Energy Prices

[throbber]

6 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Does your bill not have meter readings on it?

Yeah it all adds up it just seems much lower than I thought. I was expecting it to be about double what it was.

[MuckleMoo]

Yeah it all adds up it just seems much lower than I thought. I was expecting it to be about double what it was.

Have you not recently moved into a new build?

[throbber]

3 minutes ago, MuckleMoo said:

11 minutes ago, throbber said:

Yeah it all adds up it just seems much lower than I thought. I was expecting it to be about double what it was.

Have you not recently moved into a new build?

Yeah - the bill was from may - mid September.

[MuckleMoo]

Yeah - the bill was from may - mid September.

Your gas/combi boiler (if you have one) is going to be brand new so super efficient. You've probably not had the heating on since April/May as well

[Soapy FFC]

1 hour ago, oaksoft said:

That's Shell Energy upp-ed my direct debit again without asking and now I can't reset it to what it was before.

I've emailed them to request a reset and told them I will cancel my direct debit if they don't stop doing this.

I'm with Octopus, and they have not changed my direct debit for over 2 years. I'm still a bit in credit, but don't expect that to last long. I've had no indication from them yet that my DD will need to increase, even though my fix price gas deal ended earlier in the year and I'm now on the standard flexible tariff, and my electricity fixed rate changed in July and almost doubled. I could increase the DD myself, but I'm waiting to see what happens.

 

[Zetterlund]

6 hours ago, scottsdad said:

Corbyn isn't the nice guy everyone thinks he is.

The suspect was spotted fleeing the scene on a Chairman Mao-style bicycle.

[throbber]

47 minutes ago, MuckleMoo said:

57 minutes ago, throbber said:

Yeah - the bill was from may - mid September.

Your gas/combi boiler (if you have one) is going to be brand new so super efficient. You've probably not had the heating on since April/May as well

Yeah I know - it’s still very low though.

[BFTD]

Amusing that Shell Energy are trolling the f**k out of Oaksoft. I got transferred to them a year ago and they've not touched my direct debit.

Maybe Mrs Oaksoft's been changing it behind his back in retaliation for him constantly fucking about with the thermostat settings that she successfully managed for years before he started kicking about the house all day. Just a thought.

[Bairnardo]

Amusing that Shell Energy are trolling the f**k out of Oaksoft. I got transferred to them a year ago and they've not touched my direct debit.
Maybe Mrs Oaksoft's been changing it behind his back in retaliation for him constantly fucking about with the thermostat settings that she successfully managed for years before he started kicking about the house all day. Just a thought.

We can rule out oaksoft making shit up for the Internet..... Can't we?

[BFTD]

42 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

1 hour ago, BFTD said:

Amusing that Shell Energy are trolling the f**k out of Oaksoft. I got transferred to them a year ago and they've not touched my direct debit.
Maybe Mrs Oaksoft's been changing it behind his back in retaliation for him constantly fucking about with the thermostat settings that she successfully managed for years before he started kicking about the house all day. Just a thought.

We can rule out oaksoft making shit up for the Internet..... Can't we?

Nope. He's definitely not Granny Danger's satire of the right-wing business owners that he met over the years.

There's a touch of One Foot in the Grave about his retirement adventures so far. I'm sure there was an episode where Victor Meldrew kept fucking about with the radiator temperatures and drove his missus round the twist.

[Soapy FFC]

I used to be with First Utility before they were bought by Shell and First were good for not changing DDs. It's funny how Shell boast about supplying 100% renewables whilst charging the maximum they can, at the same time as being owned by the oil company that is doing so well with high energy prices.

[Detournement]

The truth slowly slips out. 

Large parts of the economy are going to be shut down and won't come back. 

[DA Baracus]

If there's no help for businesses then the help for households will surely be wiped out by the massive price increases of everything else.

[TxRover]

I continue to be amazed at the ideal that not using DD can be penalized so heavily. While there is sometimes a small benefit to agreeing to an automatic debit in the U.S., there is nothing like the extent it seems to have penetrated the energy space in the U.K. There would, literally (not that that’s a surprise these days), be riots if it were forced to the extent it is in the U.K. Additionally, the automatic debit here is limited to the exact bill amount, no estimating, etc…make me wonder if it is tied to some form of average billing, is it? Average billing (same amount each month, based upon predicted or pervious usage) seldom gets chosen here because the companies keep making a real shitstorm out of it and screwing it up remarkably badly.

