‘Understanding’ your latest electricity bill

January 28, 2009 at 11:56 · Filed under MONEY, WARNINGS

If, like most of Endesa’s ten million customers, you have had a shock with your latest electricity bill, read on to find out how to do something about it! First, place your December and January bills beside you (you will probably need a stiff drink…)>

The December bill was probably for a surprisingly small amount. This is because it is an estimate as your meter was not read. The reason Endesa has done this is because as from January 1st we will be billed monthly instead of every two months as before. However, your meter will be read every two months, which means the intermediate month will only be an estimate. This, of course, saves the company from paying someone to read the thing, which, multiplied by ten million customers or so, adds up to … well, several millions of euros. (See related items here)

According to the company, which we consulted by phone (see below for more info on the phone number) after receiving a bill for €208 even though we don’t even cook with electricity, this is perfectly legal.

The trick is in the fact that electricity has gone up as from January 1st, but Endesa is only issuing an ‘estimate’, which is usually about 1/4 of your previous bi-monthly bills, more or less averaged out over last year. In other words, they’re billing about half of your real consumption in December so that they can charge you at the new rate in January, even though you used it in December. Be warned: your future bills will go up and down like a yo-yo.

(Following us so far?)

Therefore what they announced back at the end of last summer is a lie They said then that they would estimate according to what you used throughout the year – and remember, we use a lot more electricity in the winter.

Check your December bill and you’ll see what we mean.

Here’s what you can do about it

Call Endesa – they’re official number is 902 509 509, which costs money even if you have free calls or ‘tarifa plana’, but you get the same service on 935 074 753 for FREE if you have those free calls (another trick, this by Telefónica, so that we who have free calls have to pay anyway) – and, having taken a reading of your meter, ask them to cancel the December bill and substitute it for one with the real reading.

But it may be too late, so you now request that they do not apply the new rate to all of the January bill. They are obliged to do this but if they refuse, say you will go to the Consumer’s Office (Oficina del Consumidor) to put in a denuncia (official complaint). Chances are, they will be flooded by these denuncias.

One more thing: If, like us, your meter is inside the house or property and can’t be read by anyone other than yourself, you should be given (through the letterbox or under the door) a little paper on which you write down the reading. This must be done within 24 hours of the ‘reader’ coming by, or your bill will indeed be an estimate, and you will be charged the difference later. This ‘system’ will severely hamper your chances of getting things sorted as we describe above, a fact we know from bitter experience. The only answer here is to get your meter put outside as soon as possible, which you have to do and pay for yourself.

An alternative

If all of the above fails, you can ask to pay the big bill in two lots – called a pago fraccionado. These payments will be in addition to your regular bill, so keep an eye on your bank account, although you should be told on what days you will be charged.

Are you as tired as we are of all these ‘legal’ manoeuvres? Are you as tired as we are of being taken for fools?

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