The energy crisis

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Taf

Our annual electricity hovers just above 4000kwh (just below their 4,300 HIGH level), whilst our gas is just above 7,000kwh (1,000 below their 8,000 LOW level).

So does the cap apply in our case? I fear not.

yes but the per unit rate (which I can not find) will

[Taf]

Lots of blurb here : https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...al-if-possible

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Taf

Lots of blurb here : https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...al-if-possible

yeah that does not give unit rates it just breaks down the overall charge.

I see it does on the page

From 1 October the equivalent per unit level of the price cap to the nearest pence for a typical customer paying by direct debit will be 21p per kWh for electricity customers and 4p per kWh for gas customers.

Which tbh is what all those on the price switch are coming in at so I should have guessed haha

Originally Posted by Hom3r

Bulb have raised their prices up to 80%

Where are you getting that from ?

They announced rises in August, that took effect on Oct 1st, and they were not 80%.

https://bulb.co.uk/blog/energy-price...-prices-aug-21

My current tarrif with them shows as ;

Electricity Day Unit Rate: 22.2904p per kWh
Electricity Night Unit Rate: 14.5898p per kWh
Standing charge: 23.8434p per day (£87.03 per year)

Gas Unit rate: 3.9868p per kWh
Standing charge : 26.1124p per day (£95.31 per year)

Probably not the best, but not the worst either.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by Paul

Where are you getting that from ?

They announced rises in August, that took effect on Oct 1st, and they were not 80%.

https://bulb.co.uk/blog/energy-price...-prices-aug-21

My current tarrif with them shows as ;

Electricity Day Unit Rate: 22.2904p per kWh
Electricity Night Unit Rate: 14.5898p per kWh
Standing charge: 23.8434p per day (£87.03 per year)

Gas Unit rate: 3.9868p per kWh
Standing charge : 26.1124p per day (£95.31 per year)

Probably not the best, but not the worst either.

I think there were reports of Bulb increasing DDs by 80% for some, even though they are in credit. They are obviously desperate for cash flow.

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by Mr K

I think there were reports of Bulb increasing DDs by 80% for some, even though they are in credit. They are obviously desperate for cash flow.

The Guardian .. Sat 2 Oct 2021 17.38 BST

... Energy firm Bulb under fire for monthly bill rises of up to 80%
Many customers are being forced to pay much higher direct debit payments, despite being hundreds of pounds in credit

https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...es-of-up-to-80

Originally Posted by Mr K

I think there were reports of Bulb increasing DDs by 80% for some, even though they are in credit. They are obviously desperate for cash flow.

They tried to increase mine by about 10% even though I am almost £300 in credit. You can manually change it back downwards on the website but the webpage has a minimum price it won’t go below. Otherwise you have to phone them. I’ve changed it twice in the last week - the second time the minimum amount was lower so I’m wondering if it’s a percentage drop rather than a hard minimum.

Anyway, after their grubby attempt to get me to pay even more over the odds (as I clearly was already), the end result is that my DD is now slightly lower than it was a week ago. Which serves them right.

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by joglynne

The Guardian .. Sat 2 Oct 2021 17.38 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...es-of-up-to-80

No 80% rise here I am still paying £73 a month although they suggest I change that to £93 but as I'm over £100 in credit I'm not rushing to do that.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

No 80% rise here I am still paying £73 a month although they suggest I change that to £93 but as I'm over £100 in credit I'm not rushing to do that.

You could use it as a savings pot and demand the cash at Christmas, I did it a few times years ago and wouldn't be fobbed off with we'll take it of your next bill, no you won't you'll pay the cash now. On a pre pay meter now, pay between £20-25 per month I'd say, they keep saying I can save a fiver a month on DD but sod 'em tbh

[Carth]

We pay by DD, standard tariffs with the main suppliers in our area.
The thing that's always annoyed me is the 'change' they try to make to payments every 6 months or so, and I got to the stage where I couldn't be bothered with a phone call to argue anymore . . .

. . which led to a £27 a month gas DD, latest letter showed me as about £13 in debt I think, and a nice warning about price rises (and the winter months are coming).

I'm sure they'll soon send me a letter demanding asking nicely for about £70 a month, which I'll then go ballistic over and offer £50 . . like it or lump it

We're not dual energy, no matter how many times it's been suggested by both Gas & Electricity suppliers, although it is a nice point to throw at whichever one is being awkward at the time . . as in, I can always change to dual . . . but not with you

[jfman]

Entertainingly my provider is trying to make me pay less. While I’m slightly up their estimates have gone to pot because a supplier took over my service without permission and it took months to resolve. I did get £60 for the hassle.

[daveeb]

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

No 80% rise here I am still paying £73 a month although they suggest I change that to £93 but as I'm over £100 in credit I'm not rushing to do that.

Wow SnoopZ do you live in some sort of eco house, I think we were paying that amount about 15 years ago

I just decided to heck with it and contacted Bulb on web chat to try to get my DD reduced further. They weren’t having it, so I demanded a refund of my credit balance instead. They’re sending me £175, which is about two thirds of it, and at the rate I’m paying them will leave more than enough for me to still be in credit 6 months from now. Absolute fools would still have it in the bank if they hadn’t tried to gouge me via direct debit last week.

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Chris

I just decided to heck with it and contacted Bulb on web chat to try to get my DD reduced further. They weren’t having it, so I demanded a refund of my credit balance instead. They’re sending me £175, which is about two thirds of it, and at the rate I’m paying them will leave more than enough for me to still be in credit 6 months from now. Absolute fools would still have it in the bank if they hadn’t tried to gouge me via direct debit last week.

when you are a standard tariff which most of us will be for a while I imagine you gain nothing from a DD anyway. Octopus just say it is up to us what we pay and when we pay it and if we do not pay by DD they will just send a bill like the olden days hahaha

If I was in your shoes I would say either do as I ask or I am cancelling my DD and paying what I want through the top up option on the site

I can’t be bothered staying on top of it though, which I guess is why the credit balance got so high in the first place. They think my estimated monthly usage is £135 which makes it hard to argue for a DD of £90 which is what I was asking. The problem really is that we have only stopped doing B&B since the pandemic, and as we cook electric and have electric showers in 2 guest ensuites as well as the family bathroom our electricity usage has historically been higher in the summer than the winter. So I know that our monthly usage over the next 6 months isn’t going to be that high, especially in comparison to summer, but I don’t have the fresh figures to prove it. So I’ve just clawed back about two thirds of my credit balance, left my DD at £111 a month, and I’ll look at it again in January.