22 July (Part 2) - Gaslighting
There is a new ringmaster in charge of the UK circus and he has sacked some of the
old clowns and recruited a few new ones. Fraudsters, tax cheats and rape gang
supporters among them.
Yesterday the new Prime Minister said he would take advantage of our EU exit and
abolish VAT on energy bills for six months. Unfunded of course but that is
the socialist way. But it was not really a 5% price reduction on energy because it
only applies to electricity; not gas or oil.
It has been widely touted as a £45
a year reduction from next October but that assumes a whole year
without VAT which according to Money Saving Expert and others is wrong. It ends
next April Few have
mentioned that both electricity and gas went up by 13% three weeks ago and the
current forecast is that both will rise by another 5·1% in October so we
can look forward to a price increase while the clowns are talking about a reduction.
My total VAT bill (electricity only) was £14.34 from August 2025 to now and it only
rose over £2 in the months of November to March so my saving will be just over £10. Meanwhile the amount actually paid will increase. The price cap is
£294 higher now than when Labour took power.
By
coincidence my energy company chose yesterday to tell me that they wanted me to
pay £137 a month instead of the £60 I have been paying. £60 has put me into £217
of credit which will likely rise to nearly £400 before Winter sets in. Probably
enough to see me though to the Spring of 2027. It did last year.
£137 is better than their previous estimate which was £173. My combined
electricity and gas usage has never ever exceeded £100 a month so where can £137 possibly come from?
It can only mean that their computer systems are totally useless - or they are greedy.
My written complaint to Octopus was answered in just 13 minutes which is why I
continue to think it is a good company with tariffs that allow my total energy
bill to be consistently under £30 a month throughout the Summer.
If only their Direct Debit estimates were based in reality. £137 a month for a
customer who has never (since solar and battery installation four years ago)
seen a three figure bill. Such very obvious nonsense but they cannot get it right.