£90 per month Gas for a 1 bed flat!!!!!!????

Sammyantha

We moved into our new home at the beginning of November.

1 bed, very small (two main rooms) top floor flat in a barn conversion. Our heating runs off LPG Calor gas, water and cooking are on electric.

So far we have paid over £500 in gas charges Nov - Feb, that's 4 months!!!!!

We share gas with the downstairs flat on a gentleman's agreement set up by landlord. They pay 63% of the bill as they have a bigger floorplan, we pay the rest.

Downstairs never use the heating but their cooker and hot water are gas powered.

It's not possible to switch to any other form of service as we live in the middle of nowhere (everyone has gas tanks in the garden!), and calor are now over 59ppl :eek:

When we moved in originally landlord said gas would equate to roughly £35 per month. I now think he meant IF WE DIDN'T USE IT!!!!!!!! I have just spoken with him and said we were not expecting a monthly gas bill of around £90 for a 1 BEDROOM FLAT!!! He said well sorry but that's the cost of gas.:mad:

We have the heating on maybe 3 hours per day max, but during that very cold and snowy spell a month or so ago we had it on up to 8 hours some days otherwise we would have frozen:eek:

There is a gap around front barn style door which blows an absolute gale (covered now with heavy curtain but still lets lots of air in), and the windows are rotting at the corners, again letting the cold in. There is no double glazing.

I just want to know.. is this normal? really? £90 per month for a 1 bed flat, with heating on 3 hours per day?:(

ColinFishwick

you posting in wrong forum I assume by mistake

cally6008

I just had my quarterly gas bill yesterday and it was £99 and that was for 4 months (?) so yep sumit wrong there.

Ypaymore

The Gas and Leccy Forum is here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

ColinFishwick

I paid last month £100 in gas (mains) so LPG will be a lot more, I wouldnt agree if it was me to shared usage but then looks like you were misled

Sammyantha

Yeah I reckon so.. big style

Yes LPG is more expensive than mains gas... but a 1 bed flat... how can we POSSIBLY use enough gas to cost £90 per month??? lol

Antispam

The only way you get this resolved if you think you are paying to much is to either cut down usage, agree with other tenant to pay less in percentage terms or give notice

You could in mean time try and draft proof a little but sounds like the building isnt very well insulated

Sammyantha wrote: »

Yeah I reckon so.. big style

Yes LPG is more expensive than mains gas... but a 1 bed flat... how can we POSSIBLY use enough gas to cost £90 per month??? lol

Portlandbill

Sammyantha wrote: »

how can we POSSIBLY use enough gas to cost £90 per month??? lol

Ask the Gas and Energy Geeks in the correct forum .

MrsTinks

If you're on bottled gas and the house isn't insulated then yeah I'd say it's possible... Price of bottled gas and oil has shot up and you can't exactly get a "capped" price for it like you can on mains gas...
Do check and make sure the hot water isn't switched on all day though - including downstairs!

gigglybug_2

Did you gave the suppliers the starting reading or did a lettings agency/landlord do it?? I had this issue and it was because I was paying for energy used before I moved in!

zarazara

It sunds about right to me. LPG is expensive and the weather has been increadably cold, barn conversions often lack decent insulation. I live in a tiny 2 bed old cottage and my heating bill is about £130 a month, thats oil,coal and wood, we have good loft insulation but nothing else due to the nature of the property.