Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

I’m panicking now

26 replies

Mumma1822 · 02/02/2024 13:51

I have a direct debit set up with my gas and electric provider, I have just received an email saying that with the payments I make a month I will owe just over £700 at the end of the year. They are suggesting that I pay £570 a month though direct debit so I won’t owe anything at the end of the year. I have never had such a high suggestion before it’s definitely not something we can afford at the moment. Does this seem right? For reference we are a family of 4 who live in a small 2 bed 1 bath bungalow. I don’t think we use a huge amount of gas or electric we are quite conscious of it and our children are too young to turn light and heating on on their own.

OP posts:
SonOfAGoodStrongWoman · 02/02/2024 13:53

How much do you currently pay per month?
Are you massively underpaying for you usage atm?

Singleandproud · 02/02/2024 13:58

Have a look at the usage and your current payment - that cannot be correct unless you are vastly under paying.

I live in a 2 bed 1 bath flat so probably similar size and pay £100 for both with a £80/£20 split. I use about £80 electric all year and my gas ranges from £10 just service charge in the summer to around £60 with heating on most days in winter. Plus British Gas do half price Sundays so I can use tumble dryer and batch cook if I manage to organise myself. I'd look at switching providers.

Snowdropsarecoming · 02/02/2024 14:03

How much are you using per month? Have you being giving monthly reading if you don’t have a smart meter. If you’ve been under paying then this is possible.

Fizzadora · 02/02/2024 14:11

So they are saying you will have used £7000 worth of energy by the end of the year. How ridiculous. Tell them to go away and do their sums. You would only need an extra £55 a month to cover a £700 shortfall.
We are a couple, in a small 3 bed semi and both home all day although our usage is fairly low. It is estimated at just under £2000 for the full year. We pay £160 a month and still have a credit balance which should cover the next 2 months payments then by April the credit will start to build up again.

NoOrdinaryMorning · 02/02/2024 14:14

No that's ridiculous for a 2 bed property. Unless you have the heating running 24/7 although to be honest, even then, I'd struggle to see it coming to that.
My Mum has a 2 bed bungalow and whilst she is on her own she manages to pay just £70 per month during winter and that's gas & electric

Original poster
Mumma1822 · 02/02/2024 14:54

I pay 275 a month at the moment I’m not the best at maths but I think over 500 a month has to be wrong surely

OP posts:
SleepingStandingUp · 02/02/2024 14:56

£275 for that is crazy, let alone higher.

Do you have the app? Do you know what your actual usage and costs are a month?

drowninginsick · 02/02/2024 14:57

That seems crazy we're pretty relaxed at putting the heating on as often as we want and we're paying £170 a month!

3 bed terrace here

EmmaEmerald · 02/02/2024 14:59

Fizzadora · 02/02/2024 14:11

So they are saying you will have used £7000 worth of energy by the end of the year. How ridiculous. Tell them to go away and do their sums. You would only need an extra £55 a month to cover a £700 shortfall.
We are a couple, in a small 3 bed semi and both home all day although our usage is fairly low. It is estimated at just under £2000 for the full year. We pay £160 a month and still have a credit balance which should cover the next 2 months payments then by April the credit will start to build up again.

This

I moved last year and was estimated an amount per month that is about 6 months in reality

When I rang them, they didn't seem to want to budge and kept telling me it's better to be in credit.

I now pay quarterly based on actual usage. I'll wait till I've been here a year before trying to negotiate again.

Original poster
Mumma1822 · 02/02/2024 15:00

So I’ve had a look on my app and my monthly usuals is about £100 gas and between £100-£120 in electric a month. So I’m correct in assuming that I am being massively overcharged right?

OP posts:
SleepingStandingUp · 02/02/2024 15:00

Op for context, 3 bed house, 3 kids, washing machine and tumble drier, usually the telly or something on when they're home, fairly lax with heating as I have young / vulnerable kids so it goes on when I want it. Last two months bills were around £250 each but they're the apex months. My DD is £180. This month I used 1500 kWh of gas and 400 kWh of electricity

Ted27 · 02/02/2024 15:13

@Mumma1822

Is this based on estimates or do you provide a monthly reading?

