Huge gas bill in a short period

Poppycat

We moved house on 1st Feb to a slightly bigger 3 bedroom semi from a 2 bedroom terraced. I accept the fact we will consume more bigger house, less efficent boiler (although its on 3 years old combi) the bill for gas from British Gas which we inherited form old owners now with Scottish power was a follows

01/02/07 - 05/02/07 44 units
05/02/07 - 05/03/07 314 units

Total bill with VAT is £123.61

We only have central heating plus hot water (twice daily 1 1/4 hours morning and (8 hours afternoon/evening) and one gas cooker/hob (used once a day)

We dont have many baths about 2 a week if that.

I dont dispute the meter readings, however something isnt right with the shere volume of gas used for a short period my last bill in last house was from 22/12/06 to 31/01/07 72 units with new boiler on 24/7

I not sure what to do accept have no heating because there is no way we can afford £129 per month in Autumn/Winter etc.

They did tell me average consumption is 7 units per day for customers but we use 11 that's what they told me Scottish Power who are the ones who now deal with this as British Gas can not be law take action as they are no longer the energy company.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I admit consumption will be higher although we actually use less hot water now, due to it taking so long to heat water up and bloody parasite water meter.

My major concerns is my daughter has a disability she is prone to the cold, yet we get no help whatsoever, and I dont want to fight DLA again, even though she cant walk far and is on crutches.

woohoo_postingid

Did you check the meter readings when you moved in?

If they are right, get somebody out to check the meter is working correctly

Cardew

From that bill it would appear you are on BG standard tariff which( in February) was the most expensive tariff available.

BG have now reduced their prices and their Click Energy 2 prices are lower still. Of course there will be other companies offering tariffs cheaper than the one on that bill.

Whilst your consumption is high, for mid winter with a handicapped child who needs a warm house, it is not excessive.

I would worry less about baths and showers and concentrate more on the heating of rooms. Make sure bedroom radiators are switched off during the day and keep the temperature in other rooms turned down as low as possible - obviously bearing in mind your child's needs.

ccygirl

My first gas bill after moving in in nov 05 to end of jan 06 was £659.10. To say i was shocked is putting it mildly. It was a very cold winter but i didn't even feel that my house had been warm enough. Any way we couldn't smell gas and feel that maybe the boiler is not v efficient. Your insulation makes a big difference - we didn't have any! Needless to say we switched supplier but I still pay £80 per month.

Cardew

sherbetpops wrote: »

hi, i thought this new tariff from BG was going to be the lowest tariff available with BG? i take it from your post its not?

No I think you didn't read my post carefully. What I said was:

From that bill it would appear you are on BG standard tariff which( in February) was the most expensive tariff available.

BG have now reduced their prices and their Click Energy 2 prices are lower still. Of course there will be other companies offering tariffs cheaper than the one on that bill.

The OP's bill was in February. February was before BG reduced their prices and introduced their new Click Energy 2 tariff.

BG's prices on Click Energy are now very competitive and are close to being the cheapest(if not the cheapest) for many people - at the moment.

Cardew

sherbetpops wrote: »

i read the "click energy 2 prices are lower still" to mean lower than the new tariff that came out on the 12 march, where you obviously meant lower than click 2 before?

So can i ask if you know if the new tariff brought out to replace winter payments is BG lwest tariff or is click 2 lower? I have only really stayed with BG due to the £90 off and now maybe will swith to someone else, just get a little fed upwith searching tariffs etc, etc

What I was saying is that BG's standard tariff went down on 12th March and their Click Energy 2 is cheaper than the new standard tariff and the cheapest BG tariff available.

There is a rather confused thread running about this BG Click Energy 2 tariff which you should read to the end as there is a lot of misinformation in the earlier pages.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=372300

Or you can find prices for gas and electricity(in your area) on https://www.house.co.uk

Poppycat

Thanks for your help. I have had to reduce my consumption greatly because I cant have that bill next month, I have switched supplier to Scottish Power when I first moved in but it took 4 weeks to move, I am on a capped rate and they tell me its the best deal they have dual fuel and online which I had before.

I couldnt check the reading when I moved in because I have no way of getting into the meter as its outside box, I had to break in with some pliers after a few days because I was worried that I would be paying someone elses consumption

When I have BG the meter readings they wouldn't tell me whether it is far off the old owners readings, they claim the data protection, laughable really. However when I rang them the other day they told me it was far off what they had with the last owners.

I have had to resort to a coal fires, bought some coal the other day, fire lighters and some wood to start it, but I cant get any heat or very little form it. If I close the hatch in the fire where it goes in the chimney I get smoke and the fire alarm goes off. Thats the only other way I have to heat our house, and kids don't like getting up now because of the cold.

I have alterered the central heating timer so it goes off less and lowered the things on rads so they are on low, they barely come on now

dc

Poppycat, could it be poor insulation?, that could make a huge difference with energy prices being so high.
Have you checked the loft? 8" recommended minimum.
Loft, draughts, cavity, double glazing, is the check order.
There are lots of grants and schemes to help, even old inneficient boiler replacement, especially for families with disabled or elderly, sometimes free.
By now your council should have an energy help dept, worth checking.

Good luck.

Poppycat

Thanks I did check the loft is has hardly any insulation at all, and I have already applied for a grant but they take time, property should have cavity walls which hopefully can be insulated.

The boilers isnt old but it is a really basic cheap one, the timer is awful you have to pull out littel needles in it and it isn't flexible say Mon-Fri and Sat-Sun so even when you aint up as early at weekend its still on.

I am thinking of getting shut of the boiler and getting a new one, I have some money buy but that was for furniture for our house but no good if I am getting these high fuel charges I simply cant afford that, in my old house I used boiler much more and paid 4x less.

chatty123

is it possible to chat with your neighbour and enquire about their heating costs.
also don't forget that as your previous house was a terraced you would have been insulated from your neighbours on either side.
my son lives in a 2 bed semi and he has recently had cavity wall insulation done and the difference was amazing. he actually got a grant through scottish power and paid £149. if you are in the north west you could PM me for the installers number.

[Deleted User]

If you think that is a lot, I just got a gas bill for £385 for 3 months worth of supply, what should I say!!