughly as we were TBH. I fixed last September just before the price increase though and hopefully will be able to do the same this year.

Based purely on my anecdotal experience of people who post on MN about their whopping great price hikes, I've noticed the following:
They tend not to have a smart meter
They tend not to read their meter frequently
They tend not to send regular meter readings to their supplier
They tend not to know their tarrifs/rates
They tend not to know how much they use

I think most people who are on the ball with it have always paying the right amount. I think some people have been on super cheap tarrifs or have been underpaying for months/years.

When I moved house, my electricity supplier set my DD to £50 pm. My house is electric only and I knew that with heating and everything else, it would cost way more than £50pm. They would not let me increase the DD. Of course when winter came, my usage was closer to £150 pm. I personally believe the company intentionally made me accrue a debt with them so I would not be able to switch when my tarrif ended. (Of course I kept the money to one side, so paid the debt immediately and switched)

I am with Next Eon and we do meter readings the last day of every month now. I keep an eye on the smart meter too. It's usually always between about 2.25 - 3 pounds a day depending if laundry has been done. For June we have used 63 pounds on electricity and 14 pounds on gas but we were away a week. Gas is used to heat the hot water - instant demand. We are 2 adults in a 3 bedroom house.I reckon it will be 90 pounds a month normally for electricity. Gas will be the killer in the winter though! We won't be heating as much as we previously have done.

Ours is a smart meter by the way and sends a reading on the 25th of each month.

We're paying £167 per month since moving into new house mid March. We're currently £225 in credit after 3 months. I'm a bit concerned about winter as we have elderly parent living with us - while DH and I could deal with having the heating on for a couple of hours every day, it'll need to be on much more for DParent. Am considering electric throw for them.

What's really grinding my gears is the standing charge - nearly 50p per day for electricity and nearly 30p for gas, so £25 per month before we've used any energy at all. At the moment, daily standing charge for gas is about double our charge for actual usage.

I'm using about £70pm, but paying £168. This time last year I was paying £65pm and getting into credit. It will go up by about £30pm in winter by my calculations.

In Feb Eon wanted me to pay £500pm. Obviously I knew that was wrong but they would not back down and I had to involve the ombudsman.

Despite it being more than it was a year ago I am paying less than I expected given the rises we've seen.

I'm getting a smart meter fitted next week, in theory - this will be the fourth time they've tried!

We are with eon next,monthly readings,
electric £50
gas £19
but the only thing plugged in is the fridge/freezer!

My direct debit isn't astronomical and bills are less than the DD however for the month of June my bill was £148, June last year was £96, I think that's a huge increase.

I live in a tiny one bed flat, hardly ever have the heating on and use minimal electricity and previously Octopus reduced my DD to £53 a month for both gas and electric as I was building up so much credit. (This will show you how little I use!)

They now want £110 a month off me, with possible rises to £125-150 in October. I am getting rid of the tumble dryer but there really is nothing else I can cut back on - the only things left on permanently are the fridge, freezer and router.

If it goes that high, I will be spending nearly a month's wages in a year on gas and electricity alone.

it's insane and totally unsustainable - our economy will be destroyed if this continues. Imagine the operating costs for businesses after this - it will force thousands of businesses to close.

Can I ask why you choose to be on prepay?

id always assumed it was only people who were or had been struggling to pay their bill who used PP. or maybe those in rented but unsettled housing?

feel free to not say, obviously!!

Mine has only increased by about £5 a week

I'm with octopus and it hasn't changed, infact when I spoke to them they said I was using less than what I was paying for (still paying a little extra though just in case). 3 bed semi with me and 9 month baby, partner home at weekends.