Electricity Usage Increase

charliep69uk

Hi All

I'm new to this site so please be gentle. I've had my electricity bill today and it is approx £800 for 4 months. According to my bill my usage has increase from 10.9 kwh per day a year ago to 30+ kwh the same period this year.

I've analysed my bills and can see that I have roughly been using 10-13 kwh per day since Jan 2009 and although all my bills have been estimates, I have checked them everytime to see if I need to call up and get them updated, suddenly my Oct bill of this year went to 45kwh per day?? Then feb back down to 15kwh per day??

Anyway, can anyone give me any clues as to why I would have such a big jump?? I haven't used anything different and don't seem to understand how my usage can increase this much??

Its probably best to note, this is my final bill as I decided to swap companies after I received a letter just over a month ago saying that by law someone should visit my property once every 2 years to check the meter. I had not allowed them to do so (I have been in the property over 5 years, and never ever been advised I had to do this to comply with law! The letter was strong saying legal action would be taken against me) I got some mild apology after I advised I had no problem with someone coming round but had never received any form of communication. I'm leaving because I considered myself a loyal customer and don't appreciate the abrupt / rude letters.

I live in a two bed semi, with my husband, we work all day (10 hour days) and don't leave anything on I barely use my tumble dryer, my heater is a gas central heating system, and my cooker is also gas, my fires are open fires???

Would be greatful if someone could shed light on how usage could increase so much.

How can I check what i'm using each day from today for example. I'm really concerned as I can't afford this.

Thanks

dogshome

Hi charliep69UK - A strange one, the first thing I would do is check that the meter number listed on the bill matches that on your meter, but also the acceptance of Estimated bills can lead to BIG catch-up bills when the meter is eventually read

Beyond that, if you have a Central Heating system with a Hot Water storage tank that is fitted with an Electric Immersion heater, is it possible that the the Immersion heater was accidentally left on over a period of time?
Subtracting your usual 13Kwh from the excessive 45Kwh, leaves 32kwh which could be explained by a 3kwh Immersion heaters thermostat switching it on and off constantly over a 24 hour period.

Unless it is actually a mis-billing/catch-up bill problem, the chances are it will occur again with the new supplier, so the best advice is check for problems by recording your meter readings weekly

charliep69uk

Hi

The only reason I accepted estimates was because they were actually only a couple of kwh out... literally nothing, and over a year you'd be looking at 24 max??

Anyway further to this, I am now being told that someone came to read my meter back in Jan 2010 - and the reading was different to the bill I was given, now I am being accused of not checking the meter but I really really did!! I'm an accountant there is noway i'd let something like this slip!!

So the woman on the phone called and said I was just checking waht kind of person you are?!?! what does that mean... then can I phone you back, I agreed to this.

She came back saying basically I lied I hadn't checked my bills and the estimates had been out by 2000kw for over 15 months. She said they issued an estimate and then took a reading, but decided it was too late to update the estimate - what???? and that they now decided to add on to my final bill.

I'm not letting it go, I do not believe I was ever reading the meter wrong as she claims. and to actuall tell me in what direction to read my meter was rude! I didn't argue I am just trying to find out if i'm using more energy!! So if the meter should have been the 2000 khw higher then why did my bill jump up from 11 kw usage to 40+ back then and back to 11 kw!! Nothing has changed in my home in 5 years!

Thanks for advise on heating but turns out this is an old not a new problem it would appear I have now established.

To top it off they sent me money back for over charging me 6 months ago??! so if this was an old error, why did I get money back??

Confused!!!!!

spiro

Do you have a dial meter (looks like 5 clock faces)? These are easily misread both by customers and meter readers. I would ask you to post a picture of the meter but as a new user I am not sure you can.

Widelats

I sent brit gas a wrong reading i think, this is the email i got this morning from head of complaints, this is from October 2010 until now so 5 months approx, 186 quid i can pay £20 a month UNTIL my next bill arrives in 2 months time, i can not afford my prices either i am unemployed and i think they have charged me on their highest possible rate.

Thanks for providing me with your final electricity meter reading and for speaking with me on the telephone today. As discussed on the telephone you gave me a meter reading of 258514, this should be 158514 and I have used this meter reading to close your electricity account.

Your final electricity balance is £182.26. I have today set up a payment plan for you as requested at £20.00 per fortnight. A separate payment card has been issued and will be with you within the next 10 working days. You will also receive a letter confirming the payment and the relevant dates.

