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Original poster

Energy company say I need to pay £450 a month for electricity!

34 replies

Skade · 26/09/2021 09:12

Is going to be a long one, sorry! I live in a small 3 bedroom bungalow with four adults, 3 of whom are out almost all day - I work from home 4 days out of 5.

I moved to Bulb in May this year and was initially paying £94 a month (which was cheaper than usual, I usually pay around £120). I don't have a smart meter and admittedly forgot to submit a meter reading on the first day of each month in June and July but did submit them in May, August and September.

I have always been in credit in the summer so I was surprised when I got a message in August saying that I was in debit and in order to bring my account up to date and prepare for winter my monthly payment was going up to £370 for the following 7 months, which seems a massive amount! They are now suggesting that I pay £450 a month as I am still in debit - and apparently I am using £10 a day of electricity...

I have tried to sort it out but am getting nowhere. I ordered a smart meter so that I could try to see where it was going but when the installer came he said that the board my 1979 electric meter was attached to was rotted and it would have to be replaced. I asked him about the monthly payments and he agreed that that was significantly high. He arranged for a meter accuracy test to be done at the same time as the board replacement, which has now been booked for 15th October.

In the meantime Bulb have emailed me again suggesting I pay a one off top up payment of £620 to bring my account back into balance (currently £64 in debit)!! I honestly don't know what's going on and I am now wonder if my meter is somehow wrong.

My previous suppliers EDF have offered me a two year fixed rate deal which I was going to take as Bulb have been a complete nightmare, but they haven't said what the monthly rate would be and I'm worried that they will use my current monthly payment of £370 as a basis. Is anyone here able to give me any advice on best way forward please? I know that from the beginning of October the prices are rising significantly and I am worried that if I don't take the fixed deal before the meter is assessed I will miss out. Or should I wait for the meter to be checked? Am so confused!

OP posts:

Purplewithred · 26/09/2021 09:17

Go on a price comparison website and use your meter readings to get comparative prices from a number of suppliers. That should give you an indication of whether Bulb are nuts or you are actually using that amount of electricity.

gogohm · 26/09/2021 09:19

Are you actually using that amount of electricity? I've used bulb for years with no issues so it sounds like a reading issue. Submit your correct reading today and see if it adjusts

Zeflyinghelmetandzevetcelery · 26/09/2021 09:36

Bulb has been reported in the papers as seeking a bailout so perhaps they're trying to raise money from customers too. I wouldn't pay more than I owed and was using.

BarbaraofSeville · 26/09/2021 10:24

Is the £64 debit based on an accurate meter reading?

Is the house electricity only and do you normally use a lot on heating over winter?

It sounds like a lot but if you're going to be using the heating, it might not be far off over winter, as electric heating is expensive.

I'd be extremely cautious about taking a 2 year fixed rate as it will be based on the current expensive rates plus an allowance for further rises.

You will probably be better off on a standard variable rate with a big name supplier, as these are capped and currently the cheapest option by far. Look at the unit rate and daily standing charge for one of these, compared with your 2 year fix.

Claudethecat · 26/09/2021 10:31

Do you have a record of your meter readings? if so, put them into this spreadsheet (you need to put in your tariff and daily standing charge in on page one) and see if the calculations match Bulb's.

thnet.co.uk/power/

StormyTeacups · 26/09/2021 10:39

I've had similar with bulb. They are trying to tell me we are using 10 times (40times last month) more gas than same month last year. Makes no sense.

BarbaraofSeville · 26/09/2021 10:43

Or could it really be that they're trying to plug their own cashflow issues, by getting extra money in from customers?

Hopefully if that's the case, OFGEM will be on to them as that's been cited as one of the reasons why Avro went bust.

poorbuthappy · 26/09/2021 10:49

I believe it's because they are trying to raise funds by getting customers to pay essentially upfront.

FreddyMercurysCat · 26/09/2021 10:56

I'm having the same with Bulb. I've cancelled my direct debit and asked them to check the meters. I'm going to top up online until it's sorted.

JasonMomoasgirlfriend · 26/09/2021 11:00

Just make a payment to clear the debt. Increase your payment to £150/month to cover winter.
Because you say £94 wasn't enough anyway as you usually paid £120 and there is an increase in price coming and usage over winter.

You don't HAVE to pay what they are saying. Also bulb are variable and those are the tarriffs about to be hit by the price cap Increase.

So pay off your debt, shop around and move to a fixed contract.

JasonMomoasgirlfriend · 26/09/2021 11:01

And don't just look at the "this is what you'll pay a month" you need to look at the actual tarriff unit rates.

JasonMomoasgirlfriend · 26/09/2021 11:03

You will probably be better off on a standard variable rate with a big name supplier, as these are capped and currently the cheapest option by far

This is just outright lies

FindingMeno · 26/09/2021 11:06

Pay what you owe.
Go to quarterly bills ( you can still do that, right?), and save a fixed monthly amount yourself and pay the bills as they're generated.
Or, pay what you owe and switch provider.

