Gas Bill Help

andrea6352

Last year for this winter quarter we were paying npower approx £70 per month. We switched to British Gas and had a new boiler installed although our old boiler was working fine but British Gas told us that by putting in a new boiler we could reduce our bills by up to £600 per annum. We also had new loft insulation installed under the Warm Front scheme for people on benefits. We only use gas for heating, water, and cooking. We only have the heating on for 3 hrs in the morning and 3 hrs in the evening and we set the thermostat at 17 degrees. We have double glazing. There are only two of us in the house and we live in a small 2 1/2 bedroomed house.

This quarter our gas bill was over £130 per month - nearly double what we were paying before. What could have happened? We are on Disability Living Allowance and Carers Allowance and cannot really afford to pay this enormous increase. We just do not know what to do! Can you offer any advice or help?


Andrea

Magentasue

It may be that you, like many others, have been caught out by the cold winter this year. However, worth checking:

- Are the meter readings estimated or actual? Some of this quarter's bill may be due to underestimated previously.

- Are BG charging you for metric or imperial meter units? Which does your meter measure in? Check this thread if you're not sure:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1216033

Premier_2

Even if you had used the same amount of gas, if it had cost you £70 last year you should have expected it to cost almost £110 this year. BG increased the price of their gas by 55% in 2008

That combined with a colder winter means it doesn't surprise me that it ended up costing you £130 this year.

If you were paying £70pm last year, that equates to £840 per year even assuming you paid the same amount in summer. Didn't you think it odd that a new boiler would knock over 70% off that annual bill? I suspect in reality if you were only paying £70 per month in winter, your annual bill was less than £600. Still the BG salesman secured a sale of a hugely overpriced boiler by telling you that porkie, so he's probably earnt enough commission to pay his own gas bill. :cool: