think i'm paying way too much... help?

moltaylor

Hi, I'm in my first rented property with my partner.

We were on n powers DD scheme where we paid 60 per month for gas and electric. They sent me a statement the other day that said we were 400 in debit to them!!!! I was shocked by this as I assumed my 60 was covering my gas and electric. Anyway, we've used this much so we'll pay it off.

What worries me is I asked to pay my direct debit at an amount that would actually cover what I'm using and they said it would be 173 per month! I think this is totally ridiculous, even with the price rises, it still seems like a lot!

We live in a 3 bed house, just 2 of us, out all of the day time. We shut off 2 of hte bedrooms and dont heat them or have anything electric on in them. We don't heat our bathroom, so just heat our kitchen, lounge and bedroom. We dont leave things on standby and dont have a dishwasher or tumble dryer, and dont use electric heaters. Plus we only run the heating for around 12 hours a day, and not hot as we're careful about wearing more clothes instead!

Where am I going wrong!!!!??? As I can't afford 173 per month, not on my wages anyway!

Help, please! What are others paying? Is this too much or is this average?

Any help is much appreciated,

Molly xx

Magentasue

What you need to know is how much gas and electricity you're using. You'll use less gas in the summer and, probably less electricity too, although the difference won't be so great. Read your meters for a couple of days, and post how many meters you use in a day. Once you have an idea of how much you're likely to use in the next few months, you can work out how much you need to pay. This time next year, you'll know where you are.

dannymccann

The £173 will be being paid for what you asked - to cover the debt and you average usage a month

KimYeovil

How long does the £400 cover? How many £60s? Even if it's one quarter, £580 divided by three is £193.

If you can't afford the £173 then you can switch to quarterly payments. But that means finding more than £173 per month in winter. And it means finding £400 to pay off the balance.

As you have just moved in neither party has a historical record of how much less you will be using when it's warmer. However, the debit will probably be lowered in spring.

At least Christmas is over. Knuckle down and keep an eye on the meters in future.