How Ringley makes sure your energy bill is accurate

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If you live in a house, ensuring you are getting a good deal from your energy supplier is simple if you can be bothered to shop around. But for flat owners and tenants, it’s not so easy. Energy in a bock of flats is a bulk-buy with one contract for the whole building, negotiated and monitored by the Property Manager. So leaseholders and tenants have less control over their energy supply.

We are conscious that this can be a worry for residents, who are not always convinced they are getting the best deal. So to put their minds at rest, at Ringley we’ve developed a new algorithm to put energy bills to the test. We already have a rigorous set of checks and balances that we apply to our energy contracts to ensure we are getting best value for our customers. Our new algorithm is simply a way of helping us to get it right first time.

So how does it work? Basically, we can now take all the information from utility providers and stress-test some of the pain points that sometimes mean energy companies get their charges wrong. These include checking:

• correct VAT rates


• reasonable unit kw/hr rates


• whether or not the bill is based on more than two estimated readings


• reasonable consumption  e.g., bills not still running at construction rates


• contract end dates – which may push customers onto a higher tariff.

The new algorithm takes this information and creates a ‘notional bill’ which is data tested before utility bills are authorised. If customers would like to receive the original bill from their utility provider, a link on their notional bill will direct them to contact their provider, who will  download it for them.

In our opinion utility providers sometimes over-estimate monthly payments, where meter reads are not taken or applied incorrectly. The rollout of smart meters will help improve the accuracy of all billing, so clients only pay for their actual usage.

In the meantime, it’s clear the utility sector has its problems, so we hope the new service makes it  easier for our customers to navigate the market.

 

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16/02/2021
Author : Maryanne Bowring

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