Bulb Energy Want Silly Money.

[The_DADDY]

Been with bulb for a few years now and was always perfectly happy.

£105 per month and over the year I'd always find myself in credit to the point I'd request a refund on part of the credit. Usually around £200ish .

Anyway,  a few months ago they upped my payments from 105 to 189.

I told them I won't pay that, I canceled my DD and told them I'll now pay them in arrears instead.

Now they have once again upped my monthly payments (or rather the amount they say I should pay) to £209 .

But get this, I just got my actual usage for the last month and it's a grand total of £89.

They still want 209 ever month though 🙄

Are they trying it on or just incompetent?

 

[HeHasRisen]

Without posting what tarriff you are on  (I assume the variable) and your last set of readings, its hard to say. Also remember the rates are being whacked up in a week and a halfs time, with the bulk of the increase going on the gas.

 

As an aside, "pay on receipt of bill" tarriffs cost more than DD tarriffs, which will account for a bit of the increase.

 

At the end of the day you only pay for what you use anyway so there isnt really much to "try on".

Edited March 20, 2022 by HeHasRisen

[The_DADDY]

I should have been clearer. They are saying my usage is 209 which they want upfront but my actual usage for last month was 89. My usage is always quite low, even when I was paying 105 I wasn't using anything like that hence the regular refunds. My usage has actually gone down the last few months but my required upfront payments have gone up significantly and this is before the upcoming price hike.

[HeHasRisen]

They will just be preempting the hike, imo.

[The_DADDY]

8 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

They will just be preempting the hike, imo.

That was my thoughts too. However having looked back at my account they initially started hiking up my payments in April 2021.

I reckon I'll ring them them up tomorrow.  See what they have to say.

[fools]

Given that they went into administration 4 months ago, and the rest of us are picking up the tab in our extortionate electricity standing charges, the answer to your last question should be obvious.

 

The only way to find out is to do the maths yourself, annual usage multiplied by price cap plus standing charges, and take into account your current credit/debit balance.

 

Cancelling direct debits (which could trash your credit rating (and cause higher costs elsewhere) if it's not arranged) is not a good idea, because the unit prices and standing charges are (between 5 and 18%) higher.

 

They'll be estimating your total cost over a year, and dividing by 12. Next months prices will be baked in because they are known. October hikes are going to be substantial too, they could possibly be factoring this in to your annual estimated cost.

 

As a comparison, my prices have gone up 125% in 3 months, ie more than double. If your price rise is similar, it equates to a direct debit of £200 per month (plus a bit more for not paying by DD), given the figures you provided, not dissimilar to your proposed £209/mth

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by fools

[El Cid]

On 20/03/2022 at 13:08, The_DADDY said:

Anyway,  a few months ago they upped my payments from 105 to 189.

I told them I won't pay that, I canceled my DD and told them I'll now pay them in arrears instead.

Paying by direct debit is usually the cheapest way. If you have refused to pay by DD then you will have been put on a more expensive tariff.