Stovetopespresso · 26/09/2021 11:30

@JasonMomoasgirlfriend

You will probably be better off on a standard variable rate with a big name supplier, as these are capped and currently the cheapest option by far

This is just outright lies

why would the pp lie? it might be inaccurate in your opinion but sure not a "lie" as such, also I have heard that a standard variable might be the best option right now??

JasonMomoasgirlfriend · 26/09/2021 11:38

@Stovetopespresso because I just switched myself, and both sets of grandparents and not a single variable tarriff was cheapest and also as I stated above, the price cap is about to be increased and this will ONLY affect standard variable tarriffs.

She said it as a fact and it's not true.

Spacie · 26/09/2021 11:44

@JasonMomoasgirlfriend

You will probably be better off on a standard variable rate with a big name supplier, as these are capped and currently the cheapest option by far

This is just outright lies

The new fixes being offered currently are (nearly) all significantly higher than the standard variable rates from the same companies.

eg my increased svr from next month is about £1700 (up from £1250), they are quoting £2553 to fix for 12 months

JasonMomoasgirlfriend · 26/09/2021 12:10

As o also said above you cannot look at the price they quote that it will cost you each month or year because if you deviate at all from that it will obviously cost you more or less depending on useage.
So tell me what the unit rates are for your SVR compared to your quotes.
And as I have said above twice now, your SVR is about to Increase.... Good luck.

Original poster

Skade · 26/09/2021 12:20

I went to walk the dogs and came back to all these responses, thank you! Interesting to see that others are having similar issues with Bulb. I will double check what the fixed rate is that EDF are offering (it's a 'special' offer as a previous customer, but don't know if it's actually worth anything).

I'll also pay off the £64 that's owing, cancel the direct debit and pay online each month instead.

Very cheeky if they really are getting people to pay upfront to increase their cashflow - I couldn't understand why when I was only £64 in debit, they were asking me to pay £600 odd to rectify it!

Thanks all for your responses, food for thought.

OP posts:

skeemee · 26/09/2021 14:13

I’ve just cancelled my dd to bulb, as they wanted to increase from £320 to £480 per month. We are in debit with them due to their errors when we first switched approx 4 years ago, so I’ve emailed to say I don’t authorise the increase but haven’t heard back yet. I’m desperate to be able to leave, but are stuck until we pay off the balance.

Sainsbury’s fix with Eon came up cheapest on money saving expert. Anyone got any other suggestions if/when we pay them off?

SweetBabyCheeses99 · 26/09/2021 14:46

Well there are two figures in question and you haven’t given us either:

What is Bulb’s rate per kWh?
What is your monthly kWh usage?

You can do the maths on this and compare to EDF’s rates and your prior usage. They’ve offered you a test to check if the meter is faulty. You can’t really make a decision on whether you need to switch until you have looked at this info.

With regard to going into a credit, there’s simply no need. Cancel your direct debit and ask to just go back to paying a quarterly bill.

ivykaty44 · 26/09/2021 16:10

I will double check what the fixed rate is that EDF are offering (it's a 'special' offer as a previous customer, but don't know if it's actually worth anything).

I looked at their rates this week

a 3 year fixed rate for new customer not with them before

was 27p per kw and 23p per day

what are they offering you?

octopus was 16p per kw and 21p per day

EggAndHasBeans · 26/09/2021 18:07

Please watch this video from Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert before you change suppliers etc.

I had this exact problem with bulb but I think it was based on how much electricity we used during lockdown winters (a LOT) and they are using that to predict what this winter's cost will be. I just cleared off the debit and increased my monthly payments. I got a smart meter from them a few weeks ago and that is helping us to be more mindful with energy usage.

FanGirlX · 26/09/2021 18:12

@Zeflyinghelmetandzevetcelery

Bulb has been reported in the papers as seeking a bailout so perhaps they're trying to raise money from customers too. I wouldn't pay more than I owed and was using.

This is true.

I've had an email from bulb saying they want to double my monthly direct debit. I'm in credit by about a month and a half's average usage, so I don't know what's going on but trying to get a "loan" from all their customers will backfire as their customers will just go elsewhere.

slashlover · 26/09/2021 18:17

What were the readings you took in May, Aug and Sept? Also, if it's a 1979 meter, is it dials and are yo reading them correctly?

BigWoollyJumpers · 26/09/2021 18:26

To be fair to Bulb, their payment model has always been pay upfront. They are very clear on this. What is annoying is that their estimates are often wildly out, so you need to provide monthly readings especially, if like us, your household has changed over the last couple of years, with lots of coming and goings, and working from home. Our usage went up massively last year, completely reversed this year, but they are still estimating on last year's usage.

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