Water and electric payments increase

givingup

Not sure if I've put this in the right section, but my water bill, I do have a meter , is going up next month as is my electricity bill, all paid by direct debit, despite I signed up to a fixed price electric account for 2 years!
They both say it's because we,re using more of water and electric, however looking at the electric meter I can't see any usage increase?
I,ve been in touch with both and I was told that's just the way it is, in so many words!
Anyone else having increases like us I,d love to hear from you?
Thanks.
Alan.

leeCal

I haven’t had a letter like that but I just wanted to say I saw a report the other day saying that around a fifth of our water is lost in leaks! I’d be very impressed if they fixed those leaks and then raised the price a little frankly.

OverlyAnxious

Fixed price electricity deals refer to the unit price only, not the direct debit.  If you have used more units, you will need to pay more on the DD.  Has there been a mistake with meter readings or estimated bills maybe?

Water prices often do go up each year, and you've probably been using more over lockdown as well, that one is likely to be correct unfortunately.

Tori_Scope

Hi @givingup

Just to add to what @OverlyAnxious said, I read this on a MoneySuperMarket page: 

Fixed-price energy tariffs are the best way to lock your energy bills down for one or two years. You can use a fixed-rate energy deal to make sure you’re not at the mercy of a fluctuating market if the price per unit looks like it'll go up.
Fixed-rate deals usually last between 12 and 24 months, but they don’t mean your bill will be the same each month. You lock down the price you pay per unit, but not how many units you consume. The more energy you use in a month, the more you’ll pay – the same as ever.

It's weird that you can't see an increase on your electric meter. Maybe take a few over the next few weeks to see whether anything odd is going on?

poppy123456

Hi,

Just looking at the electric meter isn't going to tell you whether your usage has increased, for this you should look at your bills. A fixed unit price doesn't mean your DD can't increase. I've been with Octopuss energy for over a year now and i can't recommend them enough. They are incredible cheap and were voted number 1 energy supplier. Maybe you should look at changing suppliers if your current one is expensive.

For your water because you're on a meter, have you looked into the watersure scheme to see if you're eligible for help with the bills, it will depend on your health conditions though but worth looking into. If you're not entitled then sometimes a water meter can be more expensive but this will depend on a few things though but worth looking into. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/water-supply/problems-with-paying-your-water-bill/watersure-scheme-help-with-paying-water-bills/

I don't have a water meter because for me, it would be more expensive.

givingup

Ok thanks everyone. I'll look further into it. I doubt we,ll get more money in April to help though!

poppy123456

Other than the usual April increase then it's highly unlikely to be anything more than that. If you're not usually home everyday then the lockdown will have likely increased your energy bills at least.