I am sorry that it has taken so long to resolve your enquiry but confirm that both your supplies are now with Scottish Power.

Yours sincerely

charliep69uk

spiro wrote: »

Do you have a dial meter (looks like 5 clock faces)? These are easily misread both by customers and meter readers. I would ask you to post a picture of the meter but as a new user I am not sure you can.

Hi - I have a meter that is just numbers on a dial, it literally reads left to right like 45368 - so its really easy to read, and the dial rolls up to the next number to increase usage?! If that makes sense.

To make this even more confusing I phoned and queried this so called reading back in January, I have been advised that there was no reading as no one was home, yet earlier the lady told me exact reading figures. Not sure whats going on.

charliep69uk

Widelats wrote: »

I sent brit gas a wrong reading i think, this is the email i got this morning from head of complaints, this is from October 2010 until now so 5 months approx, 186 quid i can pay £20 a month UNTIL my next bill arrives in 2 months time, i can not afford my prices either i am unemployed and i think they have charged me on their highest possible rate.

Thanks for providing me with your final electricity meter reading and for speaking with me on the telephone today. As discussed on the telephone you gave me a meter reading of 258514, this should be 158514 and I have used this meter reading to close your electricity account.

Your final electricity balance is £182.26. I have today set up a payment plan for you as requested at £20.00 per fortnight. A separate payment card has been issued and will be with you within the next 10 working days. You will also receive a letter confirming the payment and the relevant dates.

I am sorry that it has taken so long to resolve your enquiry but confirm that both your supplies are now with Scottish Power.

Yours sincerely

I am pregnant, and about to go on maternity leave, this is another reason I was changing providers to get exact payments each month. I'm good with money but I plan to the penny I've checked every bill I've ever had and I have not let this get so far in debt like I was made out to have done earlier today. To say I'm furious with Npower is an understatement, at least it would appear I have someone with more common sense dealing wth my query now. But honestly finding £800 is not an option for me, finding £20 is not an option. I am panicing and stressed, can't be good for baby

Widelats

charliep69uk wrote: »

I am pregnant, and about to go on maternity leave, this is another reason I was changing providers to get exact payments each month. I'm good with money but I plan to the penny I've checked every bill I've ever had and I have not let this get so far in debt like I was made out to have done earlier today. To say I'm furious with Npower is an understatement, at least it would appear I have someone with more common sense dealing wth my query now. But honestly finding £800 is not an option for me, finding £20 is not an option. I am panicing and stressed, can't be good for baby

You CAN offer them £1 a month, if you are broke like me, but then how are you going to get electric? No other company will supply you.

£800 is a freaky amount, personally, and i'm not saying you should do this, i would tell them exactly where to stick that £800 bill and tell them you can not afford so massive a price, and to be expected to do so is stupidity on their part. I would not pay it, i would complain and make a big deal of it, £800 i don't get £800 in 4 months total, without tv licence, food, other bills, travel fares, water, etc etc. to pay £800 i would have to sign over 4 months of full JSA payments to them, which leaves me with no food etc for 4 months.

That is what i would do.

charliep69uk

Widelats wrote: »

You CAN offer them £1 a month, if you are broke like me, but then how are you going to get electric? No other company will supply you.

£800 is a freaky amount, personally, and i'm not saying you should do this, i would tell them exactly where to stick that £800 bill and tell them you can not afford so massive a price, and to be expected to do so is stupidity on their part. I would not pay it, i would complain and make a big deal of it, £800 i don't get £800 in 4 months total, without tv licence, food, other bills, travel fares, water, etc etc. to pay £800 i would have to sign over 4 months of full JSA payments to them, which leaves me with no food etc for 4 months.

That is what i would do.

Well at the moment I am considering legal action. I have been given false imformation, been questioned on "what kind of person I am" and I do not believe this is correct.

I am now being supplied by Scottish Power, they took over a on 13th March.

I am going to cancel any dd agreement and advise I want this investigated. Its ridiculous... will advise what information I get when i get a response from them later today

Widelats

charliep69uk wrote: »

Well at the moment I am considering legal action. I have been given false imformation, been questioned on "what kind of person I am" and I do not believe this is correct.

I am now being supplied by Scottish Power, they took over a on 13th March.

I am going to cancel any dd agreement and advise I want this investigated. Its ridiculous... will advise what information I get when i get a response from them later today

Wish you luck with it.