Discover how to check utility bills and challenge unfair price hikes. Learn why you should audit your direct debits to avoid overpaying your suppliers.
Written 18th February 2025
I had an email from my water supplier last week. Telling me they are increasing prices from April. Understandable as everything seems to go up in April doesn't it bills wise.
The email stated that their prices had only increased 0.5% since 2014 (11 years). Yet they did not state how much % they are increasing their prices by specifically this year.
Yet they wanted to put my monthly payment up from £30.33 to £41.18... according to my maths that's over 33% increase. They also wanted to increase my direct debit amount starting in March.... 'to keep my monthly amount as low as possible'.
Not one to take this increase at face value I checked my last bill which is covering my usage and then I got on to the water companies customer chat.... a challenge in itself getting through to a non-bot. After going round the houses with the bot for what seemed like an eternity (no way to know as they've deleted the time stamp so you don't know how long you're waiting) I got through to a non-bot. I asked how I could change my direct debit amount to my current amount for the time being. They couldn't put me through to someone who could do this. I couldn't update my direct debit amount myself and was told to phone or email. I opted for the latter rather than being on hold for goodness knows how long if I phoned.
I got a reply within 3 days, which isn't bad given I sent the email on a Friday and had reply on Monday.
I was told I'd actually already paid enough to cover my whole bill so I could cancel my direct debit completely and wait for my next bill in August.
Go figure huh?
5 months x £41.18 = £205.90 saved from not paying March to July's payments.
Happy days.
The point of this post... double check what you're paying and don't overpay.
Automated bills are one of the biggest hiding places for leaking cash. Head over to the Daily Spending Calculator page to audit your outgoings, track your exact direct debits, and make sure your hard-earned money stays firmly on Team Me.