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Help to Understand Bill. Thanks.
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I'm sorry if I sound like an idiot but I've just contacted my gas/electric company over a new bill after giving accurate readings. Anyway, the original bill was for £359.21 (£342.11 ex vat) on gas. 673(cm) = 7494 kWh. First 2651 at 8.360p next 4843 at 2.488p. Bill estimate reading was for date 16/2/10. I phoned up with my gas reading which was less than the gas they stated I'd used. My real reading was 599(cm) = 6670kWh. First 3126 at 8.360p next 3544 at 2.488p = £366.97 (£349.50 ex VAT) dated from 11/3/10. I've used less gas but been charged more. They told me it's because I get charged daily and that my next bill will be less, fat lot of good that'll be when I'm using less gas as it gets warmer. Would it have been better not to give the reading? The woman was really quite rude and spoke to me like I was some idiot because I had no idea what she was talking about (I may be an idiot but no need to make it so obvious lol).
I'll fully admit I have no idea what my gas bill even means. My electric bill worked out about £100 less with my new readings but my gas bill went up. Is anyone here less stupid than me to at least looked at it and tell me if it's correct. If they are right I'll pay it. I'm with Npower and I pay my bills quarterly by paper bill. I know I'm probably paying the highest way you can but as I live month to month I have to juggle the finances to pay everything, this way I can stretch the payment to as late as possible rather than a big chunk each month direct debit. If you need any more information then I can give you that.
I'll fully admit I have no idea what my gas bill even means. My electric bill worked out about £100 less with my new readings but my gas bill went up. Is anyone here less stupid than me to at least looked at it and tell me if it's correct. If they are right I'll pay it. I'm with Npower and I pay my bills quarterly by paper bill. I know I'm probably paying the highest way you can but as I live month to month I have to juggle the finances to pay everything, this way I can stretch the payment to as late as possible rather than a big chunk each month direct debit. If you need any more information then I can give you that.
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Comments
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npower bills can be quite confusing and the reason is the higher rate units are seasonally adjusted. They are allowed to charge up to 4572kWh per annum at the higher rate. These are charged daily but not at a flat rate.
Nov, Dec, Jan & Feb are each charged at 882kWh per month.
March @272kWh
April, Oct @ 271kWh
May, Jun, July,Aug, Sept @ 46kWh
Although your new reading and bill showed less total kWh, because it was over a longer period more of the units were charged at the higher rate.
12 days in Feb @ 31.5kWh per day and 11 days in March @ 8.77kWh per day were of course not shown on your estimated bill but are included on the new bill because of the revised date of the reading you gave them.
For example if your next qtrly bill is from 11/3/10 to say 10/6/10 it should show no more than 507kWh at the high rate.
20 Days in March =175kWh
April = 271kWh
May = 46kWh
10 Days in June = 15kWh
Hope this makes sense to you.0 -
DirectDebacle wrote: »npower bills can be quite confusing and the reason is the higher rate units are seasonally adjusted. They are allowed to charge up to 4572kWh per annum at the higher rate. These are charged daily but not at a flat rate.
Nov, Dec, Jan & Feb are each charged at 882kWh per month.
March @272kWh
April, Oct @ 271kWh
May, Jun, July,Aug, Sept @ 46kWh
Although your new reading and bill showed less total kWh, because it was over a longer period more of the units were charged at the higher rate.
12 days in Feb @ 31.5kWh per day and 11 days in March @ 8.77kWh per day were of course not shown on your estimated bill but are included on the new bill because of the revised date of the reading you gave them.
For example if your next qtrly bill is from 11/3/10 to say 10/6/10 it should show no more than 507kWh at the high rate.
20 Days in March =175kWh
April = 271kWh
May = 46kWh
10 Days in June = 15kWh
Hope this makes sense to you.0 -
Yes, I kind of understand that. You're much nicer than that bloody woman lol. When do their years start? It just seems that if I look at the back of my bill it says I can only be charged 882 units from Nov to to Feb, and 272 units from March. As my new bill dates from 17/11/09 until 11/3/10 how come they've charged me the high rate for 3126 units, shouldn't it be 1154 at most? I'm really sorry if I'm not getting it, and I do appreciate what you've already told me as it makes it a little clearer already.0
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The unit to Kwh conversion factor is approx x11.13. The way they work it out is more complicated, but that factor will get you near enough.No free lunch, and no free laptop0
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When do their years start? It just seems that if I look at the back of my bill it says I can only be charged 882 units from Nov to to Feb, and 272 units from March. As my new bill dates from 17/11/09 until 11/3/10 how come they've charged me the high rate for 3126 units, shouldn't it be 1154 at most? I'm really sorry if I'm not getting it, and I do appreciate what you've already told me as it makes it a little clearer already.
There is a 74 page thread discussing npowers year! It used to be of a variable length.
From Aug. 2008 it is defined as any continuous period of 12 months. So 12 months after you joined them will be your anniversary date.I think I see where I'm going wrong, I'm mixing up units with KWH. God, no wonder that woman was so rude. I'd still like to know how many units they've used for each month,they just put it in a big blob.
The big blob is the total kWh you use over the period of the bill. This is split into two smaller blobs one is the amount that is charged at the more expensive rate and the remainder is charged at the cheaper rate.
Your gas meter reads in either cubic feet or cubic metres. The readings have to be converted into kWh as gas is priced per kWh. It will tell you on the back of the bill how to convert cu.ft or mtrs to kWh.
Next thing npower do is work out how many kWh will be charged at the higher rate
For your bill 17/11/09-11/3/10 it would be done like this.
November has 882kWh allocated as shown on the bill and in my previous reply.
Divide by 30 for the daily rate = 29.4 kWh per day.
Days in Nov. on your bill = 13 (30-17)
High rate kWh for Nov. = 29.4*13 = 382kWh (round to whole no.)
Dec. = 882kWh
Jan. = 882kWh
Feb. = 882kWh
Mar. = 272/31 = 8.77kWh per day
11 days in March on your bill = 11*8.77 = 96kWh
Add them up, 382,882,882,882,96 = 3124kWh
Simples!:rotfl:
Total High rate units on your bill = 3124kWh. Remainder charged at the lower rate. i.e. The Big Blob - 3124. Pretty good for npower. I think they got 3126 from rounding up instead of down.
To check if you have been charged more than 4572kWh at the high rate then you need to total the high rate units charged over a period of a year.0 -
Thank you both for your replies, especially DD for that detailed breakdown. Yes, it's very simple to understand - if you have a degree in maths. lol. I'm sorry I didn't thank you earlier but I've not been on the site.
One good thing is that I did phone Npower and ask how many high rate kWhs I've been charged for in the last twelve months and it was over the 4572. The guy said it was because the bills were for just over 12 months, but it was for roughly 4850 ( I don't have the exact figure to hand). I've asked for a complete breakdown of my 12 month period including my start dates. Even if I don't get any money back I'll at least give them some work to do. The guy said he'd never been asked this before. Really.
If they've overcharged me on those high rates I owe you a pint DD.0
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