Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.
It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.
I still struggle to comprehend how you ever voted blue...I mean...you were doing so in the days of Thatcher when it was all being sold off!
Standing charges have gone up, Ofgem does not work for the consumer.
It has for pre pay customers in this regard.
It is, but everyone else is paying more as a result. There should never have been higher charges for those on pre-payment meters in the first place, as they are usually the people who struggle to pay their bills the most. The consumer is being ripped off by these private companies who exist to make a profit. Selling off our utilities has been a disaster for the consumer.
I still struggle to comprehend how you ever voted blue...I mean...you were doing so in the days of Thatcher when it was all being sold off!
Not an attack, btw
I probably spent too many years reading the Daily Mail.
My Octopus November 22 Tracker charges are - Electricity 36.53p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 18p. Gas 27.468p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 4.1p.
My Octopus November 22 Tracker charges are - Electricity 36.53p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 18p. Gas 27.468p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 4.1p.
Need a smart meter and they never seem to have any appointments in my area.........
Octopus Tracker. Anyone got advice or experience of this and do we think it’s worth it ?
We're on the tracker, have found our bills drop apprx 30%. Electric today is 18.64p per kwh, Gas is 4.12p. Both change daily.
It's basically now a 12 month fix but you can switch out anytime without charge. However, once leaving you can't return to it for 9 months. Need smart meters (defo) and agree to them taking readings every 30mins (I think).
Since Nov 2022 I think it's been more expensive over their flexible tariff for a total of about 5 days so well worth it in my opinion (especially if you don't have solar & batteries).
Also on tracker, have a smart meter. If you keep an eye on prices then is worth the switch. Be aware it can go up and if it does can take up to 2 weeks to switch away, but there are no financial penalties for switching. There is a time limit if you want to rejoin. Check the small print essentially. I've saved quite a bit already since December. Just shows what a rip off standard variable rate is when you see these prices.
I switched to Octopus Tracker Tariff today. Logged onto my account and made the switch and less than two hours later received notification that the change was complete. Fingers crossed it’s a bit cheaper for me. I’m a high user.
I switched to Octopus Tracker Tariff today. Logged onto my account and made the switch and less than two hours later received notification that the change was complete. Fingers crossed it’s a bit cheaper for me. I’m a high user.
As summer is coming (fingers crossed) should see gas and electric drop even further. For the times it does increase in winter can use those savings to help any cost increase. As a high user probably a no brainer for you. Just a shame the standing charge is higher than it was. The daily rates are similar to the levels just before Russian invasion and Covid I think.
Unless something else causes volatility in the energy markets you should see savings. Main thing with this tarrif there is a little more risk.
You can see the next day rates on the Octopus account page. I think after midday.
There are websites that give information on current and historical rates. This one isn't bad https://agilebuddy.uk/
Octopus make their API and data available publicly so anyone can check rates.
Set your tracker version based on the plan you are on and comparison is very easy. Gas and electric updated for next day around lunch time and I use it for historical reporting also.
Just got a bill from Thames Water for £1150.00. Apparently the meter hadn’t been transmitting information for the past three years, and they have now fixed it. Been estimated billing all this time. Wasn’t aware I was even on a water meter until now. Any advice on getting this bill slimmed?
Just got a bill from Thames Water for £1150.00. Apparently the meter hadn’t been transmitting information for the past three years, and they have now fixed it. Been estimated billing all this time. Wasn’t aware I was even on a water meter until now. Any advice on getting this bill slimmed?
Complain and exhaust Water Company procedures first, then Ofwat after if not resolved. Tell Water company you will be escalating....... good luck.
Just got off the phone to them. They initially said the meter had been reset to zero when I moved in. Fortunately got the complain escalated to someone with a degree of common sense. Told them the reality is, they have installed a meter that hasn’t transmitted any information for three years plus. For all I know, and think is correct, this wasn’t sending information prior to my change of property ownership. Everything is pure guesswork. They have actual figures for the past 5 weeks, so pro rata that over the past three years, and what they have estimated. They agreed to this. We will see what the outcome is, but the bloke I just spoke to said the whole idea of the meter being zeroed on my move in date was bollocks. Nice man :-)
Just got off the phone to them. They initially said the meter had been reset to zero when I moved in. Fortunately got the complain escalated to someone with a degree of common sense. Told them the reality is, they have installed a meter that hasn’t transmitted any information for three years plus. For all I know, and think is correct, this wasn’t sending information prior to my change of property ownership. Everything is pure guesswork. They have actual figures for the past 5 weeks, so pro rata that over the past three years, and what they have estimated. They agreed to this. We will see what the outcome is, but the bloke I just spoke to said the whole idea of the meter being zeroed on my move in date was bollocks. Nice man :-)
For context how much have you been paying? Did you think Thames Water was cheap or in line with most ?
Or alternatively not knowing you were metered did you maybe water the garden too freely?
Also water meters I thought were read manually - have I got that wrong?
Had our old electric meter, swapped out for a smart version. Bloke said he had never seen one of these before. Read the meter and departed. Trouble was he read it as the higher of the numbers between the dials rather than lower which what you do. Anyhow, got a £600 quid bill. I argued that the numbers were incorrect and if rounded down would end up with a similar usage to the previous quarter. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of the old meter on the day. Finaly they sort of understood my reasoning but couldn't correct it by that, so they did at least look at the same period last year so I only ended up £70 quid down. Fcuking shambles, had one job and cocked it up. Note to self. Take a pic.
No mate, they have a type of signal generator and battery fitted. That means that vehicles can simply drive down your road and upload the data. Having the reader on a dustcart makes perfect sense. The thing is, my meter hasn’t transmitted anything since I moved here and now it does, has basically gave a reading from when it was fitted. This was prior to me moving in. The previous owners, and myself, both told TW of the change in property ownership. They have simply done nothing for years, with regards to their faulty equipment.
I've been getting letters for years about having a water meter fitted and have put every single one of them in the bin.
As a family of 4 with a garden and two teenage kids, why on earth would I want to have a water meter fitted?
Does that mean you're on RV? Rateable Value that takes into account number of bedrooms in your house.
Although we had a meter fitted we were still paying RV of £79 a month, and it wasn't until we were chatting to a neighbour that was paying £29 we started to investigate why our bill was so much higher. Had a Thames Water guy round to check for leaks (none) and after a few phone calls someone eventually twigged it was the RV rate and not meter rate. After a further nine months down the line and umpteen phone calls we ended up with an £1100 refund. We now pay about £32/month.
As some of you may know I’ve lived in the States for years so I haven’t been familiar with how things are done in England regarding energy bills. In the States, an accurate bill is created every month using actual usage data which is automatically fed from the Smart Meters into the respective billing systems. Even before Smart Meters the monthly bill was still accurate as the meters would be read manually every month by meter readers and those figures would be manually fed into the billing systems from where the bills would be created.
However, 18 months ago I bought a flat in Bromley and was surprised to see that the monthly amount was ‘estimated’ even though my property does have Smart Meters which can produce accurate monthly meter data usage readings automatically. And that estimate is deliberately higher than it should be so the energy company benefits from building up a credit on my account. Is this standard practice and if so, why? I just see this as a way for them to keep some of my money. If this is common practice with all of their customers I can see the energy companies stockpiling millions of ££ every month.
Obviously this is legal but why do they do this and why haven’t people complained? That is an innocent question. I’m just trying to understand why they do that. I’d rather have that money in my bank account. Initially I was with Bulb but that was transferred to Octopus just over a year ago and the practice has continued.
As some of you may know I’ve lived in the States for years so I haven’t been familiar with how things are done in England regarding energy bills. In the States, an accurate bill is created every month using actual usage data which is automatically fed from the Smart Meters into the respective billing systems. Even before Smart Meters the monthly bill was still accurate as the meters would be read manually every month by meter readers and those figures would be manually fed into the billing systems from where the bills would be created.
However, 18 months ago I bought a flat in Bromley and was surprised to see that the monthly amount was ‘estimated’ even though my property does have Smart Meters which can produce accurate monthly meter data usage readings automatically. And that estimate is deliberately higher than it should be so the energy company benefits from building up a credit on my account. Is this standard practice and if so, why? I just see this as a way for them to keep some of my money. If this is common practice with all of their customers I can see the energy companies stockpiling millions of ££ every month.
