On 2008-02-28 22:37:51 +0000, "Clot" said:

Richard wrote:

Before she became SWMBO my wife was a BG customer and paid by
continuosly variable direct debit. BG consistently increased the sums
debitted and refused to believe any suggestion that they were taking
more than they were entitled so to do. They took no notice at all of
the actual units of gas used. The only way that she was able to get a
refund was to move house and not continue using gas.

This is why I still pay elec and gas bills by cheque and check the meter
readings!

I don't write cheques unless there is no alternative organisation from
which to make a purchase. Last year I wrote two. This year, I hope
not to write any. They aren't necessary and are a distinct
disadvantage to the consumer.

Regarding energy bills and direct debits, I have a simple solution to
avoid the game that the suppliers try to effectively get payment in
advance and for a credit balance to be built. I don't lend money to
utility companies.

I look over the previous couple of years of use on a monthly basis and
price the consumption according to the selected tariff. I then offer
the supplier a monthly DD to the value of 80-90% of this. Over the
course of the year, there will of course be an underpayment and they
will attempt to not only raise the DD to recover that, but also to try
to secure a credit balance for the following year. I take the
shortfall, add it to the following year's projection and offer them
80-90% of that or a switch to a different supplier.

That has only been turned down by one supplier. They are interested
in customer retention.