It’s a lottery - sometimes I’ve had a reply in as little as an hour, other times 2 weeks.
When it’s been two weeks have you been emailing when they’re closed?
Could be the results of a LIFO ticketing system.
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Not that I remember. I have found them very good on the phone, though. They answer within a couple of minutes and you always seem to get somebody who really knows what they are doing.
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I’m with eon next - Got this a couple of days ago
Saw this being reported at BBC news today…
Money-off energy scheme launches to avoid blackouts - BBC News
Anyone else out there like me still getting ‘free’ electricity due to the rebate? I’m now in credit by £30 
All in part due to the fact that despite many people claiming that it’s easier to budget paying a fixed monthly amount, paying monthly variable direct debit actually allows me to budget far easier because I can see via the Bright App and my monthly billing just how much energy I’m using. Many people wrongly see fixed payments as some sort of comfort cushion, overpaying far more than they need to in summer hoping that their winter bills will be covered. That’s not working out so great for some folks at the moment. I have the comfort of knowing I won’t get hit with a ridiculous hike in direct debit adjustments from a previously agreed ‘fixed’ amount. Whether people choose to agree or otherwise, pay as you go monthly billing is a boon for some energy customers because we can adapt quite quickly to adjusting our real time energy use if one month’s useage is significantly different from the previous month.
The downside for me in all of this is, I don’t think I’m going to get the British Gas invite to get an electricity discount for reducing useage during peak times because as it stands, the electricity is costing me nowt. I am not looking forward to next April 2023 
I’m paying a fixed amount and it’s all covered by the support payments. Fixed amount is cheaper variable is more expensive 
Paying by fixed amount isn’t cheaper than by paying by variable direct debit. I’m paying exactly the same standing charges and unit costs as everyone else. Unless you managed to fix a year ago on some ultra cheap deal for two years, everyone is now paying the energy price cap rate aren’t they?
I’m not on a pre-payment meter, I’m on SMETS2 fully working smart meters, I just choose to be billed monthly for the actual energy I use, effectively, pay as you go, instead of a fixed monthly amount which may either see one overpaying or in many cases with the current energy costs, not paying enough, hence some households being hit with huge increases in their monthly fixed amounts because they’re not actually looking at their bills/energy use. There’s no difference in unit energy costs or standing charges, unless of course someone is able to disprove this and then I’ll happily wind my long neck in.
Breezy, you’re using about £4 a month more in actual electricity use than I am, so we’re pretty much aligned.
Gas is coming in at around £25 a month at the moment, so nothing terrible.
I worked out that if I requested to be moved to a fixed monthly direct debit amount, I’d be forking out well over £100 a month for energy. With the rebate going in and automatically wiping out my electricity bill and indeed plunging me into credit at the same time, I’m actually only forking out less than £25 a month for our actual metered gas useage, not the absolutely horrific £2/3 or £400 a month some people are apparently paying on their fixed monthly payments.
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Since March, £32.80, my gas has been £22.45, £13.40, £10.64, £12.54, £18.87, £9.54, £24.55, and Nov was £69.20.
So, you can see the point at which I bit the bullet with the cold. And that I had my kids for summer break 
Thermo set at 16 degrees, heating on about 90 mins of a morning and 5.5 hours of an evening.
Room thermo says 18 degrees at the point heating switches off. A couple of degrees higher than the wall thermostat. Suits me. I wear extra layers if I feel it.
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Well we’re sat in for the afternoon and it’s currently 17.2 degrees showing on our Hive thermostat in the lounge and 16 degrees in the bedrooms. We’re sat here in warm hoodies and so we’re not feeling cold at all. A 10 and 4.0 tog duvets on the bed, so we’re not cold at night.
We have the heating on twice a day for just 1.5 hours in the morning and evening just to take the chill off.
As it stands with the rebate and our Scrooge approach to heating, our total energy bill for the six months from September 21 to end of March 23, won’t come to more than £200. I have of course warned a couple of close family members that if we appear to be off grid for any more than 48 hours, then they have our permission to enter our home to check we haven’t frozen to death 
Identical credit for me having moved to variable on your recommendation!
Unfortunately I feel the cold and need to be in a warm atmosphere (not just warm clothing) for health reasons. I’m wearing a warm hoody, a woollen hat, Hive is set to 19 and I’m still on the cold side. I can see that later next week I’m going to have to have it at 20 from 6am to 10pm then 18 overnight. That just about keeps me warm without spending too much.
I tend to use around 2000 kWh of gas in the coldest months, which will be around £210. It’s not an issue because I can afford it, fortunately.
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Glad to hear it @MikeZ - we too can afford it, and I make no apology for that. I am 71 have worked since I was 13 and with my partner we are comfortable- not well off , just comfortable. Heating [oil] is on all day and we have a log burner, and we are around c.24c. Cannot do cold. R-
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I’m 60 and, like you, comfortable. I’ll be even more comfortable when I get the state pension but there’s another 6.5 years to go for that 
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Excellent! I’m pleased it’s working out for you
People like us currently paying the way we do are clearly quids in by not needlessly forking out hundreds of pounds a month that ultimately helps to fund energy companies interest free loans. It’s a total no brainer, like you, I’m paying exactly for what I use every month and it’s fairly low cost compared to a fixed monthly direct debit which in the past was calculated using skewed algorithams that created unrealistic monthly payments. I’m not playing that dumb game again.
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It sounds like you have fairly low usage, though. Imagine a family whose energy bills are around £100 in the summer and £300 in winter. Budgeting to pay £200/month might be within reach, but the extra hundred pounds in the colder months may be a stretch too far. I’d guess that fixed monthly DD is probably the best option for most people with typical usage.
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Started to research the topic too. Very rapidly became topical. Hope to find the best solution based on all the recommendations.
The energy price cap is different based on region and payment method.
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I don’t disagree with your points. I think the issue is though, is that many families with whatever is determined as ‘typical’ useage, undoubtedly had their direct debits originally fixed several months ago. Clearly as the weeks and months have rolled by, their energy useage has I suspect remained much as it previously did prior to the huge increases. Obviously the only way to recover the difference in cost, is to raise and in some cases significantly increase the amount of direct debit payments. Therein the problem lies, folks start shouting that the rises are way beyond what they expected but if one digs deeper, when evened out over the year, it should as you are acutely aware, cover the debt owed. That however seems to go over the heads of some households and before you know it, it’s the energy companies who are at fault. My issue a few years back, was that my energy company wasn’t working out my annual useage correctly and was needlessly raising my direct debit far beyond the actual energy used. If working Smart meters are installed, this shouldn’t happen anymore.
I don’t deny, my Wife and I probably don’t fall into the typical user category. There’s just us two living in a very well insulated new build home with almost all newish energy efficient electrical goods. We have GCH served through a new combi boiler. We choose to heat the home very little hence why our gas useage is so low. As for electricity use, 3 months ago, I carried out my own in home survey and i disabled several items of equipment that were running needlessly. I wonder just how many people have done similar?
As for Smart meters, I absolutely love them! Clearly monthly variable direct debit billing works for us. We can adapt very quickly and take action to cut our useage if required, hence why we are able to keep below the Government monthly rebate of £66. To some reading this, I probably come across as an unbelievable tight wad, but it works for us and we’re not struggling financially.
I’m still surprised that some genuinely seem to believe that paying monthly variable direct debit is more expensive than paying a fixed amount every month in terms of the method of payment. I believe this only applies to pre-payment methods? Sadly, for many families, pre-payment meters will end up replacing whatever they currently have because the energy companies clearly must recover the cost of the energy supplied and used. As I understand it, Smart meters can also now be switched to pre-payment remotely.