Utility Bills

[Deleted member 37751]

Gas isn’t essential. My son isn’t alone in living in a house that doesn’t have a gas supply. Those of us who have access to gas mostly have chosen it for its convenience. We can actually get by without it, although for most of us the alternatives would be more expensive.

We offer a complete “off-grid” solution which costs an initial (relatively) significant outlay but you then never have another energy bill, ever.

It’s a great option for those that aren’t on the gas grid (which is more than you’d think)

 

[Smart320]

Have a detached 1820's house ,4 bed, modernised and well insulated to new building regs standard ( widows and loft ) but with concrete ( un- insulated floors,) all LED lights but oil central heating (new pressurised heating H/W system ) as there is no gas in the village.
Electricity is £45 pm on 18 month contract with NPower. Oil cost going up this year , was 35 p per Litre 18 months ago, now 48p a litre, approx £1600, council tax £2000 p.a. Water on a meter, roughly about £ 25 pm

 

[AMGeed]

Love to see what would happen in the UK if the government decided to charge non-Brits more for their utilities.

If you were well travelled, you'd know there is a two tier pricing system in Thailand as well

 

[geraldrobins]

Ah yes, another "feature" of the privatised utilities markets.

In the bad old days, somebody came and read your meter and you were then sent a bill telling you exactly what you had used and exactly what you owed. Simple.

Now, you have to agree to set up a monthly direct debit (it was compulsory when I last changed provider) which allows them to pluck a figure out of their ar$e and charge what they feel like. So you end up overpaying in the summer for gas and electricity that you may (or may not) use the following winter !

And yes, you can chase them to get your money back - but you shouldn't have to. And yes, some smaller suppliers pay you interest on the money that they're holding in your account but most suppliers don't. The net result is that the energy companies make a fortune in interest on nearly £1 BILLION of customers' money that they shouldn't have had in the first place:

Households owed £928m* in overpaid energy bills

My direct debit is based on the usage I told my energy company based on my previous bills. This is also my experience of my previous energy
provider so I have to disagree with your plucking a figure statement. If you don't want to over pay in the summer then switch in October.The figure of £928m equates to about £40 per household so hardly costing much in interest per household.

 

[Druk]

Thanks for pointing out the blindingly obvious.

Public warning Darrell. Stop this thinly veiled sarcasm. It’s not becoming to the debate nor this forum in general.


Enough.





.

 

[Scott_F]

My direct debit is based on the usage I told my energy company based on my previous bills. This is also my experience of my previous energy
provider so I have to disagree with your plucking a figure statement. If you don't want to over pay in the summer then switch in October.The figure of £928m equates to about £40 per household so hardly costing much in interest per household.

If they got their figures anywhere near right then they wouldn't be holding on to £928 MILLION of their customers' money to which they are not entitled. I don't want to overpay in summer, winter or any other time - I just want to be billed accurately for what I've used when I've used it. No more, no less.

And that £928 MILLION of other people's money is earning them a fortune in interest.

 

[markjay]

I never quite understood this method of payment.

I suppose the idea of over-paying in summer and under-paying in winter is so that the monthly payments are roughly the same throughout the year?

I am with Utility Warehouse. I log into their website and update the gas and electricity meters' readings as often as I wish.

The monthly bill is therefore always accuare, I pay for what we actually used.

And when we switch to 'smart' readers I won't have to update the meter readings any more - surely that's a good thing?

As for water, we are with Thames Water and had a meter fitted a few years back, but last year reverted back to fixed rate, which actually worked-out cheaper for us.

 

[Darrell]

If you were well travelled, you'd know there is a two tier pricing system in Thailand as well

I have been to Thailand. Twice in fact.
The first time in 88 then in 04 and disliked it both times. Horrid country inhabited by horrid people and sadly because 3 of my friends now live there I am due to go again at the end of this year.
As for their 2 tier pricing system, no I didn’t know as the place is so bloody cheap anyway.

 

[Smart320]

If you were well travelled, you'd know there is a two tier pricing system in Thailand as well

For information I lived and worked there for 3 years and had no idea that there was a dual pricing regime for fuel! Why would I ? My company picked all the bills up for rent etc so I never saw them. Does this make me less well travelled?

 

[markjay]

Love to see what would happen in the UK if the government decided to charge non-Brits more for their utilities.

Here's the tricky bit... it might work for American ex-pats working in Canart Wharf, but how do you get any money off Asylum seekers who receive benefits anyway, essential foreign workers such as nurses, and those who own property in the UK but visit on a Tourist visa?

