Energy bills

Posted 8th Jan 2023

EDF energy has increased my direct debits for gas and electricity from £180/month to £380/month from next month. My energy usage are very limited, we hardly stick on our heating except to take bath.

Are others also facing similar direct debits?

92 Comments

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8th Jan
OP Should check what tariff they were on and what the reason is for the direct debit increase. If it's the end of a cheap fix and they are being moved to a variable tariff then yes that is unfortunately likely correct and not much that can be done.

If they are being moved to a new fix then it's best to cancel that and go to the government price cap variable tariff for now.

If they are being told they must pay more because they are using more than they are currently paying for they should look at meter readings vs bills, and check if they have any credit on their account right now to make sure the increase is justified.

There sadly isn't a magic fix. Everyone is ultimately being forced to spend money that many of us don't really have to cover the costs of energy, and the prices we pay aren't coming back down anywhere near fast enough.
8th Jan
Scottish power tried increasing mine to £360 per month so I canceled the direct debit and pay monthly now. The energy market is one big scam, today 52% of the electricity generated comes from wind turbines yet we are still paying rip-off prices for green energy.
(edited)
Anonymous User
8th Jan
Were the same pay monthly. Have been for over 20 years, far easier to control and monitor and never had any issues
8th Jan
My December bill was £320 and I am stingy with heating also, probably 3/4 hours day but I do have a portable heater on most of the time, except when sleeping.
8th Jan
To be fair, if you have a portable heater on most of the time you're not really stingy with heating.
8th Jan
there has been a few discussion threads on ask about energy bills within the last month, mine being one of them! my energy tariff has gone up 2.8 times, even with the unit price cap applied, so it does not surprise me that your DD has been increased by 2.1 times. afraid that is going to be the norm for everyone now.

i was just thinking yesterday when i was looking at my dad's bill that the government are also making a killing on the VAT that they are taking on the increased energy cost. they should remove that completely in these times of hardship, and there should also be a cap on the daily standing charge as now the energy suppliers are using that to increase the tariff. (edited)
8th Jan
Isn't VAT only 5% on energy? If correct, it is hardly going to make a difference. Also, if this is removed, some other tax will go up to compensate.
8th Jan
Between 10pm Thursday and 6pm Saturday we had our gas central heating on for a total of exactly 24 hours. It goes on with a flow temperature of 60 for 15 mins in the morning and then sits down at 36c the rest of the time. (3 beds, well insulated, not all radiators switched on and it's not been very very cold)
This has been a comfortable temperature in the heated rooms.

That used Exactly £3.23 of gas. So people using electric heaters at up to £1 per hour instead of their central heating really should check if they are using the cheapest method to heat their home.

Our gas bill at current (cap) prices is £313 per year for heating and hot water. (edited)
8th Jan
£313 for the whole year?! There are people here paying that much in one month and being careful..you sure you got your numbers right?
8th Jan
Cancel your DD. Pay what you owe manually each month.
These energy companies are artificially inflating people's DD to hoared people's cash.
8th Jan
Many people, most even, have seen their utility bills double in the last year.
It is difficult to comment on your situation without knowing your previous and new tariff and your actual gas/electric usage in Kwh.
If you are literally just heating your bath water I'd be surprised if you weren't in a fairly large credit situation.
8th Jan
Have a read at this Money Saving Expert article , Look at the 'Is my Direct Debit right' section on lefthand side of page. - moneysavingexpert.com/ene…gy/
8th Jan
I'm with edf I haven't had a bill. Been paying and not had any refund from the government help scheme. I moved home in September and it seems to have confused them.
8th Jan
Still baffled by the amount of Energy threads popping up. There must be a reason and surely together as a community we can get to the bottom of this mystery.
8th Jan
The mystery of why we can't have a single discussion thread for this is also important. No one's situation is unique to start a new discussion every time.
8th Jan
Do you use the energy hub on the edf app?
There was an option to increase automatic reads to every 30 minutes or something..
then after two days it shows you accurate daily usage in £’s and pence.
For example my combined energy usage for November was £173. In December it was £244.
10th Jan
Cancel DD and tell them to stick the acknowledgement they receive from your bank confirming cancellation up their ass
2nd Feb
My smart meter usually shows 34p-36p usage when I get up in the morning 7/8am. Today it was double that.
Generally with tv on, washing machine etc., it's about £1.20-£2.00 for the day (higher end if the tumble dryer is on and the electric oven).
So far today, it's approaching £4, so expecting £5-£6 by the time I go to bed.

No idea what next door pays as they have everything under the sun running.

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