British Gas- Please Help!!

Rockingit

Precisely! This is why we need to do a little bit of maths just to see what is going on. If you're neighbour is also genuinely having a similar problem then this is where a few alarm bells go off! Only plumbing leaks of it's own accord, electricity HAS to be used....but by whom and for what???

Email whatever you've got to me if you want, and I'll post back to the board for the benefit of everyone following. rockingit@hotmail.com.

Little_lion

Hi there- the meter reading is 70515 and the bill says I have used 5796 kWh between 26 October and 28th Feb- that doesnt sound at all right to me, what does everyone else think?

penrhyn

You appear to be using about 50 Kwh a day.
Two 2 Kw convector heaters on for 5 hours would account for around 20Kwh.
A 3 Kw Immersion on for 4 hours say 12 Kw, so those high users represent 32KwH so all you need to find is the balance of 18KwH which could be freezer, Fridge, cooker, Electric kettle etc.
Your best bet would be to take a weekly meter reading. Oh yes and make sure that with all your appliances switched of the meter is not turning.

matto

You should probably be on Economy 7. Your usage should therefore be broken down into nightime units used and daytime units used. You should also have two dials on your meter one for each I think.

When did you switch to British Gas?

Little_lion

matto wrote:

You should probably be on Economy 7. Your usage should therefore be broken down into nightime units used and daytime units used. You should also have two dials on your meter one for each I think.

When did you switch to British Gas?

Hi there, didnt switch to british gas, property is rented and that was the supplier when i moved in. I have lived there for 2 years and have always had the heaters/immersion on for that amount of time (apart from in summer) and my bills used to be £70-£80 a quarter- hence why I cant understand this bill! Not on economy 7- can I request that?

Surely its near on impossible to rack up £500 worth of electricity in a 1 bed flat when Im out all day? I also have gas fire and hob/cooker so often turn one of the heaters off completely.

Davidboy

Hi - I own a 1 bed flat, but slightly different to you in that I only live there part time, but I have 3 night storage heaters plus the immersion, I pay £24 per month and on economy 7 with SSE. I still use the washing machine and cook, and when I am not there I still keep 2 rads on to keep the place warm.


D

matto

It is possible to use quite a lot of electricity for storage heaters and immersion heater. Over a quarter in the winter they could easily use 3000 kWh worth. At standard rates that's £300. Most of that usage could be night time rate on Economy 7 which would be £100 worth.

According to uswitch the average annual use for someone in your position would be about £450 but this is only a very rough guide.

Economy 7 may require a new meter to be installed and there could be a charge for fitting.

You could try daily readings but I'm not sure they'd be that helpful other than to confirm you really are using that much, and with spring around the corner (hopefully) your usage should drop off quite soon.

I would just try and observe the meter. Check its not whizzing round when it shouldn't be. If it is turn things off and try and find what makes a difference. Check the timers on storage heaters and immersion heaters. Turn everything off and check the meter barely turns.

Rockingit

The meter should not turn at all if you are not using anything. If you are to do this test, which is a really good idea, then make sure you have literally UNPLUGGED everything in the place, so it's a good idea to do it in daylight!!

Also, make sure that the immersion is fully turned off at the mains switch as well, not just the timer. This might be your best place to check for a fault - a standard emersion would use 3kwh per hour, so if the thermostat or timer has become faulty then it could soon rack up a big bill without you knowing. If it is faulty, then you might want to check who is liable for the expense - you or your landlord.

Whilst I broadly agree with Penrhyn's assumptions, I would be amazed if you could clock up 20kwh per day on a small selection of white goods, the electrical maths just doesn't stack up.

Rockingit

Little_lion wrote:

Hi there- the meter reading is 70515 and the bill says I have used 5796 kWh between 26 October and 28th Feb- that doesnt sound at all right to me, what does everyone else think?

If you're last meter reading was 64719, or thereabouts, then that figure is 'true', otherwise it is definitely wrong. Remember that the meter belongs to the electricty board, not you, so if you have reasonable cause to think something is wrong it is their responsibility to do something about it.

Little_lion

I have switched everything off inc immersion and switched them on gradually to see what was using the most. Immersion itself doesnt make the dial spin particularly so don't think thats the culprit.

The daily readings show I am using approx 15 units a day (and its cold atm so a fairly good estimation) I have finally found someone at British Gas who agrees that something is up (as average daily consumption on my bills in the last 6 months is 80 units!) so they want to send someone out to test the meter.

Hopefully it'll be fairly straight forward and they won't end up costing me the callout fee