Challenging Electric Bill from nPower

pevil

That's good to know at least, thanks for that We don't particularly wish to keep on funding nPower now... hehe. I'll keep looking into it, thanks again

I have to say you must be some kind of martyr, to do this for your job and then come on here in your spare time as well!

WhistleBlower

I'm no martyr. I just hate what they're doing to their customers. *shrugs*

I know i can probably be of help to a few people, i think of this as paying off some bad karma for working where i do.

pevil

Don't know if this will help anyone and, of course, I realise that with it being estimates all the way in between sept/sept it's probably not incredibly useful, but I've worked out our supposed monthly rates (overestimating as I go) according to this bill.

Sep - Oct = £140
Oct - Nov = £140
Nov - Dec = £90
Dec - Jan = £90
Jan - Feb = £153
Feb - Mar = £153
Mar - Apr = £153
Apr - May = £153
May - Jun = £153
Jun - Jul = £153
Jul - Aug = £153
Aug - Sep = £93

Now having more electric being used over summer is not, to my mind, particularly accurate. We had the heaters on Jan/Feb only but Mar - Aug we've only had the consumption I mentioned above. (referenced below - with possibly a bit more pc useage before this bill came through)

"We've had everything but the fridge switched off unless using it. We have energy saving bulbs, I use a pc maybe... 4 hours a day (from 6am - 8am and then again from 7.30pm til 9.30/10pm), flatmate uses his maybe 6 hours a day, if not he uses a console 6 hours a day (6pm til midnight for him). We've probably used the shower... 21 times in those 3 weeks. Used the washing machine 3 times, the dryer 3 times. Cooker for 20 minutes... well lets say once a day, so 21 times. I think that pretty much sums it up."

Also don't know if this is any use, but according to this link http://www.aepuk.com/need_info.php#3 average household consumption is 4,478units per annum. Ours is coming out at 3.42 times as much; 15316 according to the bill. Even if our immersion heater and electric shower aren't very economic, is this possible?

Magentasue

pevil wrote: »

Don't know if this will help anyone and, of course, I realise that with it being estimates all the way in between sept/sept it's probably not incredibly useful

I can't see it's any use at all unless you've read the meter yourself and can show any actual use.

You say you've used 279 units in about three weeks. That's about 13 units a day which seems fair enough for what you describe.

Suggests your storage heaters are responsible - they are horrendously expensive to run, even if used in moderation over the winter. I suggest you take daily readings with an without heaters and compare.

1carminestocky

WhistleBlower is IMO a great addition to this forum; as per the Forum T&Cs he clearly states in every post that he is involved in the energy industry, even stating which company he works for, plus his posts are genuinely informative. A lesson for others IMO.

diddydiner

if i were you i would get a electricity monitor for now just to check each appliance. this is what im doing at the moment. my usage is never right . off hand guessing 12000 units a year, 3 bed no one home, average amount of washing showers etc. i havnt been happy with my electric bills since i had a new meter put in 7 years ago clocked up 2000 units again in the last few months, and i have realy cut back and havnt really used anything., that spun me to start looking into now.even each electric board and electricians dont understand why its so much. i had electrics tested but ok. im looking to have meter checked when i got a spare 80. i think that they say older appliances use more electricity. landlord ought to upgrade on the heating system SKINFLINT.

pevil

Magentasue wrote: »

I can't see it's any use at all unless you've read the meter yourself and can show any actual use.

You say you've used 279 units in about three weeks. That's about 13 units a day which seems fair enough for what you describe.

Suggests your storage heaters are responsible - they are horrendously expensive to run, even if used in moderation over the winter. I suggest you take daily readings with an without heaters and compare.

It would suggest that... if we'd used heaters. We haven't had the heaters on since February But thanks either way!

diddydiner, sounds like your place is as good as ours for old wiring We're definately looking into getting one of those electric monitors, had them recommended by a few people now. Yet another expense we can't afford but, at the end of the day, I'd rather add that tiny sum into the debts and know if it is right/wrong than just blindly pay

Magentasue

pevil wrote: »

It would suggest that... if we'd used heaters. We haven't had the heaters on since February But thanks either way!

That's the point! You've only been using 13 units a day over the last three weeks and not using the heaters.

This would suggest that your high use in the past has been due to the storage heaters.

pevil

yeah realised what you meant after I left this page earlier. Ssssh That certainly works out nicer for units/annum though (4745) but the bill would still seem high for what we used to use (about £1200). Still, improvement over £1600 that's for sure!

Either way, headed down to Citizens Advice Bureau tomorrow, see what they say. And of course do all the checks on the meter/wiring/efficiency of our items as best we can. I'll keep you all updated, thanks again all, been great helps

SwanJon

pevil,
if there is an appliance in the house that is malfunctioning you'd need to take it up with the landlord, not npower.
The electricity has still been used so they'll still charge you for it.
If you're on E7, have you checked that they have the readings the right way round? (check which reading is moving in the middle of the day). Do the heaters come on at night when it is cheaper, or are they burning the expensive electricity?