Reduce number of pages used for bill

kerrieg09
3 Replies 4920 Views

I am at a loss to understand why AGL would use four pages for an email bill. This translates into the account holder paying extra for paper and printer ink (if they print their bill which I do). I print it because I keep track of every cent spent on energy, and it is worthwhile when you want to compare different rates from different energy retailers. I have only recently switched to AGL, and for the last 13 years, all other energy providers can get all the info required onto two pieces of paper. I don't understand. May I also mention, I do not want any advertising of mobile phone plans, nbn plans etc. etc. We see enough of that on TV. Thanks.

5 Comments
David_AGL
AGL Community Manager
Status changed to: New

Hi @kerrieg09 , thanks for reaching out with this feedback.

We updated our bill format recently in response to customer feedback, and part of the objective was to create a bill that was less dense and easier to read. I think the trade-off here may be that it requires more pages because the information is less condensed.

Of course, a great way to save paper is to not print your bill at all, but it is certainly important to keep track of what you're spending on energy and compare rates, especially when energy prices are high. Did you know that all your previous bills, as well as your transaction history, are available for access at any time via the Billing tab on your AGL My Account page?

If so, what is it that you find easier about printing your bill out right now? We would love to help make it easier to keep track of your spending and save you paper!


kerrieg09
Switched-on

It's not so easy to input info into a spreadsheet, when you are flipping
back between an unprinted bill, and my spreadsheet which is pretty detailed.

I'm finding it preferable for me, certainly in the short term, to keep a
very close eye on what you are charging, and that includes my own
calculator for the concession amounts that we are due. So far, it seems you
are miscalculating, but that's another story.

So much easier to go back to a paper bill. I reckon people don't even check
their bills, so unprinted works much better for AGL than it's customers.

Thanks for your response, which is appreciated.

[personal info removed]

NeilC
Powerhouse

@kerrieg09 

 

Kerrie,

 

Firstly I would suggest that you login to the Neighbourhood and remove your phone number from your last post, anyone in the world can read these pages.

David also omitted to tell you that a printed paper bill is an additional $1.75 where an electronic (pdf format) bill is included as part of the service.

 

As you have a spreadsheet, you must be using a PC/Mac/Tablet to enter the data and you should be able to switch between screens to read the data from the PDF and the spreadsheet to enter the data.

 

Rather than print whole bill you can copy the information from your bill and paste it into a text document and then print that if you don't want to switch screens, the PDF document you can save in an appropriate folder on your device.

 

****************************************************************************************

Usage and supply charges Time of use Units Price Amount
Peak 238.431 kWh $0.5065 $120.77
Off peak 101.739 kWh $0.3721 $37.86
Shoulder 4.977 kWh $0.3369 $1.68
Supply charge 90 days $1.046 $94.14
Total charges + $254.45

Solar export Time of use Units Price
1,260 kWh $0.15 $189.00cr
274.768 kWh $0.05 $13.74cr
Total credits - $202.74cr

Total new charges and credits (excluding GST) = $51.71
Total GST + $25.45
Total new charges and credits (including GST) = $77.16
Account balance = $165.34cr

****************************************************************************************

Above is the data from last my four page PDF document which takes up only a part of a single page from the printer, uses only black ink but contains all the data you would need to add to a spreadsheet.

 

I like you have a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of my electricity use but I download my usage file from the webpage and convert that into a readable csv file that I then process into reports that I enter into my elect used spreadsheet.

 

Then using that data I then calculate my daily usage and by multiplying that by 90 (my billing cycle) and get a fairly accurate prediction of my next bill.

 

Cheers Neil

kerrieg09
Switched-on
Hi Neil,
Thanks for your info. I know I can switch between screens on the PC, and I
probably will try that next time.
My spreadsheet is pretty detailed, but probably not as detailed as yours by
the looks. I will also give the copy idea a go next time as well.
Cheers
David_AGL
AGL Community Manager

@kerrieg09 - if you like to keep a close eye on your energy spending, you might wish to take a look at this other customer-submitted Idea requesting exportable transaction history. We're taking a closer look at this at the moment, and any feedback you could provide would be useful. We'd love to hear more about how customers are tracking their usage and how we can make it easier.