British gas £1 per hour of heating?

aesir22

Hi all,

I live in a small 3 bed terrace. We have stupid pay as you go meters because of the previous tenant. I asked to switch to proper bills but they said it would make no difference to the price.

I put £20 on the meter this time yesterday. I checked again today and nearly £4 has gone!! I have only had the heating on for 4 hours in that period. So I rang British Gas and they said yes, its about a pound per hour of heating.

Now this seems really high to me. I can't afford over £120 a month for gas! I asked if it would make a difference switching to bills again and she said no, I would be paying exactly the same.

I have a combi boiler, on a timer so the heating is on for an hour in the morning and 3 hours at night. The water is set 2/3 of the way round, so not the hottest, and the heating was about the same. Is £1 per hour not a bit steep? If its right then fair enough, I'll only put the heating on when desperate, but if it is too high what should I do to sort it out?

Gerrard_8_lfc

Make sure the meter is not claiming any form of debt. Ask again to have the meters removed so that you can join the cheaper tariff's i.e Websaver.

As Long as you pass a credit check they will give you normal credit meters, They may ask for a security deposit which would be refunded after a year aslong as you keep up with your monthly payments.

Cardew

On pre-pay meter you should pay no more than 4 pence for a kWh.(probably nearer 3p) So taking the higher figure for £1 that is 25kWh.

Now there is no way that a combi would use 25kWh an hour, for a four hour period, especially when it is not that cold.

What about water heating - have you run baths etc.

aesir22

In that time there was one bath run and one shower. Plus 4 hours of heating and I washed up once. I just don't see how it can cost that much?!

spiro

Provide meter readings (metric or imperial) rather than £s.

aelitaman

Set the water to the lowest posible temp on the boiler, you will still have to add cold to it.