My advice is to keep calm & carry on. Don’t let it get to you. That’s assuming the bills are painful but payable.
Hi
The power distribution companies are separate to the power suppliers.
We have just sold control of the gas network to a foreign company.
If the shareholders did not exist to invest in these companies, the infrastructure would not have been built and upgraded as needed as modern developments evolve. That would mean vast sums transferred from government funds that coud not be spent elsewhere. I am a shareholder and to read the annual reports is a huge eye opener as to where vast sums are spent over a financial year. If there were no dividends, then those like me would invest elsewhere. I invest for a worthwhile return as I am not an investor with philanthropic tendencies.
No problems with shareholders receiving a dividend. It’s the order of magnitude I’m querying, especially when the customer base is being squeezed so hard to pay more.
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If I did not receive a worthwhile dividend, my investments would be transferred elsewhere and if others did the same, havoc would ensue.
Incidentally, I do not receive any shareholders discounts as they do not exist with the energy companies.
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No - I doubt that very much. They wouldn’t expend that much thought on us. They just don’t care! Simples! It won’t get better till we get rid of Boris and his cronies…even then we may have problems but surely a better chance!
I’m with Octopus and typically they’ve decided my direct debit should be increased massively. I’m not sure exactly when energy companies decided we should pay upfront and often in excess of the bills and having to go to great lengths to get our money back. I still believe we should get our energy, then the bill, then pay it. I format an excel spreadsheet with the prices and it calculates the total bill as soon as I enter the meter reading and I set the direct debit at around 85% of the average and pay the residue up front when submitting the meter reading.
I’ve noticed that a lot of you pay a fixed sum every month. Do you get a bill every quarter when this monthly sum is taken into account and adjusted accordingly? I mean how how does the company ask for more money or give you a refund and how often?
As you will have gathered my meter is read and I am billed quarterly and pay the bill as a lump sum every quarter currently by direct debit which is about $200 to $250 a quarter. I am just trying to grasp how you are billed.
I take a reading, everyday around this time for yesterdays usage and, enter the results into a spreadsheet. The DD is paid at the start of the month (in advance) so I know what the financial position is at any moment in time, the energy companies seem to be allowing for a fair sized buffer credit, but, it is only a question of time before things start to fail.
Hi
The problem with paying in arrears is that many do not.
This puts up the costs for those who do pay.
The other issue is that the energy suppliers have to pay up front for gas and electricity.
I pay a fixed amount on the 1st of the month. £75. Up till now, I have managed to accrue some credit which does get a one off payment top up during the winter months. (Will change, of course, with these increased costs.)
Octopus then sends my bill up to about the 6th of the month, and then lets me know how much is left in credit. As of now, they haven’t said what my DD will be increased to, but as I am over £100 in credit, this hopefully will be enough for the 6th/7th May, then I will know my ‘spring/summer’ usage. ie, from this past month, when I started using the heating less, and turning off lights.
I too keep a record but use pen and paper, and update this on receipt of each monthly bill. Units used, costs, how much credit left.
I have a smart meter display but chucked it in a drawer.
On the other hand - I do not feel it necessary to finance the energy companies. This fashion for paying in advance is relatively new and there have been times when I’ve allowed my energy company to increase my direct debit - and they take full advantage of that to the extent of hundreds of pounds…which I’ve struggled to get back when changing supplier.
My method now is to input my meter readings into an excel spreadsheet which I’ve programmed to calculate my total bill for both gas and electric, inc VAT. I do this at the end of each month and pay the full amount - less my direct debit - immediately. So for the first half of the month my account is in credit until the energy company calculates the bill from my readings (which I submit when I take them). The account then shows a outstanding amount totalling no more than my direct debit. The second half of the month after my direct debit is paid, my account is clear. Not something they can argue their way out of or insist on a higher direct debit.
I’ll add a PS to this - if anyone is using “Look After My Bills” I suggest you takeover the management of your own energy supplier asap. Check their reviews on Trust Pilot…the only people they look after is themselves.
I do much the same as you Bruce. I use my gas and electricity for a quarter and send in my meter readings. They prepare my bill based on my usage and I pay online with my card. I do not allow direct debits, only I decide what comes out of my account and when.
Its this standing charge that has no accountability, OFGEM say it can be increased by X% and that’s what they do, there seems to be no correlation between the revenue raised by this and the cost of providing a service.
Most energy companies give a discount for direct debit.
I used to feel the same but the last couple of years I signed up for direct debits for my utilities (water, electric and Internet).
I used to pay by Bpay and tried to pay as close to the last day for payment as possible but direct debit is so much better they still send a bill (I got my water bill a couple of weeks ago) and instead of the bit at the bottom telling me payment options it has “AUTOMATIC PAYMENT NOTIFICATION” and tells me:
“On 22/04/22 the due date for payment, Sydney Water will forward a debit of $59.66 to your nominated financial institution for direct debit approval”
Total water used in 87 days was 17 kilolitres
The Electric bill is similar and they leave plenty of time to object to the payment. I wish I’d done it earlier.
It’s only about £23 per year with OVO so hardly worth the bother anyway I’m like Foxy I like to control my bank account not someone else so DD is a no-go for me
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Of course they do scot, they have got open access of your account, I’d probably give you a discount if you sent me the authorisation to withdraw money from your account…
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It’s the prepayment meter customers that I feel for as they are between a rock and a hard place. No cash to buy credit, then the gas/electricity stays disconnected. It doesnt stop there either, because the meter continues to register the daily standing charge as a debt that will have to be satisfied before more energy bought can flow.
I’m with OVO as well. That £23 is better in my account than theirs.