Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2013

amr547

minicooper272 wrote: »

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!

we have very little insulation and a very inefficient boiler! we pay £80 p/m for gas, £40 p/m for electric on the payg meter. then obviously £53 on the water.

i am a bit concerned about the water now, my neighbour was saying do we have to run the taps for a bit before our water gets hot? beause we might end up wasting more water ... but then agani OH and I have agreed not to use the hot water anymore unlses we need to, just boil the kettle. i think you can trial it so it's worth having a go and seeing if we use any less!

i think my gas dd will have to go up to £130 ish p/m to try and cover the shortfall.

amr547

Jonesy88 wrote: »

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.

no they haven't, i haven't got a clue about tariffs etc to be honest. they are sending us some info in the post to help us reduce bills, just waitng for that

re water meter, the person from LA who came to do my inspection ysterday said it was my right ot have a water meter so i don't actually have to ask permission. i am just worried about the running-the-water-so-the-water-gets-hot thing, but if i'm careful hopefully it'll be fine. i think we will trial it to see if it works out ok then switch back if it isn't!

amr547

i definitely think them eter is faulty, it's ridiculous. going to demand that someone comes and looks at the meter.

minicooper272

amr you could reduce your usage by making sure the boiler pressure is topped up, check that none of your radiators need bled, and also try turning down the temperature of the water. Most people need to run the tap before they get any hot water out, but you can also collect that water - it's not ideal but use it to fill the kettle, or collect it to water any plants in the garden.

Are your showers electric? I got a real shock when I realised they use 6-8kW - I used to turn the shower on and leave it running for a few minutes to warm our freezing bathroom up before getting in, and then I was notorious for taking half hour showers - that works out at about 40p a shower :eek:

Again, your water company can give you lots of useful tips, and the energy readers are great at helping you reduce bills!

amr547

minicooper272 wrote: »

amr you could reduce your usage by making sure the boiler pressure is topped up, check that none of your radiators need bled, and also try turning down the temperature of the water. Most people need to run the tap before they get any hot water out, but you can also collect that water - it's not ideal but use it to fill the kettle, or collect it to water any plants in the garden.

Are your showers electric? I got a real shock when I realised they use 6-8kW - I used to turn the shower on and leave it running for a few minutes to warm our freezing bathroom up before getting in, and then I was notorious for taking half hour showers - that works out at about 40p a shower :eek:

Again, your water company can give you lots of useful tips, and the energy readers are great at helping you reduce bills!

don't know what boiler pressure is ?! i can't get access to my boiler because it's behind a wall.

radiators don't need bleeding...

can't change the temp of water i don't think unless you just mean on the tap?!

yes, will speak to them and see what they say!!

yep, my shower is electric. we spend £40 per month on electric though and that includes an electric hob and oven, kettle, lighting, showers (i have one every day, OH every other day) plus washing machine twice a week, the fridge, freezer, other appliances...

Jonesy88

Why do you think your meter is faulty? i take it you mean the gas one?

Is your gas meter imperial or metric? (on the meter does it say ft or m) - average unit usage is about 1-3 on imperial and 4-7 metric per day. I'd definitely talk to your energy company again about tariffs and usage.

Also if you're in debt on a credit meter, they'll often fit a ppm for free and can take a lower amount per week to pay for this. Obviously i don't know how you would feel about gas ppm or if your landlord would allow it etc etc.

minicooper272

I'm confused - your boiler is behind a wall?!? That's really dangerous - you'r supposed to be able to access the boiler to turn it off in an emergency. The boiler pressure would usually be displayed by a dial on the front, and it should tell you what the optimum pressure range is. If the boiler pressure is too low, it uses a lot more energy to heat your water.

You can alter the temperature of your water on the boiler as well - there will be a few more dials on the front of the boiler that you can turn up or down - one for heating (I keep mine at about 2/3) and one for water (depends on your preference).

It's really hard to explain this without showing you I'm afraid!

amr547

minicooper272 wrote: »

I'm confused - your boiler is behind a wall?!? That's really dangerous - you'r supposed to be able to access the boiler to turn it off in an emergency. The boiler pressure would usually be displayed by a dial on the front, and it should tell you what the optimum pressure range is. If the boiler pressure is too low, it uses a lot more energy to heat your water.

You can alter the temperature of your water on the boiler as well - there will be a few more dials on the front of the boiler that you can turn up or down - one for heating (I keep mine at about 2/3) and one for water (depends on your preference).

It's really hard to explain this without showing you I'm afraid!

i have a backboiler and gas fire that doesn't work :rotfl: the service guy said the boiler was behind the fire anyway!! when i moved in nobody knew how to turn it on either. lol

Jonesy88 wrote: »

Why do you think your meter is faulty? i take it you mean the gas one?

Is your gas meter imperial or metric? (on the meter does it say ft or m) - average unit usage is about 1-3 on imperial and 4-7 metric per day. I'd definitely talk to your energy company again about tariffs and usage.

Also if you're in debt on a credit meter, they'll often fit a ppm for free and can take a lower amount per week to pay for this. Obviously i don't know how you would feel about gas ppm or if your landlord would allow it etc etc.

errrr... i have no idea. see, my head hurts, is it any wonder i've been crying over this cos it's just too confusing :rotfl: all i know is it costs to flippin much!!!

[Deleted User]

Jonesy88 wrote: »

average unit usage is about 1-3 on imperial and 4-7 metric per day.

I think you'll find it's the other way around.

SpagBol

amr we are in a 3 bed house with 2 adults and 2 children, we run dishwasher and washing machine most days baths maybe 2 a week and showers most days and STILL we only pay about £22 pcm on our water meter which saves us about £30 on the rate given for this sort of house. We had our house re-rendered once and the builders were running water from our hose into bins that were just overflowing, we also had our lawn returfed years ago and there was a lot of sprinkling, NEVER has our water expenditure gone over our monthly DD. We changed 8 years ago and were paying £18pcm and so it has only gone up £4 pcm in the last 8 years. Don't panic about water.

The gas sounds worrying. I agree that not having a meter and just a flat rate sounds dubious and not being able to access your boiler sounds downright dodgy!! Can you talk to the CAB or someone else? It sounds like your landlords might be forcing you to take a certain tarif, there was something on TV about this a few months ago and it turned out to be against competition or consumer rights or something.