Large Gas bill - unsure what to do

jonno2008

Hi folks

First post here, need some help as not sure what we can do about a large gas bill - I believe this bil to be incorrect.

My girlfriend and I live in a 2 bedroomed flat. On December 2010 I decided to move from British Gas to N.power for our gas. We signed up to a 'sign online' tarrif and begun paying £33.00/month for Gas/Electric.

We thought this was reasonable for a property of this size.

Npower have never been to read any of our meters in the 11 months we have been with them.

On Saturday we received a letter from Npower saying that we had not been paying enough for our gas and we are around £400.00 in debt, and we will now be paying £161.00/month for both gas and electric to catch up.

I queried this with them and they said it is correct. But we can not see how this can be correct at all.

We both leave the flat before 8am and dont get home until 6pm so the flat is mainly unoccupied.

Can anyone give us advice on how we can go forward with this to get it resolved.

Many Thanks

molerat

What was your gas reading when you changed suppliers ?
What is your gas reading now ?
What did your bill have as the gas reading ?
Did it have an "E" after that reading.
What does your gas bill state as to meter readings, cu m or Cu ft. (or divide your billed kWh by units used, 11 = metric, 32 = imperial)
What does it show on your gas meter, cu m or 100's cu ft ?

withabix

£33/month for gas AND electricity in a 2 bedroom flat?

Double that and you might be closer to reality. That's why you are in debt by £400, assuming this underpayment is based on meter readings.

You say Npower haven't read your meters in 11 months. They are only obliged to read them every two years (like all other gas/electricity companies) - you are responsible for providing interim readings.

flashg67

Did you take, and have you checked both the meter readings when you switched and physically checked your current meter readings - are they same as on your bills? it is not unknown for mistakes to be made this way?

What were you paying before - £33 for both fuels sounds cheap (I wish!). You have paid 11 x £33 (£363) and owe £400, making a total of £763 over 11 months which seems more realistic IMO.

Npower only legally have to read your meter every 2 years but there's nothing to stop you entering your own readings anytime online with npower to ensure you're upto date - have they not asked for this in 11 months, I'm sure mine is every 6 months?

Another way to check your consumption is by turning everything off and making sure your meter(s) stop turning. Or invest in an energy monitor to see if anything has a high consumption.

In short, I think you need to be a little more vigilant in checking & updating meter readings. i speak from experience after a similar situation to yours which took me a year to catch up underpayments. See if npower will let you pay the arrears over a longer period?

Edit - some cross-posting. Sorry, I'm a slow typer...

jonno2008

Thanks for your help mate.

What was your gas reading when you changed suppliers ? I have no idea

What is your gas reading now ? 02942

What did your bill have as the gas reading ? No idea

Did it have an "E" after that reading. No idea

not much help I know - I havent kept any of the correspondence appart from the latest letter. Silly I know.

I have just checked my old bank statements though and for a quarter BG were charing me £101.00 (in winter) £50.00 in summer.

davehsug

Jonno, if you are an online tariff, you should be able to view your bills online. You really need to make sure that your account was opened to the same reading as your BG account was closed & if your bill is estimated, get it amended to a correct reading & go from there.

molerat

Without those usage figures and correct readings you cannot counter their assertions, how can you "believe" a bill to be incorrect ? As daveshug has said get all the info together to prove the bill is accurate or not.

anniecave

You can phone up your previous supplier and ask them what the final reading was they billed you to. And they should be able to tell you whether this was a real meter reading, or an estimate. They should also be able to tell you if they have any prevoius meter readings on file, which may help you to get an idea of your consumption. I would agree that £33 per month is far too low!

jonno2008

Thanks for all your help.

I think I may contact British Gas - and be a bit more vigilant with keeping an eye on this.

I have been a bit niave with my bills

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jonno2008

Okay british gas read on 22/2/2011 02700
My reading on 07/11/2011 02944

Does that seem much? I am clueless.
Many thanks

jalexa

jonno2008 wrote: »

Does that seem much?

How is you flat heated?

And have you got the same info for your electric?