please i need help urgently!

allan673

look at british gas websaver 1 for electric, hope its cheaper for you.
the bills are expensive, but so is electric heating. when my central heating broke down i had to use electric heaters and the meter was spinning like there was no tomorrow.
consider a calor gas heater? or maybe 2 of them.theyre cheap to run. you can pick them up fairly cheap too.or can you borrow one off someone? it will be cheaper than the electric heating bills your getting.

KimYeovil

Hmm. This is impudent of me, Allan673, but you can not work out how to read the comparison sites for your own use but you are able to suggest a tariff to someone else! :rotfl:

allan673

kim, i was stating in previous posts that i was getting mixed results and wanted/needed help and advice.
i can read comparison sites but each one has different results based on my postcode search!
this poster wants help too, and i simply stated that websaver 1 because it is cheaper than the standard bg tariff.

cadburyminiroll

i have done everything i have been asked to. letting agents have now taken one month and still no engineer to check the boiler/thermostat (which by the way i cannot find) i have no room stat, and regular phone calls to bg tell me i am using up about £200 a month in electricity which is only 5 hours of heating per day!

i never paid this amount in a whole year in the old place for both gas and elec combined let alone in one quarter, and the old place had draughty windows and an immersion heater only for hot water.....i am now facing a 1k bill since 23rd august, i just dont know what to do, its been so very cold, even with loads of clothes on and a fleece, i still end up putting the heating on, i have noticed i only need the boiler on for 30 mins to get scalding hot water from the taps and a decent shower, jeez what should i do?

Jubbs

Ok you need to do a couple of different things step by step.

1. Check that you are reading the right meter - alot of flats have meters in communal areas, they can often be mislabelled. Check the meter and all other meters in the area, if they are all moving, switch everything off (preferably at the fuse/counsumer unit). This will allow you to determine which meter is which. And that your meter is clocking round when there is no usage. I know it sounds basic but 'crossed meters' are quite common in flats.

2. systematically turn things on and keep checking the meter, this may take an hour or so but it is worth it. Turn one circuit on for say your lights, turn your lights on and check the meter 10 mins apart. then contiue to do your sockets and finally your heating, you should be able to identify what is using all the units (it will probably be the heating).

3. Like you have already mentioned, get advice on your heating whether that be from an engineer or from your supplier, they should be able to help in terms of what your heating should be using.

4. Finally if the above has not identified what you need to do, then raise a consumption dispute with you supplier and pay for a check meter to go in. This runs parrallel to your existing meter and ensures that your meter is recording correctly.

Hope this helps.

cadburyminiroll

thanks so much for all the advice, i have in fact done a burns test, and i have read the meter myself so i know the readings are correct. the letting agents are dragging their heels to get an engineer out, in the meantime bg are sending me weekly bills which are amounting to roughly £52 per week :eek: i am awaiting the engineer as i said, and then if that proves fruitless i have spoken to bg about getting a check meter installed which is £60.

i have never in a lot of years paid so much in fuel costs, i know prices have gone up but this is beyond ridiculous, even the energy website says i should be using £500 a year when i have doubled that since 23rd august 2008!
thankyou everyone for your advice i truly appreciate it

cadburyminiroll

heatrae sadia man been out, this is what my letting agent just e mailed me, does anyone know what is being reffered to and any consequence on electricity consumption please? the air thing doesnt sound right to me.....
He tested the system, it had lost the air it needs to have in the megaflow tank in the airing cupboard so he filled it with air again and he upped the water pressure on the little red tank in the airing cupboard so your water pressure should be better (?) also he fitted a new temperature switch cable as the one on your system was original and Megaflow had sent a statement to all their registered engineers to say that the original cables had a slight fault and if they came across one they were to change it, which he duly did.

He checked the system over, basically gave it a thorough service (we were there an hour) and said everything was fine and perhaps it may run slightly better now. I asked him about your big bill and he said that the system wasn't defunct in as much as it would affect your bill, it could be that the times at which you have your heating to come on (6.20am to 7am and 6pm to 11pm) may not fall in line with your energy suppliers cheaper tariff. He advised that you can get an 'Economy 18' tariff which basically allows you to have your heating on 3 times a day on a low rate - it may be worth speaking to your energy supplier about this.

Unfortunately mate it looks like you're going to have to pay the big bill. I would suggest maybe calling the energy supplier and asking them for a payment plan to pay it off, say £100 a month, then that way you don't have to find all the dosh in one go if money's tight at the moment. It's worth an ask at least.

I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news. Hopefully now your system is running more effectively. If you need any help with anything else just shout.
this is what i am left with, my bill now £1000 since august 08!!