large gas bill! HELP!

slianne11

I have just moved into a 2 bed top floor flat and got my first gas bill through the other day. I heat my home for an hour in the morning and 2 and a half hours at night and only use gas for heating and water as I have electric hob and oven.

I used to live in a 5 bed and my direct debits were 55 a month. So I had mine set at 40 for this 2 bed but recieved a bill for the first 33 days before I got round to setting up my direct debit. It came to £130 which i thought was very high, so I rang scottish gas and they agreed but told me to have the boiler looked at

I have a brand new combi boiler and the engineer came out and said all was well and it may be the meter. I rang scottish gas again and they then told me that my bill was normal and heating your house for 4 and a half hours out of a day is too much??

I have now recieved another bill, resumably because I asked if the meter readings I had were normal and its 45 pounds for 12 days??? Which seems ridiculous to me!

I have watched my meter and I dont think it goes up when the boiler isnt heating so I dont think there is a gas leak. However the meter is sporadic in how much it goes up and down, as in one day the meter wont go up and then the next day, after the heating has been on for an hour in the morning it can go up 1, 2 or sometimes 2 units.

I certainly cannot afford bills like this and I feel I am not over doing the heating of the property. If i cut it down anymore, it would be freezing! We both wear jumpers and socks etc so don't heat the flat to a crazy temperature.

Are these bills normal for winter? Or what route can I go down next as I do not want to have my flat any colder yet cannot afford this amount! HELP!!

Thanks!!

McKneff

Ring your supplier up and ask if you are on the cheapest tarrif.

plane_boy2000

Sounds silly, but if you are in a flat are you sure its your meter you are reading?

You could try not using any gas for a few days and see if the meter reading changes.

To give you a comparison we live in a large 4 bed and have the heating on for 2.5 hours in the morning, and 5 hours from the afternoon through to the evening and we spend an average of £50 a month on gas

Wywth

slianne11 wrote: »

I have just moved into a 2 bed top floor flat and got my first gas bill through the other day. I heat my home for an hour in the morning and 2 and a half hours at night and only use gas for heating and water as I have electric hob and oven.

I used to live in a 5 bed and my direct debits were 55 a month. So I had mine set at 40 for this 2 bed but recieved a bill for the first 33 days before I got round to setting up my direct debit. It came to £130 which i thought was very high, so I rang scottish gas and they agreed but told me to have the boiler looked at

I have a brand new combi boiler and the engineer came out and said all was well and it may be the meter. I rang scottish gas again and they then told me that my bill was normal and heating your house for 4 and a half hours out of a day is too much??

I have now recieved another bill, resumably because I asked if the meter readings I had were normal and its 45 pounds for 12 days??? Which seems ridiculous to me!

I have watched my meter and I dont think it goes up when the boiler isnt heating so I dont think there is a gas leak. However the meter is sporadic in how much it goes up and down, as in one day the meter wont go up and then the next day, after the heating has been on for an hour in the morning it can go up 1, 2 or sometimes 2 units.

I certainly cannot afford bills like this and I feel I am not over doing the heating of the property. If i cut it down anymore, it would be freezing! We both wear jumpers and socks etc so don't heat the flat to a crazy temperature.

Are these bills normal for winter? Or what route can I go down next as I do not want to have my flat any colder yet cannot afford this amount! HELP!!

Thanks!!

£55 per month all year for a 5 bed property is particularly impressive.Well done! :T

But this time of year, £130 per month, or £45 for 12 days (both of which indicate similar consumption levels) is not that bad even for a 2 bed property.

A gas boiler service will start at about £50 upwards (plus VAT). Any repairs will cost more.
If this is a rented property, then you should have a copy of the landlords gas safety certificate (CP12) issued within the last 12 months. I suspect there won't be much wrong with the boiler if you have one of those.

If it's your own property, perhaps you should sell up if you can't afford it?

£45 over 12 days is the quivilent to over 75kWh of heat per day ... that must be going somewhere even if through a gaping hole in the roof!

daveyjp

Amounts of money mean little. Take some meter readings and report back on daily useage.

What temp is the room stat set at?