Of course, they railroaded us into “smart” meters that report over the air, but our gas meters are still read (mostly) monthly, or estimated for no more than one month.

[invergowrie arab]

36 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I continue to be amazed at the ideal that not using DD can be penalized so heavily. While there is sometimes a small benefit to agreeing to an automatic debit in the U.S., there is nothing like the extent it seems to have penetrated the energy space in the U.K. There would, literally (not that that’s a surprise these days), be riots if it were forced to the extent it is in the U.K. Additionally, the automatic debit here is limited to the exact bill amount, no estimating, etc…make me wonder if it is tied to some form of average billing, is it? Average billing (same amount each month, based upon predicted or pervious usage) seldom gets chosen here because the companies keep making a real shitstorm out of it and screwing it up remarkably badly.

Of course, they railroaded us into “smart” meters that report over the air, but our gas meters are still read (mostly) monthly, or estimated for no more than one month.

Aye but the USA stopped advancing in around 1999 hence the prevalence of cash and "checks" there still. 

[TxRover]

Just now, invergowrie arab said:

Aye but the USA stopped advancing in around 1999 hence the prevalence of cash and "checks" there still. 

Actually, cash is rapidly going out of style here, much to my discontent. I haven’t written a check in over 5 months. There are plenty of people who pay their electric and gas via automatic bank withdrawal, but (as noted above) those are 99%+ actual billed totals versus some agreed upon amount. There are various laws that make carrying a credit balance on a customer’s account very unusual here, including interest payment requirements after a certain period.

[strichener]

2 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Actually, cash is rapidly going out of style here, much to my discontent. I haven’t written a check in over 5 months. There are plenty of people who pay their electric and gas via automatic bank withdrawal, but (as noted above) those are 99%+ actual billed totals versus some agreed upon amount. There are various laws that make carrying a credit balance on a customer’s account very unusual here, including interest payment requirements after a certain period.

5 Months. . I don't think I have had a checkbook (or chequebook) for about 15 years.

Edited September 7, 2022 by strichener

[invergowrie arab]

Just now, TxRover said:

Actually, cash is rapidly going out of style here, much to my discontent. I haven’t written a check in over 5 months. There are plenty of people who pay their electric and gas via automatic bank withdrawal, but (as noted above) those are 99%+ actual billed totals versus some agreed upon amount. There are various laws that make carrying a credit balance on a customer’s account very unusual here, including interest payment requirements after a certain period.

About time. I was in NYC last about 3 years ago and contactless was accepted in about 50% of place which was an improvement on fucking nowhere in 2014.

God knows what Corntown, Idaho is like.

 

[TxRover]

1 minute ago, strichener said:

5 Months. . I don't think I have had a checkbook (or chequebook) for about 15 years.

Sorry, but the “protections” on debit card transactions vs checks aren’t favorable. Also, with too many places still not supporting chip cards, and chip and PIN non-existent, it’s credit cards or cash for me…checks when something out of the ordinary happens. The plastic industry over here is so insecure versus Europe, etc., it’s frightening.

2 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

About time. I was in NYC last about 3 years ago and contactless was accepted in about 50% of place which was an improvement on fucking nowhere in 2014.

God knows what Corntown, Idaho is like.

 

We’re finally seeing places that advertise no cash, and push contactless transactions…but, as noted above, the security is mostly imaginary, still.

[strichener]

2 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Sorry, but the “protections” on debit card transactions vs checks aren’t favorable. Also, with too many places still not supporting chip cards, and chip and PIN non-existent, it’s credit cards or cash for me…checks when something out of the ordinary happens. The plastic industry over here is so insecure versus Europe, etc., it’s frightening.

We’re finally seeing places that advertise no cash, and push contactless transactions…but, as noted above, the security is mostly imaginary, still.

The security on American contactless cards is the same as Europe.  As is the communication protocols.

I'm not sure how you can imagine a check is more secure.  Mental.

all surveys have shown that card payment is the most secure and I don't see why you would think differently between debit and credit cards.