Someone please help. Long, sorry!

karlilay

Hi everyone, this is my first post on here as im lost and i dont know where to go or who to talk to for advice.
We moved into the house in June last year, between June and Oct we were paying £60 a month electric. And using on average about £50/£55.

When the heating came on i upped my bills to £90pm. The heating is an electric system, not storage heaters, the radiatiors are run ooff the mains electric. So when Jan came around and first bill was due i expected to be in debit a bit maybe £150ish as it had been a really cold few months. The first bill was for £625! I couldnt beleive it, so they upped my payments to £126pm to try and clear my debt.

My house it a standered size 2 bed, im here most of the day as im a SAHM, we have 2 kids, both under 2, so theyre not exactly wiping our electric out.
I have the thermostat on 22 degrees, as the upstairs is freezing and if i have it any lower it doesnt heat the bedrooms. My timer is set for 6.45am-8am and then 5pm-9.30pm for the heating granted iv had it on a few extra hours here and there. Everything else i use is just normal everyday electric, wahing machine once or twice a day, tv etc.

So iv carried on paying my £126 a month, which is hard enough to find as were on a low income. Yesterday they asked for my meter reading so i got billed for quater Jan-April. And now im £700+ in debit to them.

Why is this so much, i dont understand. They are saying were using more than £200 a month. Should i query this? They are now saying they want to up our payments to £230 a month which is just beyond what i can pay big time. Can i just keep it at £126 and pay off bits and bobs here and there when i have the money??

HELLLPPP

spiro

Welcome.

1) Post the Kwh used rather than monetary values.
2) Were both start and end reading on bill estimates/actual/mixture?
3) What tariff are you on? Single rate or E7?

With this info we can provide more advice.

KimYeovil

Firstly Heatwise is an E10 tariff that is usually only for properties with storage heaters. If you have panel heaters then you have to make sure everything is wired up correctly. Sometimes heaters and water have to be hooked up to dedicated circuits. If they are not you may be missing out on cheaper rates. But even when they are it may not be appropriate if they are not storage heaters. With E10 there are three hours cheaper heating in the afternoon which you are missing out on (as well as the five hours in the middle of the night). Chances are you should switch to a single rate tariff. Unfortuately if you are set up incorrectly this is none of your supplier's business - it is down to you and an electrician/plumber (or you and your landlord.)

If your central heating does not work effectively then do not just whack up the thermostat to compensate. You need to investigate or use an alternative (or pay the cost.) If upstairs is insulated then you can just use stand alone fires rather than the central heating.

As your children are so young then a cool bedroom is not really an issue. If anything the radiators should be turned down low (or off) and the ambient temperature should be more than enough for when they are snoozing.

And if you are with Eon you must pay by direct debit - as a high user the proportional nature of their discounts will be egregious.

JasX

Aye, as above you need to look carefully at WHEN you have your heating on and which tariff is most appropriate (also comparing timed tariffs to the cheapest 'normal' online one for your planned useage in KWh).

Your thermostat is set rather high, 16 deg would be low, 18-19 is probably a 'typical' setting and 22 DegC on the high end.

Your bill seems reasonable as if you didn't take some energy saving steps (ie use the timers) i've seen alot higher (ex boss of mine ran up £1500 in 5 months making heavy use of electric heating and at an excessively high temperature).

Finally there are other basic steps to take -> is you house draughty / losing heat anywhere obvious, if you can improve your insulation you'll be much more efficient at heating the place. Also things to be said about wearing warmer clothing around the house vs heating (£700 on clothes would probably go a fair way)

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi karlilay

As Kim says, Heatwise meters are designed specifically for all electric properties with storage heaters. They work with either a single rate or Economy 7 meter.

The water heating and central heating circuits at your property should be wired directly into the Heatwise part of the meter.

I agree with Kim, as your heating set up is different, you'll be well advised to ask a qualified approved electrician to check out the set up.

Heatwise allows 10 hours of electricity at a cheaper rate for water/heating requirements only. This is split into three set periods during the day - in the afternoon, evening and night.

As I say, though, this works best with storage heaters. Here, the heaters charge up during the cheaper, off peak periods and then release the heat gradually throughout the day.

However, it looks as though you're not receiving anywhere near the full benefit of this arrangement.

Depending on what the electrician says, it may be possible to change the meter for a more conventional single or Economy 7 type. This will allow you access to more tariffs as well as making it easier to change supplier. We currently charge £51.06 for a meter change.

I would talk to us about the amount we are asking for per month. It may be possible to spread the outstanding balance over a longer period. This will lower the monthly payments.

Hope this helps karlilay. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help further.

Malc

grahamc2003

People keep assuming your on an e10 tariff - is that correct?

Could you post your actual tariff, and prices (p/kwh) and times of cheap rate?

If you want to bask in 22 degree temps, then these days you are going to have to pay for the privilidge. I'd set it to 19 and wear jumpers - you'd save a lot, even in today's weather, and a very large amount in the very cold weather.

