Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Just a random and gentle reminder to ask you guys to check and phone in (or go online) and provide actual electric meter readings for your home. (I'm sure most of you do, except the energy companies do like to base things on estimates) So then last year, a salesman knocked at the door. I was bored and lonely and I invited him in. At the time I was already paying around £50 pcm on the electric. He said if I changed supplier to his organisation that £25 pcm would cover it. I said surely not? I said I don't want to be overpaying later on down the line. He said, no this is a sensble amount. I thought...ok then. Well guess what? After a few months they noticed it wasn't enough and changed my bill to £80pcm. Now then, I didn't like the radical change as predicted but I paid because I now owed it. And with direct debits it's all too easy to forget outgoings. This was Winter 09/10 going into Spring this year. Last week I phoned up again simply because I saw a bank statment saying £80 per month and I thought hang on a minute, I've been paying this a long time now. I gave them a reading, and of course they said "Oh sir this seems far too high,,,...mmm £50pcm from now on would be spot on " Exactly the amount I was paying the original supplier. So as from last week I'm going to be £35 a month better off. I suspect they may have continued to enjoy my over payment for a while. I apologise for this enthralling read, but I wonder if you phone your energy supplier today, and give an actual reading (even though that's what I'd done previously) they may just have some nice news for you. Just. My gas is fine btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Hey... be glad it wasn't the other way round? £10k leccy bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Sorry, I passed out half way through that... what was the question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I never bother - SWMBO keeps a VERY close eye on the joint outgoings and monitors our meters like a hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Worst "I've got hot and cold running electricity" post ever, 2/10 you big show-off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 'Provide actual meter readings in order to only pay for that you use' Wow, LBM... you're a genuis!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Worst "I've got hot and cold running electricity" post ever, 2/10 you big show-off. Thank you sir. 2/10 has more than pleased me. Apologies for the brag too. I know the poor hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 'Provide actual meter readings in order to only pay for that you use' Wow, LBM... you're a genuis!!! Read the thread again my learned friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Read the thread again my learned friend. The moral of the story is still the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 £80 isn't so bad, just had a summer bill in for £300 for the quarter, i dream of paying £25 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBDJ Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I had a 2k electric bill for a quarter turn up a while back... I was shocked - it was massively up on the 200/qtr I was paying, and the only thing that had changed was that the electric company had replaced all the exterior power lines and did some work in the meter cupboards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 I had a 2k electric bill for a quarter turn up a while back... I was shocked - it was massively up on the 200/qtr I was paying, and the only thing that had changed was that the electric company had replaced all the exterior power lines and did some work in the meter cupboards Did you pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Funny you should say this but I accepted the energy co that was already in place in a house I rented a couple of years ago. They fleeced me to the tune of £200 a month in gas across the winter. Now I'd just come back from Europe having spent over 2 years away and had been told that sh*t had gotten expensive and all my mates were paying similar amounts so despite the fact I was disgruntled I let it ride. Que me moving to a significantly bigger house (life was running very well and I was away so a house type bribe was required to keep the mr's onside). I was expecting then to cop for at least a 50% increase in bills but actually had a 50% reduction. I looked at our consumption and sure enough cubic doodahs were proportionally up but the cost was way down. Goes to show there is alot of space made in shopping around. Whilst on the topic of shopping around and making stuff cheaper the house I moved into had a water meter. I was expecting extortion as I wash my car more often than is respectable lol. I spend hours in a high power shower, and the mr's bathes like she is egyptian in milk. Long and short of it rateable value on my last gaff was £700 (2 bathrooms and a shower on each bedroom) paid £140. OK it was a rental so the grass suffered a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBDJ Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Did you pay? SE weren't up for negotiation in the slightest unfortunately; they didn't want payment by installment either. I've not yet paid them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 SE weren't up for negotiation in the slightest unfortunately; they didn't want payment by installment either. I've not yet paid them... So £2000 per quarter = £8000 per year? I'd speak immediately to http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Consumers/Pages/Consumer.aspx?sid=frontpage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie82 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 i had a similar thing but i dont check my bank statements was paying £60 a month up from £30 origionally, changed supliers last month and just had a cheque for £400 result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 i had a similar thing but i dont check my bank statements was paying £60 a month up from £30 origionally, changed supliers last month and just had a cheque for £400 result I've never really liked people who say "Now that's what I'm talking about!" But that's what I'm talking about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I had exactly the same thing. I was with them 6 months over winter and based the next 12 months on what had been used previously. I rang them and asked how they can base a year average on an account that was only 6 months old and in winter... It took some arguing but they eventually agreed to reduce it to the original price for another 6 months and then take the average... all in all it worked out exactly the same as I was first paying, the cheeky buggers! on a good note, just before i left the UK, I cancelled everything and due to it being autumn I hadn't used all the money from the payments and had a nice cheque for 500 quid to bring with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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