Paying energy bills
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As the results of our questionnaire made clear, the huge increase in the cost of our energy bills is a major concern for many of us. So it's good to know that you can still save up to 55 pound a year by changing the way you pay for your energy, and up to 300 pound a year if you switch your supplier as well.
On Monday's programme (13 October 2008), Watchdog was joined by Robert Hammond from Consumer Focus, the new organisation campaigning for a fair deal for consumers. Julia asked him about the costs charged by energy companies and ways in which you can save money on your bills - and what to do if you're struggling to meet those rising costs.
Some of you have been emailing us to find out how you can save money by switching to a new supplier, as comparing different tariffs can be confusing. Consumer Focus has checked out the various price comparison websites, so by clicking here, you can find a list of the various sites who can give you a quote on the latest deals and tariffs.
You can find out more details on how to be Energy Smart in the Helping households section of the Consumer Focus website.
So why aren't energy prices falling in line with the wholesale cost? Share your views here.
We'll be looking at energy prices again on Monday's programme (20 October 2008), so if you have a view or a question you'd like to put to the energy companies, let us know.
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cameron blames the Prime Minster. Where is his intelligence when the whole of the globe is suffering. I think Brown did a great kob in saving our Big banks from the brink of collapse. He thought about saving the people's hard earned capital saved over many years through hard work. I myself admired what he did and as a result other Companies followed. All this recession AS BEEN CAUSED BY SHEER GREED AND THOUSE GREEDY OVER-RATED fat cats should have their assets frosen and be made to repay any monies lost to the ordinary decent people of our land. I can only describe these fat cats as legal highway robbers. I hope they are ashamed and repentant in the downturn in the markets caused by their greed along with high paid celebraties, footballers and the like. Shameful people who live like millionaires whilst ordinary hard working citizens reap a small wage and at the end of a 40 hour week must go cap in hand for top up of working tax credit. what a queer world we live in
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Dear Watchdog,
I live in South Uist in the western isles. I have just received a communication from my energy supplier, Scottish Hydro Electric dated September in which they state that as from the 25th. August my bill will rise by 19.2%. How can they backdate this? This is so unfair and surely wrong.
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I recently received a letter from my energy company ATLANTIC 17/10/08 which informed me that a price increase of 29.2% for gas and 19.2% for electricity were in effect from 25 Aug 08 this means I have been charged at the new rates for 8 wks and not even known about it.I challenged Atlantic about their outrageous business activity and was informed that in fact they had nine weeks to send me notification of price increases !is this correct ? surely not, I know of no other business that can retrospectively charge for services.
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Why do none of the energy price comparison websites allow IGT customers (or should that be prisoners!) to make a choice based on an accurate price? It seems unfair that those of us who happen not to have Transco gas pipes have to pay a premium on our gas tariff; but it frustrates me that there seems no simple way for us to find out who can give us the best deal.
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We are with Atlantic for our electricity and gas. On 17th Oct 08 we received a letter saying that they will be raising our gas by 29.2% and electricity by 19.2% on average and will be back dating this increase from 25th August 08.
Are they allowed to enforce this back date increase and were we not supposed to have any advance notice of this rise before the date of increase in question.
If this was the case we would have looked at alternative supplier and changed to a provider which is more competitive. We will be phoning them tomorrow as today is sunday and will also follow up with the energy supply ombudsman and energy watch.
Will appreciate your kind response
[Personal details removed by Moderator]
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Why has my British Gas, direct debit payment plan increased from £41 per month to £107? An increase of 161% even though my account has been in credit at the last two reviews.
Once I phoned to check they reduced it to £97 per month.Still an increase of 138%.
on the bright side thats £10 per month in my account rather than British Gas.
Is this increase justifiable.
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i am with british gas and on a pre-payment meter, i ring them every week as i am putting in £50 a week, they tell me this is right for my usage, i work full-time so i dont see how i use this as at work all day, i ring customer service and i get a different story every week, ive been having problems with them since april 2008, i just dont know what to do as we are struggling as a family
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I recently changed my energy supplier (as EDF were going to charge me double the amount per month for both fuels), which went through ok. The next thing I knew was I got a bill from EDF for £50 for GAS (in September!) and just recently another one for £30 from EDF. Just a warning for others who change, that they're going to have to pay extra to their old supplier when they change
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I would like to pose a question to Calor gas. As a rural resident I depend on butane for cooking and some heating. In Spain I buy butane at 80p per kg. In the UK butane is costing me £1.78 per kg.
Uk supplier Calor
Spanish supplier Repsol
Euro to GBP 1.25
It's basically the same gas in a world market. UK tax is only 5%, don't know the Spanish rate. How on earth can Calor justify charging over twice as much for this essential product? Is this quite blatant profiteering from a product on which many depend without alternative.?
