My energy company has charged £650 for one months gas, usual cost £85

FaFa_4

Hi guys,

I need some advice. I'm on a fixed rate contract with Scottish Power where I pay £85 a month, but my latest bill was for £650. When I called the customer service centre they said this was due to 'increased usage' and that I was liable to pay.

I live in a (tiny) 2 bedroom flat, with a flatmate who is at school all day and I am at work all day.

I'm not sure how we could have possibly used £650 of gas in one month but I can't prove that we haven't. Is there any way to either prove our usage was not this high or to argue that we are on a fixed rate contract and therfore should not be charged variable amounts? I've tried the common sense approach with the service centre but I'm not getting anywhere.

Thanks very much in advance

laurence_2

Hi I am new to this forum since I retired and have noticed a consistency with most posters who want help.

They don't post enough information.

Sorry, on the information posted you will just get a lot of answers that will be supposition.


Laurence

KimYeovil

You haven't used £650 in one month - you just have been using more than £85 over previous months. This is a catch-up bill. Read your meter and compare that reading with the readings on your earlier bills.

And fixed-rate means the price per kWh is fixed for a period of time - it does not mean you get to use an unlimited quantity of energy for the one flat price.

macman

Or, to put it more bluntly, post your usage and the no. of days this covers, plus your tariff.
Were the opening and closing readings estimated or actual?
The size of the bill is irrelevant, it's the usage that needs to be checked. If the meter says you have used x units, that is what you have used, unless the meter is faulty.

Cardew

FaFa wrote: »

or to argue that we are on a fixed rate contract and therfore should not be charged variable amounts? I've tried the common sense approach with the service centre but I'm not getting anywhere.

When firms started paying wages into a bank, some workers had to have, for the first time in their lives, a cheque book.

There is a well documented story of someone stating to his bank manager that he couldn't possibly have no money left in his account as he had several cheques left in his cheque book!

It is a similar argument to state that a fixed tariff contract for gas should mean you pay a fixed monthly payment;)

Scottish_Power

Hi FaFa

Thanks for posting your query and sorry to hear about your current situation. You have been given some good advice already which should help you identify what has been happening with your account.

If we have been unable to gain access to your propoerty to confirm the correct meter reading, it is possible that we have been estimating your account for a period of time. This may mean that the £85 you were paying was not sufficient to cover what you were actually using.

Couple of questions for you to consider:

Did you use a lot more gas this winter due to the extreme weather?
When was the last time your gas account was billed to an accurate meter reading? (Check previous bills for confirmation)

This does seem like a large balance to accrue as we review Direct Debit payments on a regular basis. I would be keen to investigsate this for you to see exactly what has happened with your account.

Contact me directly with the relevant details if you want me to help.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower