It is a good point and one that I am aware of. The reason is Bulb have gone into administration and are shafting their customers. When I get around to it I'll ask for my money back but I have other things more pressing right now.mgrlane said:Stevo1987 said:I can beat that.....Scubaregs said:
Balance £1,110 in credit
It annoys me being in credit at all. Can't imagine how I would feel giving them a £1100+ free interest loan.
You have given them more than my electricity will cost for the year!
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New Government energy cap
- Thread starter Pondrew
- Start date
You can ask for a refund as long as your account is more than one average months payment in credit.
A few of months ago we asked and received £150 back from Octopus. They do keep trying to up our direct debits to the level they think we should be paying but we just phone them, say no and they leave the amount as it is for a couple of months and try again.
A few of months ago we asked and received £150 back from Octopus. They do keep trying to up our direct debits to the level they think we should be paying but we just phone them, say no and they leave the amount as it is for a couple of months and try again.
Call me a cynic but here's how I have deduced the energy companies are making more profit in the current situation. This is from my experience of my own increases in DD and religiously checking my usage weekly:
The energy companies are actively over-charging the DD amount you need to meet your usage costs in order for everyone (as far as possible) to build up a 'credit amount'. If they can get most to a £500 credit balance over a few months, they then make good money on that excess. Let's say an energy provider has 1 million customers on DD; that's £500 million they are holding. With interest rates climbing, they are currently making at least 2% on that which equals around £850,000 per month. Not a bad little bonus.
There is also the advantage of 'the feel good factor' for them. If you know you have a credit balance on your energy account, you are less likely to actively try and reduce your usage, as you know you have that 'free energy' that has already been paid for. Another win for the energy company. No matter what bullsh*t they come out with about saving energy, they want you to use as much as possible; it's how they make their money.
The ones that directly refund the Gov grant of £66 per month back to your bank account, rather than reduce the DD are also onto a good little money-making scheme. The extra £66 per month is earning them interest too, over the next six months.
All in my opinion, of course!!
The energy companies are actively over-charging the DD amount you need to meet your usage costs in order for everyone (as far as possible) to build up a 'credit amount'. If they can get most to a £500 credit balance over a few months, they then make good money on that excess. Let's say an energy provider has 1 million customers on DD; that's £500 million they are holding. With interest rates climbing, they are currently making at least 2% on that which equals around £850,000 per month. Not a bad little bonus.
There is also the advantage of 'the feel good factor' for them. If you know you have a credit balance on your energy account, you are less likely to actively try and reduce your usage, as you know you have that 'free energy' that has already been paid for. Another win for the energy company. No matter what bullsh*t they come out with about saving energy, they want you to use as much as possible; it's how they make their money.
The ones that directly refund the Gov grant of £66 per month back to your bank account, rather than reduce the DD are also onto a good little money-making scheme. The extra £66 per month is earning them interest too, over the next six months.
All in my opinion, of course!!
Currently.
Because they think that the average person is too stupid to understand it. Same as on the news they always refer to something that's big in 'x number of football pitches', or 'x olympic-sized swimming pools. Catering to the thick British people; which is apparently all of us.ronk said:
Also if they reported it as "the new price cap, which isn't really a cap at all" would look even more stupid!
axelleveau
Member
ronk said:
It depends who you are talking to and how much you want to hide or scare...
But yeah, personally I'd like to have a clear unit price and standing charge price cap being mentionned (actually I'd prefer standing charge to not be a thing all together to put the focus on consumption). That would pretty much make the current government support become an allowance, similarly to the tax allowance, maybe households could have a fixed amount of kWh of electricity and gas per person for free and then start paying... I might even dream about having a public energy supply like France used to have until it got messed up by the renewable energy boom and EDF had to start selling electricity at loss for other companies to then make a profit on when reselling to end customers :fuelfire:
just hook up generators to the houses of parliament - theres enough hot air being spouted in there to heat half of london.
