HUGE Gas Bill!

Tallulah73_2

I moved into my house last October which is a rented property with 3 bedrooms and a loft conversion which is being used by my teenage son.
We have 8 radiators in all throughout the house but only ever use 6 of them.
Ive been having the heating on average 12 hours a day throughout winter as I have a 2yr old and am at home for most of the day but don't have it on at all during the night (due to me being worried about having a big bill!)

Well ive just received my first quarterly bill from 12 Dec to 3rd March and it's £490.42!!!
Ive just phoned British Gas and given them my reading again and they said it's right.

I know we've had an unusually cold winter and the price of gas has gone up but how does my bill compare to everyone else's?
Just doesn't seem right to me!

spiro

Loft conversion typically means poor insulation and therefore high heat loss through the roof.

You say 12hrs/day but what temp was the theromstat set to 16-18-20-22-24?

Tallulah73_2

The thermostat is usually at 20ish but it's located at the top of the stairs which ive been told is a stupid place for it to be and it never really turns itself off. Also the radiators in the house don't turn down so there either ON or OFF/ HOT or COLD there is no inbetween!

macman

Disregard your bill amount for now, what is your actual unit usage and kWh usage?
Metric or imperial meter?

Tallulah73_2

= 225 imperial units over 40 days (estimated)
Units Converted
= 7135.7 kWh used over 40 days

= 204 imperial units over 42 days (actual)
Units Converted
= 6469.69 kWh used over 42 days

Then it looks like these have been added together to get the total of
£467.07

spiro

Does your meter say it is imperial?

Tallulah73_2

yes it is imperial

macman

The kwh conversion is correct assuming that you have a an imperial meter (you didn't confirm).
However 12/12/10 to 3/3/11 is not 42 days?
And 6,470kWh should cost around £200, not £500.
Sounds like you are only quoting part of your bill.

Tallulah73_2

sorry ive copied and pated the whole page, I hope you can make some sense of it!





Meter reads
12 Dec 2010 - estimated


20 Jan 2011 - estimated


7849 -Estimated
8074 -Estimated



= 225 imperial units over 40 days (estimated)

Units Converted
= 7135.7 kWh used over 40 days


Usage charge

First

294.00 kWh x 7.061 p



£20.76




Next

6841.70 kWh x 3.265 p



£223.38






Meter reads
21 Jan 2011 - estimated


03 Mar 2011 - actual


8074 -Estimated
8278 -We read your meter



= 204 imperial units over 42 days (actual)

Units Converted
= 6469.69 kWh used over 42 days


Usage charge

First

308.00 kWh x 7.061 p



£21.75




Next

6161.69 kWh x 3.265 p



£201.18

spiro

There are 2 things here:
1) You need to check the meter is actually an Imperial meter i.e if has Ft3 stamped on it rather than M3.
2) The start reading for your bill (12/10/10) was an estimate so it is possible that some of the gas you are now being billed for predates 12/10/10. When you get a bill that ends with an E(stimate) reading you should ALWAYS read you meter and phone the supplier with a reading if its more thaan a few units different. Otherwise if this goes no for a while you can end with with a 'catch up' bill that can be be for £00s or £000s (as seen posted on this forum).

macman

OK, so your bill is for 82 days, not 42. Total usage of 429 imperials units, so the conversion to kWh and billing is correct.
However, your opening reading of 7849 on 12/12/10 is estimated, so there's no way of knowing what your actual usage has been during those 82 days, it coud be more, could be less.
If the bill is higher than usual, that's probably because your usage has been under-estimated in the past, and now you've bee hit with a catch up bill. The solution is to supply meter reading at least every 3 months, before your bill is due.
Are you on a competitive tariff?-if you are on BG's standard tariff then that that's their most expensive tariff. Switch to an online discount tariff with monthly DD biling, using a comp site.
Edit: Spiro, OP has already confirmed that it's an imperial meter-see post 7.