We've always had our house much cooler than many have heirs, and our kids (and us) have had a lot less colds etc than most others (and no inhalers, like many of their schoolfriends), so I wouldn't worry about any detrimental effect on your kids (in fact in my amatuer opinion, I'd say 19 is healthier than 22).

You certainluy don't want to be paying full rate electriciry prices for heating - if you are, then change so you no longer do.

andy208833

Are your loft, roof or wall cavities insulated? As you are on a low income i am sure you can get grants to get this work done or even paid for under one of the available schemes (sorry dont have the name right now but utilities company should be able to point you in the right direction.

I have the same problem in my house, in the winter the upstairs of my house is freezing, in summer boiling because i don't have any insulation in the roof (am working on it) so whatever temperature the roof tiles are is the temp of the room below.

karlilay

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi karlilay

As Kim says, Heatwise meters are designed specifically for all electric properties with storage heaters. They work with either a single rate or Economy 7 meter.

The water heating and central heating circuits at your property should be wired directly into the Heatwise part of the meter.

I agree with Kim, as your heating set up is different, you'll be well advised to ask a qualified approved electrician to check out the set up.

Heatwise allows 10 hours of electricity at a cheaper rate for water/heating requirements only. This is split into three set periods during the day - in the afternoon, evening and night.

As I say, though, this works best with storage heaters. Here, the heaters charge up during the cheaper, off peak periods and then release the heat gradually throughout the day.

However, it looks as though you're not receiving anywhere near the full benefit of this arrangement.

Depending on what the electrician says, it may be possible to change the meter for a more conventional single or Economy 7 type. This will allow you access to more tariffs as well as making it easier to change supplier. We currently charge £51.06 for a meter change.

I would talk to us about the amount we are asking for per month. It may be possible to spread the outstanding balance over a longer period. This will lower the monthly payments.

Hope this helps karlilay. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help further.

Malc

Hi Malc, thanks for your reply. I have phoned this morning, and talked to someone regarding my problem. They were really unhelpful, and as i was explaining my situation would just keep asking if i could make a payment today... if i had the money tpday, i would have already made a payment. I think, i can raise another £80 a month, but i cant say at what date, as it will be the remains of my child benefit which is not paid on the same day of the month every month. What i preposed was that i would continue to pay the £126 a month and then pay the £80 as and when i had it. Does this sound reasonable to you? I may even be able to get more, i just cant do it direct debit. Is there no way i can do this?

Thankyou. Karli

Also- do you know what times the off peak hours are?

undaunted

Can Warmsure help you improve your heating system, insulation etc, thus hopefully reduce the bills? http://warmsuregrant.co.uk/

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi karli

I'm sorry the agent you spoke to wasn't very helpful.

Payment arrangements are monitored automatically. They are reviewed after each quarterly bill and adjusted to reflect the ongoing usage and any debit/credit on the account. The aim is to achieve as near to a zero balance as possible by the time of the annual review in the spring.

Ad hoc payments are perfectly acceptable but they may not prevent further adjustments. It depends on the timing and level of the separate payments.

It's important to make sure the ongoing usage is covered as well as clearing the outstanding balance.

From your first post, it looks as though your ongoing usage is well above your current payment levels. If this is the case, leaving at £126/month will only cause the debt to increase. This is not something we would agree to.

I'm sorry I can't offer any more positive thoughts karli but, as I said above, setting payment levels below usage will only lead to problems in the future.

Heatwise provides 10 hours of off peak electricity for water and central heating purposes only between the following times.

Night: 5 continuous hours between 12am and 7am.
Afternoon: 3 continuous hours between 1pm and 4.30pm.
Evening: 2 continuous hours between 5.30pm and 10pm.

Heatwise works alongside a conventional meter. If you have Economy 7, you will be able to use other electrical appliances like washing machines, tumble dryers etc during the night period above at the off peak rates.

Hope this is of some use. Give me a shout if you need any more help.

Malc

Richie-from-the-Boro

karlilay

Heatwise [E10] is a comfort tariff, E7 is an economy tariff. A Heatwise tariff without the benefit of storage radiators and water heating will cost a mind boggling amount. I'm confused as to which radiators you have, do they look like this or .. .. this one which is a Heatwise / E10 type ? The reason for asking the type of radiator you are using is that if you do not have ' sufficiently rated ' storage radiators switching to an E7 tariff would not deliver daytime / evening heat.

E7 basically has two rates whereas E10 has 4 rates, normal primary + normal secondary + afternoon + night / evening. Your Heatwise meter should have 5 dials, check it - it may be the case that only one is recording - check this .. .. .. it may be the case that you are not connected to the ' off peak ' consumption. You won't be the first to find that the boost - has never been connected and stays at zero.

As for costs, as others have said you need to post your kWh usage. Off peak hours are not fixed hours but at your suppliers choosing and vary by different suppliers but are usually :

- 3 hours in the afternoon ~ 1pm and 5.30pm
- 2 hours in the evening ~ 5.30pm and midnight
- 5 hours over night ~ 12am and 8am.

@ 22 degrees over this last winter, even on E7 or E10 in a small[ish] well insulated house £100 per month plus should be expected !