£7000 Gas Bill! Please help

MrLarge

Having ignored E:ON since November last year I rang up with a meter reading yesterday only to be told by a slightly shocked woman that would generate a bill of £7000!

An engineer is coming out next week to check the meter but reading other posts the meter never seems to be the problem. A 7k bill would be a massive problem so really could use some advice on how to prepare for what’s coming.

3 bed house, me and two tenants, heating been off all summer, fully double glazed, solid concrete construction.

The last time I left it for longer I had to pay a £700 lump sum but 7k!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

rsykes2000

November last year is only 9 months. To use £777 per month at E.on's current Saveonline3 tariff would mean using approx 27,000 kWh / month.
Average gas consumption / year is apparently approx 25,000 kWh / year (from http://www.gare.co.uk/gas.htm). So either you are very used to the smell of escaping gas, have an industrial kitchen in one of the rooms or there is a meter reading error...

Dave101t

dont ignore eon

chasingsunshine_2

Had you paid all previous bills, up to November? Presumably they'd sent you bills since November so how to they compare?
Could some of it be charges for not paying when due?

MrLarge

I've been paying £85 per month for both, far too little I appreciate but not so little to have run up 7k

anniecave

when was the last time the meter was actually read by a meter reader and what was the reading then?
and what is the reading now?
have you ever read the meter before? If so when and what was it?

Was november the previous time you paid a bill or when you moved into the property or when you changed from another supplier?

MrLarge

I've been in for 3 years and the last actual meter reading was last November. Working full time I always miss the door knocker and never get round to calling them.

I'm paying DD at £85 for gas and electric

November may have been when I switched from Npower

chasingsunshine_2

Cant see that you could have built up that sum then, must be a mistake somewhere along the line. I guess you'll have to wait and see what they say when they come out next week, presumably you wont have had heating on over the summer either so a bill anywhere near that would be pretty hard to do. perhaps the previous reading had been entered incorrectly.
Hope you get an answer and its sorted out for you

MrLarge

Thanks, I'll wait and hope for the best next week.

penrhyn

As a first off check whether your gas meter is metric M3, or Imperial 100cuft.
Then check that your bills are using the appropriate units.

Do you have the final bill from npower?

MX5huggy

What are the meter readings?

Last November and now?