Just moved home - Gas bill is £94.50 this month!

PinkPrincess

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can help me please?

I moved into my new home on 19th October. It's a 3 bed house and I live on my own with 3 small children. We have gas central heating and a gas cooker. The account is with British Gas. I took a meter reading when I opened my account which was 8237. I've just received my estimated bill online which was £65. I thought this was a bit much as the lady said it should be around £50 per month for the time of year and amount of bedrooms/radiators I have etc. So I did another meter reading which is 8258 and submitted online but it caused my bill to shoot up to £95.50!

Can anyone shed some light on how I can reduce my monthly gas bill please! I only have my heating on between 6am - 8am and 4pm-6pm and 8pm-9pm daily. The thermostat is always set to 16 degrees. I'm not sure what else to do without freezing out butts off!

Beastface

The obvious first step is the amount of time the heating is on for - that's 150 hours of heating a month by your current timings.

Not sure where you are but in Hampshire it has been unusually mild recently and we only have the heating on for an hour between 6 and 7am just before we get up.

HappyMJ

British Gas standard plan is usually the most expensive tariff to be on. Switch.

However, I don't get a bill that size when I put your figures into the calculator. 8258 less 8237 is 21 hundred cubic feet which is about 665kWh. At the primary rate only that would be about £57. Most of it though would be at the secondary rate and will reduce the bill to about £36.

notbritishgas

HappyMJ wrote: »

British Gas standard plan is usually the most expensive tariff to be on. Switch.

However, I don't get a bill that size when I put your figures into the calculator. 8258 less 8237 is 21 hundred cubic feet which is about 665kWh. At the primary rate only that would be about £57. Most of it though would be at the secondary rate and will reduce the bill to about £36.

Agree with Happy, you have used nowhere near £95 of gas, if you post your tariff rates we will work out exactly but it will be nearer £30 and that is assuming you have an imperial meter, if it is a metric one it will be closer to £10.

PinkPrincess

HappyMJ wrote: »

British Gas standard plan is usually the most expensive tariff to be on. Switch.

However, I don't get a bill that size when I put your figures into the calculator. 8258 less 8237 is 21 hundred cubic feet which is about 665kWh. At the primary rate only that would be about £57. Most of it though would be at the secondary rate and will reduce the bill to about £36.

How do I switch? I know that sounds like a lame question but this is the first time I've ever lived on my own after seperating from my ex of 10 years and I've never dealt with bills or anything before so it's all new to me!

This is how it's been broken down on my statement:

Meter reads
19 Oct 2011 - estimated


06 Nov 2011 - estimated


8193 -Estimated
8214 -Estimated



= 21 imperial units over 19 days (estimated)

Units Converted
= 663.45 kWh used over 19 days


Usage charge

First

140.00 kWh x 8.262 p



£11.57




Next

523.45 kWh x 3.767 p



£19.72






Meter reads
07 Nov 2011 - estimated



21 Nov 2011 - - actual



8214 -Estimated when your tariff changed
8237 -We read your meter



= 23 imperial units over 15 days (actual)

Units Converted
= 726.66 kWh used over 15 days


Meter reads
22 Nov 2011 - - actual



02 Dec 2011 - - actual



8237 -We read your meter
8258 -You gave us your meter reading



= 21 imperial units over 11 days (actual)

Units Converted
= 663.46 kWh used over 11 days


Usage charge

First

191.00 kWh x 8.262 p



£15.78




Next

1199.12 kWh x 3.767 p



£45.17






Total cost of gas used =

£92.24

Total discounts
£2.24 - Less Direct Debit discount

VAT at 5%: £4.50

Subtotal = £94.50

savemoney wrote: »

wont you been on BG standard tariff which will be expensive compared with some other tariffs. Have you got decent insulation in the home. I had same problem when I moved house almost 5 years ago my energy consumption was sky high

I have double glazing on all the windows. I keep the doors to all rooms shut as often as possible. I haven't checked the loft - not been up there yet to be honest! I have a seperate dining room. The house is approx 60 years old so it's quite a solid build. I don't have any carpets laid yet upstairs, it's just wooden floorboards and downstairs it's all tiled. I'm guessing that would make a difference?

PinkPrincess

Beastface wrote: »

The obvious first step is the amount of time the heating is on for - that's 150 hours of heating a month by your current timings.

Not sure where you are but in Hampshire it has been unusually mild recently and we only have the heating on for an hour between 6 and 7am just before we get up.

I'm in Warwickshire. It's been pretty frosty, wet & windy here recently!

macman

First job is to make sure the loft is properly insulated-that's the biggest source of heat loss, and easily and cheaply remedied.
BG will do free insulation for you at present-get it done, then switch.
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-efficiency/free-insulation.html
Go to a comp site with your estimated annual kWh figures (not your monthly DD figures) to find the best tariff.

bondy01

Am I missing something here? When you opened the account on 19th Oct BG estimated a reading of 8193 according to the bill. 8237 refers to 21st Nov. If BG are correct you have used 8258-8193 = 65 units from 19/11 - 02/12. In that time I have used 77 units. Can you check your opening reading as BG have estimated it for the date you moved in.

macman

PS: also check you have an imperial meter (it's marked on it), because that's what your billing is based on.

notbritishgas

You said in the Op that you gave a meter reading of 8237 when you moved in on 19 Oct?.
However on the breakdown you posted later they read your meter on 21 Nov as 8237 and estimated the start reading as 8193 on 19 Oct.
This is a difference of 44 units or 1386 kwh or about £55 so which is correct.

travel_freak

Hi,

Please excuse me joining in this thread, but I'm about to switch providers so am reading as much as I can.

I didn't understand the comment above about a metric meter only leading to charges of £10 for the OP, but an imperial one leading to higher costs.

What is the difference between a metric and imperial meter and if it costs you less if you have a matric meter how do you get one if you don't already have one installed?

Excuse my dimness if I've got the wrong end of the stick here...!