High energy bills!

PippaGirl_2

Worth checking the tie-in though if you do move tarrifs. When I moved to my new cheaper supplier I was tied in for 12 months (it was a fixed rate tarrif) and if you are not renewing your tenancy in April I am not sure whether that removes you from any tie in.

rossireps

i spent £45 a month all electric on a small flat.
its damp and the electric heating is so much i havent dared put it on yet.
its damp in winter and my lanlord is dreadful. sadly where i live theres next to zilch who will have people who dont work

Lou67

debtinfo wrote: »

You need to get your meter readings and work out what you are actually using rather than simply what you are paying

Thanks D.I. I think we probably *have* been using quite a bit when I think about it It has been a shoite summer, and when I have done the washing, two out of three times, it has had to go on the radiators because of the damp and rain (ergo we have had the heating on much more than normal this year.) It does not help either that the house is not well insulated and has a lack of radiators. The landlady does not give a crap about it though.

Rossireps I'm sorry to hear about your landlady being rather uncaring, and he/she sounds worse than mine!

Thanks for the tip pippagirl. When we move house, we may end up with a different supplier anyway, but if not, I will ask British gas to give us a incentive to stay.

Alastair, your home sounds lovely, and I also like more rural areas. We are going to look for somewhere a bit rural, but at the same time, we want somewhere newer and more modern (like 1990s onwards,) so the chances of getting somewhere private let in a rural area that is 'newish' is small.

Yes there is double glazing but it was put in in 1989 and is not sound proof and the draught howls through! Like I said though, the landlady doesn't care. This house is not brilliant..... At the time though, we were going bankrupt, and only ONE property agent would help us at the time (we wanted to be honest about the fact we were going bankrupt in a month,) and this house was the best we could get.

To be honest, we like the house and the neighbours are lovely. But the house needs about 25 thousand spending on it to bring it up to scratch. (new windows and doors, new boiler, new electrics, new bathroom and kitchen,) and as this landlady regretted buying the house almost as soon as she bought it, and tried to sell it for a year before renting it out, she won't do a sod to it! Oh well.. onwards and upwards.

givememoney

PippaGirl wrote: »

I read my own meters on the last day of every month, type it into the energy suppliers website and it generates the bill and I pay it so it's paid in full each month for exactly what I use.

I was interested to read this. We pay monthly by direct debit so would we have to change to do what you do or is it still direct debit? In our case we have set amount for both at £101 per month but we are in credit by £414 at the moment.

PippaGirl_2

I choose to do what I do because a) I begrudge paying too much and giving someone else my money so they can gain the interest on it which is what happens if you pay more than you are actually using which often happens - as you have demonstrated and b) I don't like surprise bills and paying exactly what I use monthly on a day or my choosing keeps me totally in control. Occasionally I don't have the money to pay the bill on the last day of the month so it waits a few days until I can, but usually I can manage it. It's just my way of keeping on top of my bills and in control.

Lou67

givememoney wrote: »

I was interested to read this. We pay monthly by direct debit so would we have to change to do what you do or is it still direct debit? In our case we have set amount for both at £101 per month but we are in credit by £414 at the moment.

I agree. What Pippa said does sound like a good idea. I am beginning to think that this 'paying by DD saves you money' thing is bullcrap :mad: £400 credit?! I would want that back! If it was a double figures only credit, then I would leave that, but almost half a grand? They are getting interest from that.

sniggings

givememoney wrote: »

I was interested to read this. We pay monthly by direct debit so would we have to change to do what you do or is it still direct debit? In our case we have set amount for both at £101 per month but we are in credit by £414 at the moment.

remember though that that £414 will be eaten away in the winter months, as the payment stays the same on a payment plan but your usage goes up in winter so it should balance out over the year.

You can set a DD to pay the exact amount each month, so you will be paying the bill and also still get the DD discount, as said though, remeber that these payments will then be higher in winter, so make sure you can afford to pay the higher amount and not have to balance the costs over the year to have a payment you can afford.

Lou67

sniggings wrote: »

remember though that that £414 will be eaten away in the winter months, as the payment stays the same on a payment plan but your usage goes up in winter so it should balance out over the year.

You can set a DD to pay the exact amount each month, so you will be paying the bill and also still get the DD discount, as said though, remeber that these payments will then be higher in winter, so make sure you can afford to pay the higher amount and not have to balance the costs over the year to have a payment you can afford.

I never thought of this. I guess you have to make sure you think things through, but I suppose it works for some I think I do prefer to pay the same amount every month though, and stash some away for winter.

givememoney

sniggings wrote: »

remember though that that £414 will be eaten away in the winter months, as the payment stays the same on a payment plan but your usage goes up in winter so it should balance out over the year.

You can set a DD to pay the exact amount each month, so you will be paying the bill and also still get the DD discount, as said though, remeber that these payments will then be higher in winter, so make sure you can afford to pay the higher amount and not have to balance the costs over the year to have a payment you can afford.

Yes thanks for this, my hubby especially hates paying over the odds and the way they keep highering and lowering the monthly amount dependent on historical usage.

Yes I do realise of course they go higher in the winter months but do like the idea of paying just for what you use.

Lou67

givememoney wrote: »

Yes thanks for this, my hubby especially hates paying over the odds and the way they keep highering and lowering the monthly amount dependent on historical usage.

Yes I do realise of course they go higher in the winter months but do like the idea of paying just for what you use.

The thing that irks me is that they are making money off people who are 100s on pounds in credit! :mad: