chevvron wrote:If the energy companies billed you in arrears for power actually used (like the phone companies) I might consider switching to DD, but while they insist on billing you for estimated use, no way.
I thought you could do this - just pay by direct debit when the bill comes in? I used to do that (can't remember with gas or electricity, might have been both) but then switched to monthly DD for my own budgeting purposes, taking away big apres-winter lump sums.
British Gas (for gas!) seem to have things fairly well worked out and I'm in debit after the winter but in credit after the summer, so it all evens out. EDF for electricity...well, it was doing ok until I was away one meter reading and asked my neighbour if he'd do it for me. He mis-read one of the digits! Anyway, the DD was increased hugely. When I got back home I noticed what had happened and informed them.
Of course by this time I had hugely over-paid. So at the same time they refunded a large sum but also dropped my DD to almost nothing. Which of course meant I hugely under-paid next time. Which meant they put up the DD hugely next time...and so the damped phugoid started from scratch to try and zero me in on the correct amount.