HELP PLEASE We are being charged £120 a month for our electricity :(

iamahat

Hi im new to this ( i only joined today) but i really need help or advice. We moved into our flat just over a year ago at first we were being charged £30 a month for electricity( we are all elec no gas) after 6 months they told us we were in massive debt and needed to pay £150 a month, we couldnt afford this so agreed to pay £60 now within a 6 months it has gone up to £120 a month :eek: and they refuse to lower it- we live in a smallish studio flat where the heating is barely ever on (and hasnt been on atall for at least 3 months) we only use the washing machine once a week and we dont have a tumble drier, apart from the computer being on alot and the tv we really dont use that much electricity - we have phoned up to complain but we just get told this is about average for an electricity bill, we have made sure the boiler and everything is switched off at the wall and delibrately didnt use heating in the winter just wrapped up in the duvet - i think now we are about £300 in debt to them. They refuse to come out to check the meter is ok and even when we've manually read the meter to them it hasnt made a differance. We cant install a pay as you go meter as its rented accomadation and the landlord won't allow it. I really want to swtitch companies or at least get this whole mess sorted out - does anybody have any advice they can offer

molerat

Firstly have you been taking regular meter reads. Do you know how many kWh you are using. Where in the property is your meter located, if in a communal area are you sure it is your meter, does the serial number tally with that on the bill. Was the opening read when you moved in correct ?

You can do a check of the meter yourself. Turn everything in the flat off. Check the meter is not moving, this will show that you are the only ones using power from that meter. A digital meter has a flashing light and an analogue meter has a spinning wheel to indicate power is being drawn. Plug in something like a 1 bar electric fire and leave on for 20 minutes. This will use 0.3 units in that time. This will give you an indication of the accuracy of the meter. You need to be pro-active to sort out your probems. The utility companies will do very little to help unless you can prove something is wrong.

£30 a month is about average for a property that does not use electric for heat or water. You were paying way below what you needed to cover the cost. By keeping the new payment low you were just covering what you were using and not eating into the debt. You need to take readings and work out what you are using and arrange a payment plan to pay back the debt. You will not be able to change supplier with a debit balance but you may be able to change to a cheaper tarrif with your current supplier.

Sorry I have given you more questions than answers but we need to start somewhere

iamahat

our meter is in the basement of a communal flat the serial numbers do match on the bill and meter - however we've had alot of problems with cross readings with the water meter - the water company aer still trying to figure out which flat has which meter :S. Our (my partener and i) next plan was to switch everything off - once my boyfriend went downstairs when the heating was on and e said the meter was ticking round like a clock

1stdayofmylife

Hi,
I paid £35 per quater with edf 2bed apartment all electriciaty, like you I had the heating on very little and have usage like you, but I do live alone. I have recently switched to Scottish Power and pay £8 per month. So to me your usage seems very high.

Can you use a comparision site uswitch etc and put in the number of units you are using to find a better deal. I know you can't swap company whilst in debt, but it might help give you a realsitic idea of what you should be paying; or contact your company and see if there is a better tariff.

Hope this helps.

cybergibbons

1stdayofmylife wrote: »

Hi,
I paid £35 per quater with edf 2bed apartment all electriciaty, like you I had the heating on very little and have usage like you, but I do live alone. I have recently switched to Scottish Power and pay £8 per month. So to me your usage seems very high.

It sounds a lot like your direct debit is too low. That's only about 60 units in a month - 720 in a year, compared to the average for a two bed of 4000. You're likely to be stung by a big increase at some point.

Scottish_Power

Hi 1stdayofmylife

I too would be sceptical of this payment amount with you living in a 2 bedroomed all electric property. cybergibbons has provided you with estimated consumption figures that you can use to compare against. I would suggest making a note of your meter readings exactly 7 days apart. For this level of payment to be sufficient you would need to consume around 20 kWh in the 7 days.

Let me know how you get on.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower

DVardysShadow

iamahat wrote: »

our meter is in the basement of a communal flat the serial numbers do match on the bill and meter - however we've had alot of problems with cross readings with the water meter - the water company aer still trying to figure out which flat has which meter :S. Our (my partener and i) next plan was to switch everything off - once my boyfriend went downstairs when the heating was on and e said the meter was ticking round like a clock

That is what you must do - find your main switch, put on some load, observe the meter registering supply and then turn off at the main switch, making sure that the load you have stops running and the meter stops registering

1stdayofmylife

cybergibbons wrote: »

It sounds a lot like your direct debit is too low. That's only about 60 units in a month - 720 in a year, compared to the average for a two bed of 4000. You're likely to be stung by a big increase at some point.

Hi 1stdayofmylife

I too would be sceptical of this payment amount with you living in a 2 bedroomed all electric property. cybergibbons has provided you with estimated consumption figures that you can use to compare against. I would suggest making a note of your meter readings exactly 7 days apart. For this level of payment to be sufficient you would need to consume around 20 kWh in the 7 days.

Let me know how you get on.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower


Thank you both for your concerns, I didn't mean to hijack someone else's thread; but I have lived here for a year and my usage is correct. I spent £120 on electricity last year and on this usage, Scottish Power set up the direct debit for £8. I. am on Economy 7 Tariff, however since Scottish Power have now put their prices up it may not be enough.

Again thank you for your concerns.

1stday

cybergibbons

1stdayofmylife wrote: »

Thank you both for your concerns, I didn't mean to hijack someone else's thread; but I have lived here for a year and my usage is correct. I spent £120 on electricity last year and on this usage, Scottish Power set up the direct debit for £8. I. am on Economy 7 Tariff, however since Scottish Power have now put their prices up it may not be enough.

You need to tell us what the secret is. That's only 90 days with 4Kw of heating on for 2 hours a day. Using an oven for just an hour a week will use 150 units in the year. A quick (<2minute) shower under a low power electric shower will use 100 units in the year.

It's just not very useful when someone asks about typical usage - their's is very high, but yours is exceptionally low.

specialsparky

Not sure about the Prepayment meter issue. Check with your agreement if it is not specified that you can't fit a PP meter then look into it. The contract is between you and the supplier and has nothing to do with the Landlord.
If your supplier can fit a PP meter then they will load the debt for you

neas

Tvs eat alot of electricity if left on alot. how long is the tv on? Also the winter was quite cold so electric heating was prob doing overtime.