 

[geraldrobins]

If they got their figures anywhere near right then they wouldn't be holding on to £928 MILLION of their customers' money to which they are not entitled. I don't want to overpay in summer, winter or any other time - I just want to be billed accurately for what I've used when I've used it. No more, no less.

And that £928 MILLION of other people's money is earning them a fortune in interest.

To be fair they can never be 100% right with assessments of energy use due to fluctuations in weather and usage etc.
If you don't want to overpay cant you have a deal with quarterly bills anymore?

 

[Peter103]

Back in the good old days, when gas/ electric meters were in the cupboard under the stairs, beneath all the clutter within, and tucked in a dark corner, the meter had a spinning toothed disc that could be seen through a clear perspex glass, the more you used the quicker it spins counting kw's, a good trick was to get a sewing needle red hot over the gas ring and carefully twist it through the plastic cover till it met the cog and stopped it spinning, result, free electric for a few weeks, before the meter man returned with his torch. The problem was forgetting to remove the needle before he arrived. Happy days.

 

[grimree]

Ah, abstracting electricity, the good old Theft Act 1968

 

[Petrol Pete]

Gas + Electric £0 Generator and bottles , stolen. Empty gas bottles left be hind for 'recycling' , fuel for genny, stolen.
Rates, council tax £0 Not sure who owns this car park/school playing field/farmland, but they probably pay some kind of tax.
Car Insurance £0 That's not my transit/4x4..no I don't know that name, no I can't officer, because I can't read.
Food bills £0 providing I can catch a few Hedgehogs and course a few hares we will never go hungry

Billy The Tinker.

 

[grober]

Let me introduce the concept of a CARTEL
A cartel is a group of apparently independent producers whose goal is to increase their collective profits by means of price fixing, limiting supply, or other restrictive practices. Cartels typically control selling prices, but some are organized to control the prices of purchased inputs. Antitrust laws [ in the USA] attempt to deter or forbid cartels. A single entity that holds a monopoly by this definition cannot be a cartel, though it may be guilty of abusing said monopoly in other ways. Cartels usually occur in oligopolies, where there are a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products.

 

[Railwayman]

With regard to pricing for energy, I think people get caught up to much with the information companies put out there. The only two things you really need to know are

A) How much per Kw hour your gas and electric costs
B) What is the standing charge (if any) per day

All the rest is fluff, your usage, customer service etc.

I switch every time my tariffs change which to be honest is a simple matter (and I'm old lol)

 

[Peter103]

Ah, abstracting electricity, the good old Theft Act 1968

Are you a Policeman? Cos if you are it wasn't me honest! It was my mate Dave!

 

[AMGeed]

For information I lived and worked there for 3 years and had no idea that there was a dual pricing regime for fuel! Why would I ? My company picked all the bills up for rent etc so I never saw them. Does this make me less well travelled?

I wasn't referring to fuel costs. I was pointing out Thailand has a dual pricing system for Thai's and non locals, not necessarily for everything.
Visit the Zoo in Phuket and you'll pay 200baht entrance fee. A Thai will pay a tenth of that. Tuk tuk fares, street food vendors, just the same. One price for locals another much higher for non Thais.

I'm surprised you never noticed it having lived there for 3 years. The "less well travelled" comment was in reply to a not very well thought out remark earlier.
I'm out of this discussion now.

 

[Smart320]

Did know that you there was dual pricing for many things, did plenty of haggling to make sure I did not pay too much! Just never considered that utilities were the same

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I wasn't referring to fuel costs. I was pointing out Thailand has a dual pricing system for Thai's and non locals, not necessarily for everything.
Visit the Zoo in Phuket and you'll pay 200baht entrance fee. A Thai will pay a tenth of that. Tuk tuk fares, street food vendors, just the same. One price for locals another much higher for non Thais.

I'm surprised you never noticed it having lived there for 3 years. The "less well travelled" comment was in reply to a not very well thought out remark earlier.
I'm out of this discussion now.

I have to confess that I only became aware of the two-tier system at for touristy things on about my tenth visit to Thailand We were going around Bangkok one with of our very close Thai friends who bought all the attraction tickets and saved us a fortune. To be more precise, we just visited more places for the same budget. She and all the other Thai people we know are wonderful friendly people who respond well to the respect they deserve. Treat them as “horrid” people (as someone else said earlier) and you get what you deserve.