I am so disapointed with SP. Its a shame as I have had so many years of good CS, I so hope they are not going down the pan. I understand companies must asses monthly payments to ensure debt is reduced, but this recent request to increase payments by £50 per month is just a joke.

Originally I have been paying £68 per month and my account balance was £74 before my latest bill came in for around £250. This has put me in arrears of £315.

I asked SP for the breakdown and they provided me with the following

Current Service Package: WWW DEB DD DF

Electricity 1010 kwh x Primary Unit price 14.701p £148.48
Electricity 3688 kwh x Secondary Unit price 10.469p £386.10

Total £534.58

Gas 5335 kwh x Primary Rate price 4.099p £218.68
Gas 7949 kwh x Secondary Rate price 3.199p £254.29

Total £472.97

Total Electric and Gas Cost £1007.55
5% VAT £50.38
Current Debit Balance £315.33
Discounts £26.25
Total Cost £1347.00

Dividing this total by 12 months shows your Direct Debit should be set at £112.25.



First of all, im not sure why they have added my current account balance into the 12 month calculation? If im missing something here, please would someone point it out. The most I should be paying is £88 per month, and I have advised them I am prepared to up my payments to £70, with a re assessment in 6 months time. Obviously gas is used very little in the summer, so good time to catch up.

I simply cannot afford to pay an extra £50 per month, and they are not really listening to anything I tell them. Am I screwed here.? or is there another avenue I can take?

Simon

wildknight30:

If im missing something here, please would someone point it out.

SP have provided a breakdown of your estimated or actual (which?) consumption. Probably supposed to be 12 months but the Primary unit allocation (commonly 4572/900) makes me wonder if its over 13-14 months. Worth checking that as it would make their usage calculation high.

I calculate you need to increase your monthly payment by £18 just to mark time. Then there are the £315 arrears to be recovered in the next 12 months. They have chosen to add it in to the annual energy costs. That's another £26/month to arrive at the same bill in 12 months with a zero balance. So at least a £44 increase. Like you I don't know where the £50 comes from and the breakdown doesn't explain. In fact it should not be a surprise that there is a debit balance after the winter period as long as there is a matching credit balance after the summer period. Except SP are trying to achieve a zero balance (and probably a credit balance) at the close of the winter. Not right IMHO

You're screwed in the sense that you have a debit balance of £315 which possibly will affect your opportunity to switch.

Possibly your offer seems a bit light but good luck.