heeeeeeeeelp!!!

shelleyntravis

I have just recieved my electricity bill through. It is an amazing 1174 pounds. I have storage heating throughout my house, which i know costs more. The bill is from 3rd Dec to 9th March. I do expect the bill to be larger through the xmas period but not by this much. My bills are usually 200 each time they come in.

I have had problems with my heatin with 1 radiator nearly going on fire and the other being too hot to touch when set on a low heat.
The council have only replaced one and say i have only complained about 1.

The electricity company say that i have to take readings for a weeks to prove that its was the radiators as they are now switched off. They have also said i have to contact citizens advise as i could possibly fight the council as they own the property.

I am confused, stressed and very upset!!!!!!!!

Shelley,
Aberdeenshire

Magentasue

I'm not sure what your question is. You are correct in thinking that storage heaters use a lot of electricity and you are probably also correct in thinking that the faulty heater(s) used even more than they should have. As you have been told, a week's readings will tell you what your normal use is and you can then judge what your normal winter use is. If you use a tumble dryer you need to add a few units on and if you have halogen spotlights, you could add another unit a day for winter. The excess is your heating - if you were in the house last year, you should be able to estimate how many units you use in winter months with the heating working properly.

I would definitely seek advice and gather together evidence of when you contacted the council, when they sent someone to repair the heater etc.

shelleyntravis

what should i do to try sort out this problem????

Magentasue

Well, I would think that firstly, you need to make sure that you're not still using too much electricity and the meter readings will tell you that. If you are still using more than you should, you need to find out why.

Assuming the faulty storage heaters were responsible, the supplier will still want paying. After all, you used the energy. If you used a lot of it before you noticed the heaters were faulty, I would think you were liable. If you informed the council and turned the heaters off, yet they still drew energy, maybe the council should make a contribution since you did all you could to stop the energy being used. If the council took weeks to repair the heaters and you continued to used them, there may be grounds for some compensation. If the council repaired them speedily, they will probably argue it's your responsibility to settle the bill. Presumably, your account is on hold while you establish your readings - until you know for sure what caused the huge bill, I can't see what you can do.

Once you know the heaters were responsible (if they were), you need to think back and reason who should be liable.