627 kWh per day gas consumption!

reb223

My mum has shown me her gas bill for 29th January to 31st March 2007 - it is £1630.82 for 61 days (38246 kWh @ 4.061p per kWh with Scottish Power).

Does anyone have any thoughts on why this should be so high? She has an aga which runs on gas, and 4 out of the 13 radiators in the house are on from 4.30pm to 10.30pm each day.

Thanks in advance,

Rebecca

tripled

Seems more like she should be using that per week then per day.

I'll_Be_Frank

Hi Rebecca,

Have you looked at your mum's bill for this time last year and compared the consumption figures?

If there is a differential of more than a couple of percent, and she has the same appliances, then it may be worthwhile investigating further by contacting your supplier.

It may also be an idea to check your mum's previous couple of bills to see if they were estimates or customer readings that could have been too low or erroneous.

Hope this helps.

Frank.

reb223

I'll_Be_Frank wrote: »

Have you looked at your mum's bill for this time last year and compared the consumption figures?

Yes, she says they've always been high, but just paid it thinking gas is that expensive.

I'll_Be_Frank wrote: »

It may also be an idea to check your mum's previous couple of bills to see if they were estimates or customer readings that could have been too low or erroneous.

She took a reading on monday which would take it to 876 units instead of the billed 1198 units, so doing a quick calculation that would bring the actual amount to 27,966 kWh - still extremely high. I've just been on the Aga website which states that an aga uses 527 kWh per week - where is all the other gas going, other than the combi-boiler?

Cardew

Something is very wrong.

If the previous bills had been underestimated this could be a case of the bills catching up.

Are you sure that all your gas is being charged at 4.0619/kWh? and not the first few hundred at that price? You should be paying less than 3p for the majority.

The other possibility is that you have a metric meter(measures in cubic meteres) but are being billed as if you have an Imperial meter(measures in 100cu ft) If you are being wrongly billed you will be paying for 2.86 times too much gas.

To check this look at the meter and see what type it is( it will have M3(M cubed) or cu ft on it)

If it is a Metric meter your bill will be in the region of 3,400 - 3,500 units.

If Imperial it will be approb 1,200 units.

reb223

Cardew wrote: »

Are you sure that all your gas is being charged at 4.0619/kWh? and not the first few hundred at that price? You should be paying less than 3p for the majority.

Yes, definitely all charged at 4.061p/kWh.

Cardew wrote: »

The other possibility is that you have a metric meter(measures in cubic meteres) but are being billed as if you have an Imperial meter(measures in 100cu ft) If you are being wrongly billed you will be paying for 2.86 times too much gas.

To check this look at the meter and see what type it is( it will have M3(M cubed) or cu ft on it).

The meter says cubic ft on it, so it's imperial, which is what it says on the bill.

Cardew

If you look at the Scottish power website for their gas prices, the highest I can see for the majority of gas is 2.65p/kWh in their July 2006 price list for domestic* customers(it might have come down by now) That price includes Vat - your 4.0619p doesn't.

*Just a thought - could it be a business account?

However that will not be the major problem. It seems almost impossible to use 38,246kWh in Feb/March in the mildest winter on record.

If it is not connected with some estimated bills there must be a problem with the Aga or a gas leak.

Poppycat

just on comparison (and I thought mine was bad) just got mine read today for Scottish power (Online Energy Saver) for 6 weeks is following

date 06/03/07 to 21/04/07
electric £62.40 inc VAT
Gas £92.49 inc VAT

Sorry cant tell you consumption as it wont tell me now as I just submitted meter readings just before I posted here

Thats for a 3 bedroom semi with family of four and my moggy

reb223

Cardew wrote: »

*Just a thought - could it be a business account?

Well, my mum had been charged 17.5 % VAT plus a "climate change levy" until a couple of months ago when I first found out about how much she is paying. Called them up and they said they thought it was a business because the house has a name - (doh!). They have over charged for 15 years since my parents bought the house, but said they could only reimburse for last 6 years. Customer service girl initially worked out a refund of £7000 for those 6 years. However a couple of weeks later when we were expecting a cheque, she rang to say she had checked with her manager and we were only due around £400 - can't remember exact figure. They changed VAT to 5% and removed climate change levy and she assured my mum that her bills will be much lower in the future.

Fast forward two months and my mum gets this bill in - so now this new problem to address. Sounds like she is still paying business rates on the unit charge perhaps?

Cardew wrote: »

However that will not be the major problem. It seems almost impossible to use 38,246kWh in Feb/March in the mildest winter on record.

If it is not connected with some estimated bills there must be a problem with the Aga or a gas leak.

Yes, I agree. Along with changing supplier to a more realistic unit price like you've quoted, I think the aga and boiler will have to be checked, although they have both been serviced in last few months!

What a nightmare - thank you so much for your interest and help in this.

reb223

Poppycat wrote: »

just on comparison (and I thought mine was bad) just got mine read today for Scottish power (Online Energy Saver) for 6 weeks is following

date 06/03/07 to 21/04/07
electric £62.40 inc VAT
Gas £92.49 inc VAT

Thanks Poppycat, that sounds much more realistic!

Cardew

reb223 wrote: »

Well, my mum had been charged 17.5 % VAT plus a "climate change levy" until a couple of months ago when I first found out about how much she is paying. Called them up and they said they thought it was a business because the house has a name - (doh!). They have over charged for 15 years since my parents bought the house, but said they could only reimburse for last 6 years. Customer service girl initially worked out a refund of £7000 for those 6 years. However a couple of weeks later when we were expecting a cheque, she rang to say she had checked with her manager and we were only due around £400 - can't remember exact figure. They changed VAT to 5% and removed climate change levy and she assured my mum that her bills will be much lower in the future.

Fast forward two months and my mum gets this bill in - so now this new problem to address. Sounds like she is still paying business rates on the unit charge perhaps?





Yes, I agree. Along with changing supplier to a more realistic unit price like you've quoted, I think the aga and boiler will have to be checked, although they have both been serviced in last few months!

What a nightmare - thank you so much for your interest and help in this.

Re the business account/VAT etc, you really must contact Energywatch and/or go to a solicitor. They will 'cave in' if you get the 'big guns' firing at them.