Price Cap Q&A

  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    We’re all I n the same situation so we can sympathise. I advise all to review all the energy consuming devices in the home and decide whether their use is essential or not.
    Current Eon Next and EDF customer, ex Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and don't like smart meters. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.
  • Landmark's Avatar
    Level 29
    bowing down to the eco-fanatics who glue themselves to the roads.
    Actually I call them eco-martyrs because they have been condemned to be political prisoners for their radical methods of peaceful protest stopping traffic that gives off Co2 bless their sacred hearts💔

    Eon Next Customer

  • Victimised's Avatar
    Level 1
    @PeterT_EONNext
    Hi Pete I tried emailing eon using the email address you gave me and asked them to explain why my direct debit amount has gone way beyond the 54% increase in energy prices (mine is somewhere between 115%-120%) even though I was always a few hundred pound in credit before plus I've also made some changes to my energy usage I've fitted LED lights that use less than half the power of the ones they replaced plus I've been turning off energy heavy appliances so my usage is way lower.... They have not replied at all... So how can i get justice if they're just gonna ignore my genuine plea to look into this travesty it is beyond belief that they can do whatever they like and just ignore me when I'm asking for help here, how can they run a business and treat people this way it is absolutely shocking... What can I do about it?

    Victimised...
  • PeterT_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Team
    Hi @Victimised I'm sorry to hear that you've not had a reply to your email yet. If this hasn't been picked up just yet, it will be in due course.

    The 54% increase is based on what Ofgem outline as an average Typical Domestic Consumption Value (or TDCV), based on what they deem a "medium" user of gas and electricity (this being an annual consumption on the electricity of 2,900kWh and 12,000kWh for gas respectively)
    @meldrewreborn Has actually posted a useful picture on page 12 of this thread, which shows variance in the prices of unit rates across the UK depending on area, and this is why Ofgem use an average figure when posting about the Price Cap, to give people an idea of how much the difference will be as an average.

    This will differ from household-to-household depending on your annual usage figures used on your account, based on your actual readings, only estimated if you don't provide regular readings. It's these figures which are then used against your tariff prices which determine your Direct Debit amount per month. You can view your annual usage figures on any of your bills, located at the bottom of where your tariff information is.

    It's great to hear that you've been making changes in order to reduce the costs of your usage going forwards, as we all need to be doing right now in order to keep costs as low as possible 😊

    Your usage should come down if you've actively made changed to your devices/appliances/lighting etc, this won't change things in the short term though, as your payments will be based on the last 12 months, forecasting what is thought you'll use based on this going forwards.

    There's always scope to lower your Direct Debit if you feel you're making changes to your usage, as it's not expected that you pay more if you don't have to (for example, there could be three occupiers and then two move out, meaning usage going forwards would be far less, and then monthly payments can be decreased based on this information instead)

    I hope this helps somewhat whilst you wait for a specific answer about your account via email.

    Pete 😊
    Cool 😎 Calm 😌 Collected 🙌 - Here to help, or just for a chat if you like!

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  • Victimised's Avatar
    Level 1
    Thanks for your reply Pete 👍 interesting how you mention this TDCV! That is the part that is the most mystifying part as I work six days a week and the house is stood cold and empty all of this time... No heating on, no lights on... How can this be seen as "typical" when compared to houses with large families in them or retired people who are in the house 24/7.... There is no way mathematically I could be classified as an average user it's just not realistic at all 😞
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Victimised

    Lies, damn lies and statistics. Yes the latest increase in April was said to be 54% for the average user, using average amounts of electricity and gas and living in an average are of the country. But that was also on the back of a substantial increase last October. My own bills have gone from circa £850 last year to a predicted level based on todays tariffs of £2,200, because I was on competitive fixed price tariffs before the suppliers went belly up and my deals with them. so now I'm on the variable tariff for gas (with EDF!) and V11 fixed price for electricity with Eon Next (I don't go for dual fuel with one supplier).

    The past is the past and its gone and we can do nothing about it. The real question is whether you DD is fair and reasonable.

    If you take your future estimated consumption for 12 months and apply to it the current prices you'll come to an estimated price for 12 months energy use. (forget for the moment that prices are likely to go up again in October 22). Your DD should be that forecast annual figure divided by 12. Any substantial credit on your account should be refunded to you.

    Inevitably the forecast will be wrong so you'll either build a credit (again) or a debit. Later in the year the DD's will need to be reappraised because of the likely increase again in the OFGEM energy cap, and we'll all go through the same exercise again.

    The DD is only a budgeting exercise intended to help people manage their budgets through the more expensive n months (because we use more energy for heating in the winter months). At the end of your contract with Eon Next the total amount payable will be exactly the same as if you had settled the account each month for the energy you had used.

    So looking at past DD levels and applying the average OFGEM price increase doesn't actually mean much, unless the previous level of DD was absolutely correct and you are an average user of energy in the same mix as OFGEM use. It will work for very few.
  • Victimised's Avatar
    Level 1
    @meldrewreborn I've just heard back from eon today and they said they have reviewed my account and I'm actually £537.48 in credit and they have reduced my monthly DD payments down to £150 and apologised for any inconvenience caused... So I'm happy about the result as it is more realistic and actually correlates with the numerous calculations I've done using everyone's input in this thread... So thanks for the pointers everyone... It would appear my "wrong" has been "righted". 👍
  • UKDave51's Avatar
    Level 3
    I`m staggered that Eon do not appear to take credit in to account when calculating increased DD costs.
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @UKDave51

    they appear to refund the credit and then recommence from a clean slate
  • Victimised's Avatar
    Level 1
    @UKDave51

    they appear to refund the credit and then recommence from a clean slate
    In all the time I've been an eon customer, I've never been refunded any credit despite always being substantially in credit each quarter.... I've not had a problem with this as it actually gives them a tool to calculate my usage/payments much more reliably than estimated meter readings.... I do have a smart meter but it does not function as it should because it doesn't relay my usage continuously like it is supposed to... I did request a new, correctly functioning meter to be fitted in its place but when the guy showed up to do it he said because one of my gas hobs was spluttering ever so slightly, he said he would have to condemn my whole gas supply and shut it all off or he could say he was never there and just leave everything as it was... So the choice he gave me was a new smart meter but no hot water or heating or just to leave it as it was... He did say that it was a 3 hour operation to swap it out and I got the impression he couldn't be bothered to do the work... Sensing this, and being faced with no hot water or heating right in the middle of winter I said "ok mate, you win just leave" which he promptly did.... So without the aid of a correctly functioning smart meter... My overpayments provide a small bit of clarity to keep things accurate and fair....