Gas and electric hell

[TheOpalFox]

Eon said my gas and electric is going uoto 289 a. Month !!! And I’m frugal and try and not use it a lot even when I’m cold!!! 😞
I can’t afford this
I think a lot of people can’t afford this much
What can I do if they change the direct debit amount? I don’t wanna cancel it but no way can I afford that!! 😰

What's it gone up from?

Take a deep breath. It's fucking awful, isn't it?

Have you looked at your account to see whether you are in credit with them or not? Next door lady looked at hers and told them to fuck off! They did, with a mealy mouthed "we want to make sure you always have enough credit".

Have a look at your usage and credit levels and see what you think!

Yes as above - is it to pay off energy debt or to pay for future usage? You have to agree to DD changes, if you cant afford it, tell them.

170 ;(

Just say no and instead monitor for another 6 months.
I have done this on more than one occasion

Unless you are already in a lot of debt with the company the best thing you can do is look at your houses insulation as there must be some reason why it’s costing so much and that is a good place to start .

My gas tried to tell me I had to pay £170 a month. I told them that the direct debit will be £60 and not a penny more. Funnily enough I'm not in debt with them so why they needed an extra £110 a month I don't know. Tell them no and if they say you have to then cancel the debit and tell them you'll take your business elsewhere

I agree, check your account & usage.

Do you have a smart meter or are you providing regular meter readings?
If the later, keep note of your readings and you can work out the cost according to your tariff.

Pay off rather than be in credit- they use the money to earn interest (& so could you!)

I found that these companies have a way of increasing the direct debit and then invoice you for an slightly ridiculous amount to get their hands on your credit.

So being vigilant is essential!

Find out why it is so high and stop using so much energy.

Does it correspond with your actual usage and bills correspond with you meters?

Is it an estimated bill? Ive found that they always over estimate consumption.
Take regular meter readings. I've set up a monthly reminder on my phone.

There must be a reason they've upped it so much, have you got a lot outstanding? If not, you can work out how much it should be per month if you look at your last year's total usage in kWh from previous bills and calculate using your current unit prices, that will give your estimated total cost over the year, then divide by 12.

That's a huge increase. Unless you've been building up significant debt by not paying enough previously (check your previous usage) then that's a very unreasonable amount

Give them a ring and ask them to explain. If they haven't got a clear rationale, then ask for a reduction

Do you have an online account and get a monthly bill? Are you in credit? Can you amend the amount you pay manually? £170 over the summer seems quite high, we are a five bedroomed house and have been using £100ish per month. It goes up to £300 in the winter.

If EON doesn't give you this flexibility move to someone like Octopus.

Have you got a smart meter? Do you send readings in or this an estimation. Have you come off a fix?

I'm currently in a disagreement with my energy provider, because they have been reporting my payments as MISSED, despite me paying them on time every month, AT the same amount a direct debit would take. Why? Because I'm on a fixed income, and have been paying manually, after being burned by direct debits taking higher amounts than I can afford in the past. If you don't pay by direct debit, they spitefully report to credit reference agencies that you haven't paid. They have been demanding that I pay it all off quarterly, and I've told them that doesn't work for me.

I've had to contact Trans Union and Experian to ask for corrections to show I've paid. It's impacted my credit score significantly. It's bad enough that we are being charged extortionate prices, without this bullshit too.