What's eating my gas?

techspec

British gas have been ripping people off for years. So first thing i would do is join scottish power or others via a cashback site, and also pay monthly by direct debit. My mums bills are double mine - but she won't switch.

keith1950

I have the gas fire on and the heating but only two radiators switched on upstairs. The fire heats the living room. The heating the bathroom and bedroom. It's a combi boiler so no leaving the boiler on to heat the water. Well. Currently no hot water since the boiler runs on gas.

You need to try using the central heating to heat the living room as well and keep the gas fire off as much as possible.

Get some radiator mounted humidifiers and try these as well.

Eight hours of gas fire will just eat gas, I know that it's cheaper than an electric fire but much more expensive than using the central heating.

Rev

When I say I took over finances I mean I made sure the bills were paid. That's as far as it went. My main concern was looking after my mother. When she passed I just called and had the account switched to my name.

It's a tiny two bedroomed terraced house. I don't think I could get any smaller. Not with two large dogs.

A lodger isn't something is think about right now. Maybe in future but I've been suffering with massive panic attacks and depression since my mums passing and don't like being around people as it is. That will no doubt change in future but right now it's not something I'd consider.

Right will turn the fire off and put the radiators on. Set the thermostat to 19° and see what happens.

I heat the rooms I use. Bathroom, bedroom, living room (the bedroom is heated by an electric oil heater I put on for an hour before I go to bed - which works fine. I still have half of the £50 I put on two weeks back). That's all. I don't see that as being excessive. There is a small radiator in the hall but there's no switch at the side to turn it off, hence the two radiators.

SwanJon

Agree with the above

Open flame gas fires look nice, but most of the heat goes up the chimney.
Turn off radiators in the rooms you are not using, close the doors.
You can get film to cover windows to help keep the heat in - close the curtains and make sure they don't cover the radiators.

If the bill from Dec to now was £560, that's over £40 a week, so you need to see if you can bring this down.
The debt isn't making that much difference (if the meter is set at £3.55 - have you checked?), but you could look at http://charisgrants.com/splash.html to see if they can help clear it. Not sure if they can, but it may be worth asking if they can help with the boiler.

Keep taking readings, and add when you top up and what happens to the credit. It should let you see how you can make sure that the money you spend isn't being wasted.

Fire_Fox

Rev wrote: »

When I say I took over finances I mean I made sure the bills were paid. That's as far as it went. My main concern was looking after my mother. When she passed I just called and had the account switched to my name.

It's a tiny two bedroomed terraced house. I don't think I could get any smaller. Not with two large dogs.

A lodger isn't something is think about right now. Maybe in future but I've been suffering with massive panic attacks and depression since my mums passing and don't like being around people as it is. That will no doubt change in future but right now it's not something I'd consider.

Right will turn the fire off and put the radiators on. Set the thermostat to 19° and see what happens.

I heat the rooms I use. Bathroom, bedroom, living room (the bedroom is heated by an electric oil heater I put on for an hour before I go to bed - which works fine. I still have half of the £50 I put on two weeks back). That's all. I don't see that as being excessive. There is a small radiator in the hall but there's no switch at the side to turn it off, hence the two radiators.

Nobody is saying your use is excessive. You are on a low income, energy is very expensive, the only way you are going to pay less is to use less. I am officially in fuel poverty, barely use my heating and my bills are really low. However I don't have physical health problems so I completely see you need to heat the room you are in.

Again do you need to heat the bedroom? Get changed downstairs using the last of the heat, use an electric underblanket with an overnight setting on your bed, they literally cost pennies to run, not pounds. Also consider an electric overblanket on your sofa and reduce the heat in the living area. It's your call but there is nothing else we can suggest, you can't afford double glazing and grants take time.

You didn't answer my queries about supplying actual meter readings. You cannot just transfer an account into your name, you close one account and open a new one with a different number. A final bill is sent for the old account and that is paid or written off. Are you sure you are not on an executor's account?

"Were you mother's bills based on actual or estimate readings? Supplier only has to read meters every two years, did you read the frequently in between? When you took over your mother's account what do you mean? As executor you read the meters and closed her account and settled all the debt using any assets/ any debt was written off, then opened a completely new account in your name? Or the old account was in joint names and took her name off without reading meters and setting debt, retaining the same account number? Basically are you paying debt from the old account or only your own debt from this winter?"

Rev

Thanks.

When my mum passed away I called British gas a few weeks later and asked if I needed to open an account or transfer the existing account into my name. They said they could transfer it to my name and did so. No mention of an executor account.

Only company that mentioned that was the house insurance. They said they could run the account until renewal but not renew.

I'm not a fan of electric blankets but that's personal preference and the oil heater uses pennies so using that for an hour a day for me is preferable.

I can't do anything until I get gas on Thursday then ill stick the downstairs radiators on low and check how much it uses an hour.

Gingernutty

It's the fire. Turn it off.

Fire_Fox

Rev wrote: »

Thanks.

When my mum passed away I called British gas a few weeks later and asked if I needed to open an account or transfer the existing account into my name. They said they could transfer it to my name and did so. No mention of an executor account.

Only company that mentioned that was the house insurance. They said they could run the account until renewal but not renew.

I'm not a fan of electric blankets but that's personal preference and the oil heater uses pennies so using that for an hour a day for me is preferable.

I can't do anything until I get gas on Thursday then ill stick the downstairs radiators on low and check how much it uses an hour.

I want to help you but you STILL have not answered my questions! The meter readings and settling the final bill parts are very important.

"Were your mother's bills based on actual or estimate readings?
Supplier only has to read meters every two years, did you read the frequently in between?
As executor you read the meters and closed her account and settled all the debt using any assets/ any debt was written off, then opened a completely new account in your name?
Basically are you paying debt from the old account or only your own debt from this winter?"

joolsybools

Stop heating the bathroom, only heat the bedroom for a couple of hours and stop using the gas fire in the lounge so much.

Rev

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I want to help you but you STILL have not answered my questions! The meter readings and settling the final bill parts are very important.

"Were your mother's bills based on actual or estimate readings?
Supplier only has to read meters every two years, did you read the frequently in between?
As executor you read the meters and closed her account and settled all the debt using any assets/ any debt was written off, then opened a completely new account in your name?
Basically are you paying debt from the old account or only your own debt from this winter?"

Sorry. I didn't mean not to answer. Truth is I have no idea. I didn't read the metres. I so know the last gas bill that came in was in credit by a few £. But the last six months or so were spent in the hospital with my mum and tbh bills were the last of my concern. I paid what was due on a Monday on the way to the hospital or set up a direct debit. As above. I didn't close the account and open a new one. I just switched it to my name.

joolsybools wrote: »

Stop heating the bathroom, only heat the bedroom for a couple of hours and stop using the gas fire in the lounge so much.

As I've said several times. I only beat the bedroom for an hour. I will stop using the gas fire and I don't want to stop heating the bathroom. I don't have all the heaters on all day at the highest settings plus the had fire and I don't see heating three rooms in my house as excessive.