When the whole fuel price thing kicked off EON tried to put my dd up to £480, double what I was paying.
We settled on £175. I've since claimed back about £800 from being in credit. They have finally reduced my dd to £125.
I live in a draughty 3 bed Victorian terrace. I work from home and do not scimp on my heating.
I can't see how you would be paying that amount if you doing monthly readings.

Original poster
Mumma1822 · 02/02/2024 15:14

there is a smart meter fitted in my property I think I’m going to have to call up and talk to someone about it as everyone seems to think it’s far too much

OP posts:
Papillon23 · 02/02/2024 15:30

Given you live in a bungalow, I would expect your costs to be higher than similar sized homes that are terraces. I live in a 2 bed terrace and my total spend is about £120 per month - £170ish in mid winter, £80 or so in summer and somewhere in between for the rest of the year.

If you have costs of £220 per month, check if your app includes standing charges - mine doesn't, so that could be about an extra £60 per month.

Even so, that would mean you were spending £280 per month which while a lot shouldn't mean you have hundreds of pounds of debt.

If you have a smart meter can you look and see what your usage has been each month (your monthly bills should show exact figures on a smart meter) and see if something has changed?

EmmaEmerald · 02/02/2024 15:32

Mumma1822 · 02/02/2024 15:14

there is a smart meter fitted in my property I think I’m going to have to call up and talk to someone about it as everyone seems to think it’s far too much

Yes, mum has a smart meter and they do the same to her - make a bonkers estimate and try to argue with her about it.

stand your ground!

Karen2948 · 02/02/2024 17:27

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Itsnotallaboutyoulikeyouthink · 02/02/2024 17:42

It will all make right once the summer months hits. I wouldn’t bother paying anything extra to them. Put £50 away a month in your bank and pay any shortfall later in the year.

midgetastic · 02/02/2024 17:44

You have checked you have t accidentally turned on an immersion heater ?

caringcarer · 02/02/2024 17:54

SleepingStandingUp · 02/02/2024 14:56

£275 for that is crazy, let alone higher.

Do you have the app? Do you know what your actual usage and costs are a month?

I live in a 6 bedroom house and I pay £400 per month with Octopus. I put the heating on because I'm disabled at times with arthritis as it's worse when I get cold. Have you got a Smart Meter? Are you giving monthly accurate readings? Or are they just using estimates?

Kalevala · 02/02/2024 18:22

If you will owe £700 then you should up your dd by probably £70 a month now. Look at your last bill though, it should have a yearly estimate, you can divide this by 12 to work out your dd.

Kalevala · 02/02/2024 18:24

Itsnotallaboutyoulikeyouthink · 02/02/2024 17:42

It will all make right once the summer months hits. I wouldn’t bother paying anything extra to them. Put £50 away a month in your bank and pay any shortfall later in the year.

I'd say £70 to save £700 over 10 months.

laclochette · 03/02/2024 12:58

That sounds like an incredibly high usage. Tbh even £275 a month seems very high. I pay £90 a month for a one bed flat and I have the heating on a lot!

Deffo call them and ask someone to come out and look at your smart meter because it seems like there is something going wrong. If there isn't something wrong then you can get advice on how to get your usage down - perhaps there's something in your home that is eating energy.

Original poster
Mumma1822 · 03/02/2024 15:57

UPDATE: I rang up my energy provider yesterday the person I spoke to was so nice and said that they couldn’t see why I’d need to pay so much more when I pay over what I’m using most months anyway they said they would get someone to have a look and get back in touch with me. Had a call about 11:30am today I’ve been told not to increase my direct debit and I should be in credit at the end of the year anyway :) thanks everyone for your help

OP posts:
mumda · 03/02/2024 17:59

Is your property insulated at all?

Papillon23 · 03/02/2024 18:20

Mumma1822 · 03/02/2024 15:57

UPDATE: I rang up my energy provider yesterday the person I spoke to was so nice and said that they couldn’t see why I’d need to pay so much more when I pay over what I’m using most months anyway they said they would get someone to have a look and get back in touch with me. Had a call about 11:30am today I’ve been told not to increase my direct debit and I should be in credit at the end of the year anyway :) thanks everyone for your help

Great news OP, I am so glad that they have been helpful.