UKH

I obviously read about this and thought ok (naively), won't be that bad. However, our bill has gone from 140 a month to 250 a month suddenly. Is that normal? 

Mine went from 100 to 150, and in the most recent month I had the heating off, whereas the earlier month it was on. So your figures don't seem miles off mine.

Ok, thanks,I thought it might be the way it is going...and we are at home working and have the heating on quite a bit of the time.  

£55 to £105

We just had out first bill. £75 to £956. Turns out our previous supplier has been underestimating for a couple of years. No clue what it's going to be moving forwards. 

Look on the bright side though: we're due yet another increase towards the end of the year?

I, for one, welcome my new status as a serf for my energy company overlords. I just pray that their bonuses increase in line with my bills.

Think of it as an environment tax, that's a silver lining - Until you picture a handful of billionaires hoarding all the loot juxtaposed against millions of the shivering vulnerable, then it becomes obscene once again.

That doesn't sound right. There are limits to how far a billing error can be backdated to under the back billing rules that might be worth looking into. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-wi....

£24 to £48 change on direct debit two days ago - and I'm in credit... 

I know but I have used it so I will pay for it. The Mrs deals with the utilities and it turns out we have had estimated bills since 2019 with no meter readings taken or submitted.

Mid 2019 we got a hot tub and from March 2020 she has been working from home so our energy use has gone up. If its cost a grand to catch up the so be it. 

We're in rented accommodation - not been here long-  and our bills went up from £100 estimated use to £264. After a fairly miserable winter with minimal heating on I didn't believe this so sent an email to energy company. "Oh no, our estimates are spot on". Wasn't having this, so sent weekly meter readings which showed we were using...£100 a month after price hike! Sent an arsey email and have now had it reduced to £125. All for building up a stopgap for winter but £160 extra a month is taking the piss! Might be worth doing this and seeing what use is?

As has been alluded to above, ae you talking the utility company's guesstimate, or your actual measured consumption?

If the former: take a reading, now.  Then repeat this every week for the next four weeks.  By the end of this you will have a very good idea of how much energy you are actually using.  Then you can times this by the unit price, add the standing charge, and work out what your true monthly cost is.  If you've been allowing them to estimate it then I bet it'll be somewhat lower... (of course you need to allow for increased costs over the winter).  

If for whatever reason you can't do this then get smart meters straight away and let it do the work for you.

I am eternally astonished by people who measure their energy consumption in £, and who allow estimated readings to drift for months and months, as if they think that the estimate is somehow an 'all-you-can-eat' tariff.

Dax - sorry if the above sounds harsh!  You are, however, protected by back-billing rules and they can't charge you for anything used (and not billed for) from more than 12 months ago.  If you feel you should pay it regardless then that's your call...

Our current fixed plan doesn't end until July but my estimate, based on the provider's current prices and the current price cap, is that our monthly cost will double at that point.

The general rule of thumb I calculated for standard tariffs (I have both gas and electricity) late last year was 54% increase in April 22, and then there will be another rise in Oct which could be anything form 40% upwards. Some expert predictions are scarcely high.

I’ve read some companies are trying to build up cash reserves by putting d/d amounts higher than they really need currently. Worth querying if correct then as others have said with regular meter readings to support.

A btw I actually had my then supplier a year ago increasing monthly payments for back then no logical reason. They wouldn’t explain even when I lodged a complaint, but repeatedly said it was needed. As I was in credit and not aware of what was about to happen later in the year with prices (which I guess they knew about) I left them in summer. They later where one of the ones that went bust.

Ours went up from around £66 to £150, although the £66 was a bit underestimated, so the direct debit is currently £175 to slowly clear the outstanding couple of hundred quid. Now it's warming up, energy use will be lower and it will clear quicker.

Only been in this house about 18 months, so estimated bill was a bit of a finger in the wind to start with and we had a load of building work done last autumn, so cement mixer and other power tools on near constantly for a couple of months pushed it up briefly. Glad we had it done then, though!

Best keep an eye on the meter for a while and do your own calculations. 

There have been reports on the news of energy companies taking the piss with their direct debit increases and the regulator has warned them to be sensible.

Our supplier wanted to put our direct debit up by 150%. The old amount was around 10% low and we had accumulated a very small debt over the year but, the price rises were supposedly around 54% so the new suggested amount was rather ridiculous. We changed the direct debit to + ~80% and we'll see how it goes. The only time you should see very high increases is if you were on a old set deal that has now ended.

Ours went up by 40%.  Delightful.

T.

Yes, the problem isn't just increases in the cost of energy it's increased standing charges and companies 'trying it on' with increases in direct debits. Plus we are all stuck as there is no cheaper provider you can switch to. Many people are being asked to pay double what they did before.

Already paid it, I thought the wife was sending readings in, she thought I was. Its not the energy companies fault its ours.

Edit to add, there is no way to know when the energy was used anyway. It was mid 2019 when we last had a meter reading and got the hot tub. Maybe we could look at the numbers and divide them by 32 months then times that number by 12 to work out how much extra we owe for the last 12 months but I'm not going to quibble it because its our fault. 

Mine has gone up from £50 to £90 and I'm in credit too. I'm aiming to get it back down to £50 by wearing more jumpers and making do with less hot water (been trying cold showers which I believe are the healthy option anyway)

Hmm, I have the joys of an old and draughty house.

Bill has went from £262 to £373 per month, and yes, we do submit readings etc 

The kids moaned last night it was cool in the house and asked for the heating to go on - I pointed out they were sitting in shorts and tshirt, perhaps they could stick on some jumpers - my faither would have been so proud

I am sort of lucky in a perverse sense. Last bill I got was just before the price hike, and it was £380 for three months (gas+elec). At that time, all loft insulation was not in place, because I didn't have the time to put it in after I replaced the upstairs ceilings, and we had to run the heating a lot to maintain a passable temperature. More than that, I didn't have the time to put in the per-room thermostats my heating system needs, so the heating was blasting every room equally. I've now re-insulated half the house and will have all the rest of the work done before autumn, so it should smooth the transition somewhat.

Crikey. £370 a month?! 

We have a (fairly modern) 5 bedroom house it's enormous. Granted we like it to run on the cooler side, even when working from home but our total gas & electric has gone up from £108 per month to about £160 recently. I refused to change my direct debit though. Let's see whether we go into debit first, hoping that not heating the house much this Summer keeps us even.

nb. Always wearing thermals underneath clothes when working from home, with a down jacket on top, even in April. No heating during the day. So I can't say I recommend this for everyone but that's what you get from growing up in a drafty old farmhouse.

Yes, pretty much my attitude, and our miserly bills accord - I'm in a one bed flat with three hulking teenage lads. 

Keep layers on, and jackets, and when it's cold we all cram in my big bed for the evening before retiring - like the Bucket family in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (two each end). Huge quilt, lots of woollen blankets and a massive sheepskin. And obviously lots of piss-taking. A bit like being crammed in a tent in winter. 

Baths, water shared at least by two. Showers only if important. Efficient cooking. Etc etc etc.

Last month we used 6 of gas on the meter, and 51 electric. Came to £21. Month before was £23. And they double the DD... 

Bah humbug. 

It's all very good news for the environment 

Navy showers, water on 30 secs max to get wet, soap everywhere and shampoo, water on minute ish to rinse off. (Short or no hair helps!)