Stupidly high gas usage

Hi SandA

Already some excellent advice on here. Thought I'd just add a few pointers.

We'll be happy to work with you and help you understand and, hopefully, reduce your energy consumption. We've a specialist Energy Efficiency team who do just this.

Have a talk to these guys. Tell them about your property and appliances. They'll go through these with you and suggest ways to cut back.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful advice to help you save.

Check out our website, too. Particularly, the 'Interactive House' and 'Energy Menu.' More good tips here.

As others have said, hot water is a big chunk of any energy bill. Showers are usually cheaper than baths. Our Energy Efficiency guys will be able to advise you about this and much more.

Keep a check on your meter and take regular readings. Don't place too much emphasis on the online Energy Tracker. This is meant to be used as a guide only. It's an approximate indication of usage, not an exact indicator. For accuracy, rely on the meter.

As victor says, we'll gladly arrange for your meter to be tested but, if it isn't faulty, there's a charge for this. So, best to be sure before going down this route.

If your Direct Debit isn't covering the usage then, as others have said, the debt will continue to build. Talk to us about this. Going forward, it's really important to make sure the usage is covered.

We can also look at spreading any current balance over a longer period. This may make things a bit easier.

Hope this is of interest SandA. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc