Hot Tub Running Costs

f1owers

Hi. This is my first post so please be gentle.

I admit that a hot tub in our garden is not the best money saving idea, but I am hoping that someone will be able to advise the best way forward in dealing with the company we purchased it from.

Our tub was purchased in late September, delivererd early November. £1750 was paid on credit card and the balance (another £1750) on debit card. Prior to purchase we looked around and ultimately decided on a specific tub. The ad on the website indicated that "the approximate electrical running costs WILL BE £9 per month" (note: not should be)

Our electricity bill landed (with a thud) two weeks ago. Looking at our bill for the same period last year, the tub is costing us £60 per month to run ontop of our normal usage. :eek:

On speaking to the company, they state that they estimate between £9 and £15 per month. Being on the cautious side, we budgeted £20 per month.

I was on the 'phone to the tub company within 30 minutes of the bill landing. After many tense 'phone calls, we finally had two engineers come out on Friday to install a further insulation layer. During the week, prior to the further insultation, we took a 24 hr meter reading which showed 40 units of consumption. Following the further insulation, we took another 24 hr reading which still shows a 40 unit consumption over a 24hr period.

Please could anyone advise where to go from here. What redress can we get from the company. How are we coverered re credit card protection?

At the end of the day, when we decided to purchase a tub, we knew that it would hike our electricity bill. I thought £20 per month would have been sufficient bearing in mind the £9 advertised. We are now in the position that no matter how much we like our tub, we cannot afford to run it! Had we known that it would cost £60 per month we would never have purchased it. It would be like buying a Hummer to drive and being told it would do 40mpg!

Any advice gratefully received!

Flower

boogiemaster

You should always look at the specs of an item before buying it, if its 4.7 kilowatt then it’s going to use some power.
They could say that the £9 per month was just an estimate suing it once a week not every day.
You could also call trading standards and see if they can do something under false advertising.
Does the £9 a month say using it every day for so many hours a day? If it doesn’t then where do they get their estimates from?
Get in touch with trading standards and the citizen advice bureau
The hummer is heavy and won’t do that much to the gallon; I doubt it will even do 40mpg more like 15-20 if you’re lucky

gavinp

Is the tub on a timed switch or on 24 hours a day ?

Is it possible to use cheap rate "Economy 7" overnight electricity to heat it ?

How long does it take to heat up from cold ?

Thanks

Gavin

jfdi

Ours costs about £25 to £30 a month (at current prices!, not Economy 7) to run - not a lot of difference between summer & winter.

It's a 3kw heater, and we have 37 degrees as our preferred temp. However, there is a 'stand-by' function where it cools off a bit (down to about 30 degrees) - we just have to remember to put it back to normal about 1hr before use!

Ours is a Spa-form, locally made - is yours British? I know a lot are imported.

A

Nile

Hello f1owers


Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

lisyloo

Hi F1owers,

I am not a lawyer but I do think you have a strong legal case because
a) you have evidence of what they said (do you have that in writing?) or can you prove it's advertise (if it's on a web site print it out before it's removed).
b) you have evidence of what it's using.

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance?
Do you have a legal helpline?

If so use them.
If not then you will pobably find that you need to make a small claim in the county court.
I think you have a very strong case.
You can find plenty of info on this by googling but you will need to write to them and ask for a refund if they cannot fix the hot tub in X days (make it reasonable), otherwise you will recoup the costs in the county court.

For those that don't know about hot tubs, they stay on ALL the time.
They are heavily insulated.
They also run a filter cycle at certain invtervals.
You cannot switch then off (or bacterial will multilply).
I would say that £60 per month is excessive.
Mine costs about £15-£20 per month which I think is more usual (although it was more expensive to begin with).

[Deleted User]

Cost obviously depends on Kw per hour ie the number of Ww x the number of hours used. Don`t forget the heating up time. No legal case here as the wattage will be displayed on the unit. No doubt the insulation level is mentioned somewhere on the literature. A case of buyer beware

lisyloo

Cost obviously depends on Kw per hour ie the number of Ww x the number of hours used.

I don't think it's a simple multiplication.

A hot tub is like a fridge, freezer or central heating system (or any other device controlled by a thermostat).

Once it's reached the correct temperature then the heating side of it will switch off (although filtering may still be going).

I can't see how it's a simple multiplication as most of the time it's off.
I think some people don't understand how hot tubs work (no offence intended to anyone).
You don't just switch them on when you use them - they are on ALL the time but heating goes on and off like it does in a centrally heated room.

Obviously if you use it a lot then it will require more heat (because whe you're in it and the lids off then the water cools faster) but in my experience (had one for 2 years) this doesn't make a great deal of difference.

I think there is a case here, but if free legal advice if available via a free helpline (on house ins or possibly car insurance) then this should be the first port of call as we are not lawyers.
I have a car insurance policy once (with a company called DAS) where the legal advice covered ANY matter not jsut motoring.
Get checking those plicies for free professional advice.

f1owers

Hi and many thanks for the replies I have received.

Apart from still taking regular meter readings, we have had lengthy discussions with a family friend who works for one of the large firms of credit cards, and who has advised on where to go and how we are coverered re Sale of Goods Act, mis-selling, misrepresentation, goods not as described

Running costs today are slightly down - 34 units for 24hrs use instead of 40 units (that is for the whole house!). Perhaps the new layer of insulation needed to get up to temperature to be effective?? Only time will tell. I have also had tips about setting the temperature slightly lower and then upping it prior to use.

Ideally I want our running costs down to a maximum of £20 per month during the winter. Should we have no joy with the company concerned, we shall go down the legal road, return the tub, and shop around for another one.

Again, many thanks!

Flower

jennifernil

If you are using 34 units for the whole house that is £2.55 per day at the price we pay today. Remember electricity costs have risen a lot lately so you need to compare units not price with what you used before you got the tub.
If you use £2.55 every day that is about £930 per annum.
We have 2 heated greenhouses , run 3 fridges and 3 freezers, ( we have a "granny flat") and use the tumble drier a lot. We spend over £1050 per annum on electricity. If you want to run a lot of stuff you must expect it to cost a bit.

totalguitar

Spa Bath

This one on Ebay claims £6pm running costs if kept at a constant temp. How does yours compare in specification ?