Obviously this is legal but why do they do this and why haven’t people complained? That is an innocent question. I’m just trying to understand why they do that. I’d rather have that money in my bank account. Initially I was with Bulb but that was transferred to Octopus just over a year ago and the practice has continued.
Thanks.
Welcome back!
It's been going on for years. They know how much energy you are likely to use and then set your payments higher so you build up a credit. They will usually give you it back, eventually, when you ask them, but as I've said to numerous energy suppliers over the years, "its not a savings plan, it's my money you're holding".
They all do, although some seem to be worse than others, because they can do it and get away with it. It's a fucking cartel. Pure and simple.
I'm with Ecotricity and they don't pull that crap.
Bills are for how much gas and electric we actually use each month based on smart meter data.
They also don't play the game of fixed rate vs. standard variable rate etc. Just one tariff. Its a little more than the cheapest fixes you can find, but I don't mind it as they plough plenty of their profits into sustainable/renewable energy infrastructure projects.
They are owned by the guy who owns Forest Green Rovers.
I think they do £50 each for me and somebody else if doing a referral. Might have stopped. Dunno. If you or anybody else wants to switch lemme know and I'll have a look.
------------
Edit - looked it up. Yeah, still running. Here is my code if anybody wants to switch:
As some of you may know I’ve lived in the States for years so I haven’t been familiar with how things are done in England regarding energy bills. In the States, an accurate bill is created every month using actual usage data which is automatically fed from the Smart Meters into the respective billing systems. Even before Smart Meters the monthly bill was still accurate as the meters would be read manually every month by meter readers and those figures would be manually fed into the billing systems from where the bills would be created.
However, 18 months ago I bought a flat in Bromley and was surprised to see that the monthly amount was ‘estimated’ even though my property does have Smart Meters which can produce accurate monthly meter data usage readings automatically. And that estimate is deliberately higher than it should be so the energy company benefits from building up a credit on my account. Is this standard practice and if so, why? I just see this as a way for them to keep some of my money. If this is common practice with all of their customers I can see the energy companies stockpiling millions of ££ every month.
Obviously this is legal but why do they do this and why haven’t people complained? That is an innocent question. I’m just trying to understand why they do that. I’d rather have that money in my bank account. Initially I was with Bulb but that was transferred to Octopus just over a year ago and the practice has continued.
Thanks.
This is not my experience.
I’m with British Gas. The smart meter is used and I can also submit a reading if I wanted to.
The monthly direct debit is a simple calculation based on forecast annual usage divided by 12. This makes budgeting easier for me and also the supplier.
Every quarter the formal bill arrives and the DD reassessed.
I also understand that suppliers must now return excess credit funds if a surplus builds up.
Sounds in this case you need to see why the smart meter data isn’t being used. It may more innocently be they don’t yet have an annual estimate to base it on but which you could provide?
As some of you may know I’ve lived in the States for years so I haven’t been familiar with how things are done in England regarding energy bills. In the States, an accurate bill is created every month using actual usage data which is automatically fed from the Smart Meters into the respective billing systems. Even before Smart Meters the monthly bill was still accurate as the meters would be read manually every month by meter readers and those figures would be manually fed into the billing systems from where the bills would be created.
However, 18 months ago I bought a flat in Bromley and was surprised to see that the monthly amount was ‘estimated’ even though my property does have Smart Meters which can produce accurate monthly meter data usage readings automatically. And that estimate is deliberately higher than it should be so the energy company benefits from building up a credit on my account. Is this standard practice and if so, why? I just see this as a way for them to keep some of my money. If this is common practice with all of their customers I can see the energy companies stockpiling millions of ££ every month.
Obviously this is legal but why do they do this and why haven’t people complained? That is an innocent question. I’m just trying to understand why they do that. I’d rather have that money in my bank account. Initially I was with Bulb but that was transferred to Octopus just over a year ago and the practice has continued.
Thanks.
What I find most confusing about that is that you have a smart meter but the usage is estimated? Unless the estimated figure is the yearly electricity usage which they are then dividing by 12 to give your monthly DD figure?
As some of you may know I’ve lived in the States for years so I haven’t been familiar with how things are done in England regarding energy bills. In the States, an accurate bill is created every month using actual usage data which is automatically fed from the Smart Meters into the respective billing systems. Even before Smart Meters the monthly bill was still accurate as the meters would be read manually every month by meter readers and those figures would be manually fed into the billing systems from where the bills would be created.
