Fuel bills, direct debits and forecast usage

Lobster · 2010-11-02T23:09:08+00:00

I changed energy suppliers earlier in the year (EDF) and pay by monthly direct debit to get the cheapest tarrif. My gas payment has been 52 GBP, and my account is currently 22 GBP in debt.Today I received my latest bill, informing me that they have reviewed my monthly payments and based on forecast usage (ie over winter) they are going to increase my payments to - get this - 120 GBP.This strikes me as utterly ridiculous and I fully intend to whinge, but before I start raking out old bills and trying to tease out me winter vs summer gas consumption, does anyone have a rule of thumb as to how these payments are or should be calculated? Maybe EDF are actually on target, though seems unlikely to me?(I wasn't with EDF last winter so they have no clue as to what my winter usage will be. We use gas for HW, CH, and a hob).ThanksDavid