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I have had a pre-payment meter for many years but during 2003/2004 I noticed that I kept getting bills showing I was in arrears. In May 2005, following many phone calls and letters I received a cheque from npower for £1200 that I had been overcharged. A new pre-payment meter was installed several weeks later and it had not been zeroed so I notified npower and I was assured they knew about this. Despite several meter readings since I have not received a statement from them for over 12 months until last week when I received a statement showing that I was in arrears of £845. This has alledgedly occurred over the space of three and a half years but as I am on a pre=payment meter it cannot be possible for a debt to occurr unless there has been negligence on the part of npower.
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We rely on benefits because we have two disabled children. We contacted southern electric and asked them about social tarrif. We were informed about energy saver plus and had to fill in a form. We sent it back and got a letter telling us our electric has now gone up 19.2% and our gas 29.2%!!!! We are very shocked and angry at this considering the reduction in fuel costs!! They tried to soften the blow by saying they were committed to fair pricing and as a whole we will pay £100 less than British Gas customers. What are these companies going to do to help struggling families and other vunerable groups??!!
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Energy bills are difficult to work out as there seems to be 2 levels of charges for units of energy. This leads to confusion and the companies themselves cannot give clear explanations of how the bills are put together. We need more straightforward billing so it is then easier to compare prices and monitor usage. The Energy wathdog should insist companies issue bills which everyone can easily and quickly understand.
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why has Brit Gas phoned me to double my standing order to £122per mnth.I had a new boiler installed in July and in the last three years most of the property has been double glazed.I am a pensioner and live on my own- ridiculous.Brit Gas say this is so I am not in debt through the winter quarterexluing my winter fuel allowance.
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There seems to be no progress regarding the iniquitous practice by enery companies of charging more to card meter holders, who are often on low incomes and the most vulnerable. The Government should act immediately as winter is fast approaching to prevent poorer people being continuously ripped off by the energy companies.
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I had a letter from Atlantic Energy today - it was dated October 2008 and stated that they:
"...regret that this rise in wholesale prices means we are unable to maintain our current price levels. From 25th August 2008 we will have to raise gas prices by 29.2% and our electricity prices by 19.2% on average."
I don't know about you people, but personally I don't find it equitable to find out that my bill will rise by nearly 30% *two months after* the price rise comes into effect.
How do they think they can get away with back-billing a price increase.
Imagine the outcry if the Petrol companies caught up with their customers 2 months after taking petrol from the pump and asked for 30% more money.
Well done to the Petrol companies for bringing the prices back down - now the utility companies need to follow suit.
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When energy companies were asked why prices were so high, the reason they gave was that prices were tied to world oil prices and because trhese were rising, gas and electricity prices had to rise.
Now that world oil prices have dropped a great deal, it would be interesting to find out what their excuse is for not dropping the prices in line.
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Regardless of energy prices I'd like to know what is being done to help people who live in flats? Energy companies and the government are encouraging insulation to reduce bills and CO2 emissions. However if you live in a managed flat you can't do loft insulation or cavity wall insulation. What incentives will be offered to the thousands of people who live in flats?
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Recently my gas supplier have increased my monthly direct debit by over 60%. i am in credit, and always have been. when i asked why the big increase i was told that it was due to the 35% increase! They are not willing to decrease this in case the prices rise above 35%. I had to point out the maths to them - not happy at all! im stuck now at the hands of the gas company
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First of all energy is bought in advance, so today's prices will not be reflected until the energy bought today is made available, that could be six months or more in the furture. Secondly prices today are still over 50% higher than they were a year ago. So don't expect energy prices to fall until they reach the levels they were a year ago. Thirdly long term we know energy is going to be substantially more expensive than it is now... this has been the prediction for 30 years or more. Time to invest in energy efficiency and reducing our energy use.
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One area everyone seems to have forgotten is that of cylinder LPG. I live in a mobile home and all my heating, hot water and cooking is done with LPG.In 2005 it was £64 for 2 cylinders which lasted for 6 weeks, last winter they were £96 - I haven't ordered yet this winter but dread to think what I will be charged. Perhaps you should investigate the LPG suppliers as there seeems to be no control over what may be charged.
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I couldn't beleive it, a couple of weeks ago i reeived a letter saying my energy bills were going up by as much as 30%. Then the following weekend i noted that gas was being traded on the markets at zero pence per therm. Yes gas companies were actually giving it away !!!!
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My understanding is that the UK electricity charges are 4 times that of those in France. I also understand that the French government/regulators imposed a maximum increase in prices in line with inflation. Hence when UK prices increased by some 30%, the Frence prices increased by about 5%. Is this correct? If so, why has the UK government/regulator failed to protect UK consumers in the same way? It is no wonder that EDF wants to dominate the UK market when the mark up is so much higher that it's home market. I also understand that last week wholesale gas was being given away free because of a lack of storage! Why has the UK no storage facilities?
