Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2013

minicooper272

minicooper272 wrote: »

amr your bills are definitely too high! Even of you can't change to a meter, ask if there is a cheaper gas tariff... I'm not sure what give there is on non-metered office, but speaking to people who work for the water company, they say it's always worth calling to ask.

Just read this back- that should have been water instead of office! Not even sure how autocorrect made that jump!

amr547

minicooper272 wrote: »

amr your bills are definitely too high! Even of you can't change to a meter, ask if there is a cheaper gas tariff... I'm not sure what give there is on non-metered office, but speaking to people who work for the water company, they say it's always worth calling to ask.

well i looked at their 'are youpaying too much' table thing. i think we come under below average usage, which means we are paying far too much, we could reduce our bill by 50%!

we are definitely going to call the gas company soon, see if we can change tarrifs or something. i dont know how it all works to be honest, i know hthe boiler is a problem.

amr547

can't stop crying, my gas bill is horrendous and there's nothing i can do about it, it also costs £50-odd to change the electric meter.

don't know how we will afford to heat the house in the winter if it costs this much just to have hot water.

Jonesy88

amr547, please dont cry! why do you need to change your elec meter?

minicooper272

amr why can't you do anything about it? I thought you just paid an £80 flat rate regardless of whether it's summer or winter, why will it go up?

amr547

minicooper272 wrote: »

amr why can't you do anything about it? I thought you just paid an £80 flat rate regardless of whether it's summer or winter, why will it go up?

it isn't covering what we're using supposedly. even though i can't understand how we're using so much!!!! i've had enough so i'm turning the boiler off, i just won't have hot water or heating.

amr547

Jonesy88 wrote: »

amr547, please dont cry! why do you need to change your elec meter?

we don't, i just thought we might pay less if we had a dual fuel arrangement rather than one monthly DD and one prepay.

Jonesy88

Ahh right i understand now. How helpful were your utility company? Did they look at your tariffs for your meters?

Also if you spend more than 10% of your household income on utilities you should qualify for a cheaper tariff.

The utility company i used to work for had an "energy efficiency" department - their job was basically to speak with customers in detail about their particular circumstances and provide advice. For instance - i was told to leave my microwave unplugged as i only used it about once a month anyway and it was costing me about £5 a year to leave it on standby. I never would of thought about a microvable in this way, only something like a tv really. Basically the little things add up - a doorbell costs about £7 a year to run!

Also, any headway on getting a water meter? This could save you about £30 a month maybe? you could offset this against your gas.

minicooper272

amr547 wrote: »

we don't, i just thought we might pay less if we had a dual fuel arrangement rather than one monthly DD and one prepay.

How on earth do they work that one out? If you don't have a meter, who's to say how much your actually using?! I think the person you spoke to is talking a bit of nonsense... £80/month sounds like more than we used to pay for gas and electricity in a 3 bedroom tenement building with bad insulation and an inefficient boiler in the middle of winter! Call them up and threaten to leave if they don't sort it out.

I've just picked myself up a rather nice new suit in the summer sales - £33 for a jacket and trousers. Very pleased I was able to get one that fit me in the sales - in my line of work, I need a suit for the job interview, and after that it goes dusty in a cupboard. I wouldn't get away with a cheap suit either, so I'm glad I didn't need to shell out £60+ just for one wear!

minicooper272

amr I remember you saying you were down this neck of the woods - the below would be useful if you switch to a meter. As MSE martin says though, for a household with the same number of occupiers as rooms, savings are not guaranteed.

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/environment/using-water-wisely/we-products/