However, 18 months ago I bought a flat in Bromley and was surprised to see that the monthly amount was ‘estimated’ even though my property does have Smart Meters which can produce accurate monthly meter data usage readings automatically. And that estimate is deliberately higher than it should be so the energy company benefits from building up a credit on my account. Is this standard practice and if so, why? I just see this as a way for them to keep some of my money. If this is common practice with all of their customers I can see the energy companies stockpiling millions of ££ every month.
Obviously this is legal but why do they do this and why haven’t people complained? That is an innocent question. I’m just trying to understand why they do that. I’d rather have that money in my bank account. Initially I was with Bulb but that was transferred to Octopus just over a year ago and the practice has continued.
Thanks.
If you have a smart meter it should be taking the readings. However, I've a feeling that some companies need to install their own meters (I'll leave it with you to check).
Comments
Not an attack, btw
Electricity 36.53p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 18p.
Gas 27.468p standing charge & variable unit charge, but most days it is 4.1p.
It's basically now a 12 month fix but you can switch out anytime without charge. However, once leaving you can't return to it for 9 months. Need smart meters (defo) and agree to them taking readings every 30mins (I think).
Since Nov 2022 I think it's been more expensive over their flexible tariff for a total of about 5 days so well worth it in my opinion (especially if you don't have solar & batteries).
Apparently the meter hadn’t been transmitting information for the past three years, and they have now fixed it.
Been estimated billing all this time.
Wasn’t aware I was even on a water meter until now.
Any advice on getting this bill slimmed?
They initially said the meter had been reset to zero when I moved in.
Fortunately got the complain escalated to someone with a degree of common sense.
Told them the reality is, they have installed a meter that hasn’t transmitted any information for three years plus.
For all I know, and think is correct, this wasn’t sending information prior to my change of property ownership.
Everything is pure guesswork.
They have actual figures for the past 5 weeks, so pro rata that over the past three years, and what they have estimated.
They agreed to this.
We will see what the outcome is, but the bloke I just spoke to said the whole idea of the meter being zeroed on my move in date was bollocks.
Nice man :-)
Also water meters I thought were read manually - have I got that wrong?
As a family of 4 with a garden and two teenage kids, why on earth would I want to have a water meter fitted?
That means that vehicles can simply drive down your road and upload the data.
Having the reader on a dustcart makes perfect sense.
The thing is, my meter hasn’t transmitted anything since I moved here and now it does, has basically gave a reading from when it was fitted. This was prior to me moving in.
The previous owners, and myself, both told TW of the change in property ownership.
They have simply done nothing for years, with regards to their faulty equipment.
Although we had a meter fitted we were still paying RV of £79 a month, and it wasn't until we were chatting to a neighbour that was paying £29 we started to investigate why our bill was so much higher. Had a Thames Water guy round to check for leaks (none) and after a few phone calls someone eventually twigged it was the RV rate and not meter rate. After a further nine months down the line and umpteen phone calls we ended up with an £1100 refund. We now pay about £32/month.
It's been going on for years. They know how much energy you are likely to use and then set your payments higher so you build up a credit. They will usually give you it back, eventually, when you ask them, but as I've said to numerous energy suppliers over the years, "its not a savings plan, it's my money you're holding".
They all do, although some seem to be worse than others, because they can do it and get away with it. It's a fucking cartel. Pure and simple.
I'm with Ecotricity and they don't pull that crap.
Bills are for how much gas and electric we actually use each month based on smart meter data.
They also don't play the game of fixed rate vs. standard variable rate etc. Just one tariff. Its a little more than the cheapest fixes you can find, but I don't mind it as they plough plenty of their profits into sustainable/renewable energy infrastructure projects.
They are owned by the guy who owns Forest Green Rovers.
I think they do £50 each for me and somebody else if doing a referral. Might have stopped. Dunno. If you or anybody else wants to switch lemme know and I'll have a look.
------------
Edit - looked it up. Yeah, still running.
Here is my code if anybody wants to switch:
RAF-M1N6V
Link with more details:
https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/refer-a-friend
estimate to base it on but which you could provide?
However, I've a feeling that some companies need to install their own meters (I'll leave it with you to check).