Kindest Rgds
Michelle
Stroud, Glos.
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Energy companies have to make a profit like everyone else - they are not charities. The high cost of gas and electricity means that most are barely breaking even at the moment so it's unlikely that prices will be reduced (especially as energy is bought in advance - i.e. when prices were high).
What about Tesco? Why doesn't the government force them to give away free food to the poor - surely food is equally (if not more) important as energy. Tesco make a huge profit but I don't see them being told that it's unethical.
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Not only are energy companies slow to reduce prices but they are also debiting monthly payments based on last years consumption when we are all trying to reduce our current consumption. My recent bill for October was £169 but for the same period last year it was £191 ! This means the energy Company is debiting more than necessary to pay my winter bills as well as receiving interest on my money ! Pensioner.
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with fuel prices cuming down,wot about gas and electek,we should get a fear deal,why should the big boses get fat pay raises why we get biger and higher bills.
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We are told that the cost of oil is decreasing and petrol stations have reduced thier prices but just this week I have received a letter from my gas and electricity supplier saying they are going to increase their prices by 29.2% (gas) and 19.2% (elec) on average backdated to 25th August. Surely this is not right.
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What is Ofgen Uk, the Govt. body set up to monitor and regulate gas and alectricity prices, doing about these unjustifiably high energy costs? Precious little, it seems to me!
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The representative from the Energy Retail Association was being VERY economical with the truth when he said that wholesale prices haven't come down. They have actually dropped by 30% from their peak on 3rd September (ICE NBP Annual 08/09 gas). This is also true in Europe. If Suppliers mis-time their purchases it is not the fault of consumers. Also, the simple fact is that most SME and commercial contracts are re-negotiated around September/October and the big 6 can "lock-in" a good profit!
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HI
I AM A CUSTOMER OF ATLANTIC ELECTRIC & GAS I HAVE JUST RECEIVED A LETTER DATED THE 18TH OF OCTOBER 2008 SAYING HOW THEY HAVE KEPT PRICES DOWN ETC ETC BUT THEY ARE NOW PUTTING UP THERE PRICES BY 29.2%GAS AND 19.2% ELECTRICY AND BACKDATING TO AUGUST THE 25TH 2008 SURELY THIS IS IMMORAL
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only today the 20/10/08 I received a letter from Southern Electric telling me there was going to be an increase of 29.2% for gas and 19.2% for electric, and just how fair and on the ball they are.
The letter was dated September 2008, and the increase was to be impleamented on the 25th August.
GOOD JOB THEY ARE ON THE BALL
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Watchdog are missing a big story,fuel costs at supermarkets, oil is now c84$ and derv is c112.00 when oil was 77.00$ derv was 86 to 92p per ltr. So why such a slow drop when oil rises fuel rockets but not when it reverses. Also most s,mkts buy fuel on the hedge market which protects them from immediate rises so they still make a killing. Come on Watchdog attack this situation !! check it out if yuo think Im wrong
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I understand our fuel prices are related to the oil prices and they will take some time to catch up but what I don't understand is why in other EU countries the household fuel prices cannot rise more than the rate of inflation but ours can - are their fuel prices not related to the price of oil and if not, why not? and why ours are?
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hi, i was amazed to say the least at how large a problem this is, i and my family have today recieved a letter from british gas, stating they are applying for a warrant to enter our premises to disconnect our electric supply, i have telephoned, even begged them to help us with a solution, but its fell on deaf ears, they are not interested, even though they admit that 46pound a wk for electric is a lot, i dont know what else to do, im disabled, my grandson is just two, why wont they listen, in any other circumstances what they do and how they respond, would at the least be seen as bullying
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As if massive energy hikes were not enough, why is it that the regulator OFGEM allows energy providers 65 days to inform customers of an increase?
I received a letter from Southern Electric on the 3.10.08 to tell me that the cost of my electricity had risen by 19.2% on the 25.8.08.
This is a retrospective rise and should not be allowed!
Who regulates the regulator??
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
i signed up for price fixing with british gas the end of july, ive had a letter today (10th nov 2008) to say that my monthly payments are going up, from £18 to £27. After a phone call they told me they could drop it to £23, when i told them that was still expensive i was advised that the only way to pay the origanal amount was to go quarterly with my bill. surely this aint right, could someone please help me.
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I am a single parent with 3 children under 10yrs living in a end terraced 3 bedroom house, I work 5 days a week leaving at 7.20 - 4.00pm why has my £90pcm payments gone up to £223pcm and have a an outstanding bill of just under £500 - I have called the company and according to my readings - their's had been obviously way out. It is an outrage as my heating costs me a quarter of my wages,,, my heart goes out to those that CANNOT work due to disabilities
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