Spinner72 Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 I can echo the advice to query everything. We got a bill recently for almost £800. Odd, we thought, as we have a prepay meter! My wife phoned up the next day, let them drivel on about us not being home when they came to check the meter so it was an estimate etc, then when the "representative" had finshed, told them it was a prepay. The response was "Oh, I see, thats ok, forget about the bill, sorry to have bothered you." I haven't been suitably motivated yet, but really should write asking for a detailed explaination of where this came from, as I always think of the older people who may get these bills and just pay up out of their hard earned savings rather than question them. We had extensive insulation works done and upgraded storage heaters put in (council house) over the past couple of years, and noticed a serious drop in our electricity costs. Under £100 per month now compared to around £200 before. I really like the prepay setup because it makes you constantly aware of what you're using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khitajrah Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 The Hydro also offer an energyplus care plan where you can get 20% off your fuel bill if you are spending more than 10% of your income on your bill. (I vaguely recall posting this before.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallokaville Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I just received a whopper of a bill £776 to be precise Phoned to query it and was told that they the hydro had forgotten to charge me night usage for the last 2 years!!! that is what happened to me last year.. work it out for yourself and you will probably owe them a lot less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zog Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I think I can top £776 - about 6 years ago when electricity was about half the price its is now, I received a bill for £4620 for a 1/4. I phoned back a told them this was impossible. I was told that the bill was based on an actual meter reading and I was due the money. I supplied the correct reading but they said as far as they were concerned, that was what I owed. I subsequently wrote and detailing the wattage of every electrical appliance in the house and a calculation which showed that if everything ran flat out 24/7 I could not have consumed half of the electricity billed.I recieved a revised bill for £1200 which was still £1000 more than I was due. More phone calls. Eventally a man came round and read the meter again and was very carefull checked every seal on both meters.I heard nothing for a while and when I next phoned, I was told as far as they were concerned I owed nothing.When the next bill was due, I got billed for 6 months. Fortunately I had kept the money due from before.About 6 months after this they came and replaced one of the meters without explanation. I got a bill for the residual use on the old meter just after it was replaced. End of chapter 1 Since then until my last bill I have received estimates for the night units. ( two meters). The estimate on each occasion has been zero. Every 1/4 for the last 5 years I have phoned up and complained about this and supplied the readings for all the meters over the phone. They even sent a man round to read the meter once but the subsequent bill reverted to zero consumption.Anybody with any wit would have realised that there was something far wrong. It has taken 5 years to sort out my computer estimate billing.I have kept a close eye on the consumption but If I had just paid the estimates without checking the meter I could easily have run up a spectacular bill. For all the time it takes the very least you should do is check that the bill estimate is not far off the mark. If its too high get on the phone and get it corrected. If its too low DON'T ignore it phone up and get the bill altered.When the man comes round to read the meter and its catch up time for under estimates, you will be billed at the current unit price despite the fact that the electricity might have cost considerably less when it was consumed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFusion Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I do all my Hydro billing onlineit saves a lot of time and hassle with estimatesthey e-mail me an estimated bill, I log on and give them a true readingand a couple of days later I get the revised bill emailed thru. I think there's a saving somewhere with paperless billing and there'sthe prompt payment saving (normally only a few pounds but better off in my pocket) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justsomeguy Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I am, just got my Hydro bill for 3 months (and I basically live in a flat) over £200 pounds, pretty harsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I have to pay £164 a month through direct debit. Hell of a price over the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrie87 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 We changed to Eon a couple of years ago, not only are they cheaper than the hydro they are so pleasant to deal with. We moved house last year , the new house was supplied by the hydro so we had to make a few phone calls to both companies to change again to Eon. There was no comparison with the advisors, Eon staff are cheerful and go out of their way to be helpful and that continues even when you are no longer a 'new customer'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasmie Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I have THTC -total heating total control.with two meters. I pay £180 per month which I check myself and it is correct. I can't find another supply company able to take over this tariff. so I am stuck with Hydro. My house is "only" 20 yrs old so is quite well insulated.I am frustrated being unable to get cheaper electricity prices and am considering throwing out the storage heaters and getting da oil in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohanofNess Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 My combined fuel bill is £70 a month and every april I get about £150 back. That's with Scottishpower but they almost never turn up to read the meter and have to update them constantly through their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 It has taken 5 years to sort out my computer estimate billing.I have kept a close eye on the consumption but If I had just paid the estimates without checking the meter I could easily have run up a spectacular bill. Their estimates and the computer that produces them aren't worth diddly. I've been in the same place, with the same power usage give or take, for 10 years, yet they're still consistently estimating me 25-50% over each quarter, just the same as they did when they began churning out estimates. Just how many brain cells (either human or cyber) does it take to figure out, that, hello, here's a dude who's used the same electricity give/take 100 or so units each quarter against the same quarter in previous years, for all of ten years, there's a high chance of probability that he will do so again this year too. But no, for some unfathomable reason they're always expecting that this quarter I will go absolutely wild and use 25-50% more....at their prices, not damn likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAR Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Some serious fuel bills there, jeez, I would some people are in fuel poverty, very scary and we arent in the cold of it yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggywiggie Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 ever the optimistic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silent assassin Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 What is this so called Shetland Tariff all about does it exist and what is it for.If i change supplier who is responsible for repairs to meters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnSaxon Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 FWIW, the Independent is starting a campaign on energy prices generally. Not Shetland specific, but it's not good anywhere in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.