Help! Massive Electricity Bills!

colsaldo

Hi there, I hope someone can help...

I'm looking for some advice, my British Gas electricity bills have been really high over the last year and a half (around £3,700 in 18 months, £200 odd in one week!) We had this problem a few years ago, British Gas eventually installed a check meter which revealed that the meter was running too fast and supplied a refund and a new meter. It seems that their actions have not solved the problem, leaving me thinking that the meter is not the issue. Could it be the way the meter is connected to the mains supply? Or could someone be siphoning off electricity from my system? I have also heard that some meters don't function correctly when measuring usage from storage heaters on economy 7, does that ring any bells?

I have had the council out before to check the system but I don't really trust their diligence in problem solving, and I'm concerned that British Gas will take their Check meter readings, notice a discrepancy, change the meter again and I'll still have the same problem!

Looking forward to your replies...

Atidi

colsaldo wrote: »

Hi there, I hope someone can help...

I'm looking for some advice, my British Gas electricity bills have been really high over the last year and a half (around £3,700 in 18 months, £200 odd in one week!) We had this problem a few years ago, British Gas eventually installed a check meter which revealed that the meter was running too fast and supplied a refund and a new meter. It seems that their actions have not solved the problem, leaving me thinking that the meter is not the issue. Could it be the way the meter is connected to the mains supply? Or could someone be siphoning off electricity from my system? I have also heard that some meters don't function correctly when measuring usage from storage heaters on economy 7, does that ring any bells?

I have had the council out before to check the system but I don't really trust their diligence in problem solving, and I'm concerned that British Gas will take their Check meter readings, notice a discrepancy, change the meter again and I'll still have the same problem!

Looking forward to your replies...

It could possibly be that your new meter has also become faulty.

You can ask the supplier to do another check. A charge may apply if they don't think a check is necessary and the meter this time proves to be correct.

But you said last time you had such high consumption, the meter was proven to be faulty, so assuming your usage hasn't changed significantly, then chances are this replacement meter is also faulty. If you ask the supplier nicely, I suspect they will understand and carry out a check free of charge . It will all depend on the records they have of your usaage.

Wywth

Try an energy monitor like OWL make.

It won't be as accurate as your meter, but should highlight any gross irregularities

colsaldo

Thanks for your replies...

I think the likelihood of the new meter being faulty with the same prob as the last one is slim, but i'm not ruling it out. I've been in touch with british gas who have agreed to do another check, and I've tried an energy monitor which recorded less than half the usage that my meter seems to be clocking up.

I know that prior to moving into the flat, the heating system was all replaced and work was done on the electrics, could there be a problem with the way it was wired up? Would any electrician be able to determine if this was the case? I've had the council out to look but they didn't seem interested in finding a fault. Can someone be made responsible for checking the way these things are wired up?

colsaldo

I've just emailed the ombudsman, hopefully they can help...