Do you really save money by submitting meter reading?

RP2X

Hi quick question regarding the electricity/gas meter submitting option that British gas/electricity give me, I remember a while back getting an estimated bill of £303 pounds and figured might as well submit the readings and get a more accurate and hopefully lower bill. Ended up coming to £343 with the new bill !

So I have not bothered to submit it for past 2 bills but do you think its better to submit it in short or long term to save money ?

Cardew

Submitting meter readings doesn't 'save money'.*

If the bill was based on an over-estimated reading, giving them the correct reading will produce a lower bill.

However if you didn't bother to correct the estimated bill, the meter would eventually be read by a meter reader and the situation corrected with a lower bill.

* being pedantic you will save a tiny amount in interest.

keith1950

Hi, if you hadn't submitted your readings you would have started the next bill £40 in debt.

In the long run it doesn't make any difference but short term could help your cashflow !!

ic

By providing meter readings you avoid "bill shock" - i.e. if you bury your head in the sand and accept the estimates then the meter reader comes, they will find you've been underpaying. They'll up your payments firstly to reflect what you actually use, and then up them again for a period in order to collect the amount you owe.

In your case you paid an extra £40 compare to the estimate - if you'd left it then you might have found it to be hundreds later on down the line. You pay it in the end regardless - there's no escaping it.

macman

Not difficult to compare your estimated meter reading on the bill to your actual on the meter and then decide for yourself.
But, to state the obvious, it doesn't either reduce or increase your bills, it just makes them accurate for each billing cycle.

JimmyTheWig

If you submit it regularly then you should be paying the right amount. Won't save money, per-se, but means you shouldn't end up with a big credit or debit on the account.

Possibly reading regularly is a way to save money if you're on a tariff with no standing charge but a higher price for the first x units a day. If you then go on holiday it should work out cheaper to submit a reading before and after you go to avoid the expensive units being charged for those days.

rogerblack

Reading regularly also means that you are more likely to have a better handle on your energy use.
This of course can reduce bills.

Fire_Fox

If the estimates are too high you will pay money earlier than you need to BUT you may end up paying at the old (cheaper) rate, if estimates are too low you can end up with money in your bank BUT when you catch up you may pay for units at a more expensive rate than you need to. Also reading regularly gives you the chance to understand and adjust your usage.

Cardew

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If the estimates are too high you will pay money earlier than you need to BUT you may end up paying at the old (cheaper) rate,

Indeed when the date of rate increases are known, people were advocating giving their Utility companies meter readings considerably higher than the correct readings just before the implimentation of those higher rates.

RP2X

thanks for all the replies, I went and submitted the readings in the end.