£55 gas charge for no gas used

kittycat204

I have just had a bill from E On, not estimated.
I have been charged £55 for the quarter. Gas is for the back boiler which is for the heating and hot water.
I know for a fact, that the hot water and heating haven't been on since April.
The pilot light will still be on but it's £55 acceptable? I emailed EOn and asked if there was a leak/fault and if I should turn the gas off at the mains to save me this £55. E on replied as such:

I am sorry that you are upset with the gas charges but I am unable to change this.

The bill has been calculated to what you have used and the corresponding standing charge. You can see the breakdown on the bill. The bill is also going from April to July. There is no fault with your meter and I dont think there is any need to turn it off.

I can see that you are dissatisfied so I have logged this on your account and if you would like to view our Complaints Handling Procedure please got to http://www.eonenergy.com/chp and you will see all of the information you will need. Should you want a paper copy of the procedure sent to you, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for one to be sent out to you as soon as If you need to speak to us about anything else please email back or call, we're here to help.

If you need to speak to us about anything else please email back or call us, we're here to help.

Kind regards,

Ashenden Wedderburn
Customer Service

Am I right in thinking there is a fault or mistake, £55 seems a horrific amount of money for what I see as essentially nothing. I don't want to be paying over £200 a year for nothing.

Please somebody help or advise.

Nada666

Gas standing charges range from £6 to £17 per month. £55 for a summer quarter is entirely possible. Change tariff if another one is cheaper (over the year). Don't forget that a high standing charge can be accompanied by cheap unit rates (and complementary electricity prices may also be cheaper than tariffs with a lower gas standing charge.)

So choose carefully and don't cut off your nose.

undaunted

So how much is standing charge & how much consumption?

If it's mainly S.C. you are stuck with it - or change to a supplier who doesn't have one.

If it's largely consumption & you say you haven't used it how do they know there is nothing wrong with the meter - has it been tested - or is it just a case of because he says so?

MillicentBystander

Tariffs with no standing charge are as rare as hen's teeth right now...


Edit: there actually seem to be just FOUR

ebico
utility warehouse low user
scottish power online NSC
scottish power standard NSC

Nada666

kittycat204 wrote: »

£55 seems a horrific amount of money for what I see as essentially nothing. I don't want to be paying over £200 a year for nothing.

Please somebody help or advise.

You should also write a letter of complaint to Ofgem - not about Eon, but criticising Ofgem for wanting to ban two-tier tariffs (which would have cost you £0 rather than £55). Blame Ofgem, not Eon.

But seriously, do write a letter of complaint to Ofgem (and the energy minister).

kittycat204

undaunted wrote: »

So how much is standing charge & how much consumption?

If it's mainly S.C. you are stuck with it - or change to a supplier who doesn't have one.

If it's largely consumption & you say you haven't used it how do they know there is nothing wrong with the meter - has it been tested - or is it just a case of because he says so?

Thank you for pointing put the standing charge thing. This is a cut and paste of that part of the bill.

3 Apr 13 to 16 Jul 13 Gas 690 kilowatt hours (kWh) used at 4.128p each £28.48
Standing Charge 105 days at 26.09p per day £27.39
Sub total of charges 3 Apr 13 to 16 Jul 13 £55.87

Does this make it more acceptable in your opionion? Thank you so much to all who have answered me. x

MillicentBystander

Whether it is no standing charge or not I do think you are paying over the odds on that tariff. Since they 'simplified' their tariffs Eon have become pretty uncompetitive TBH. I would advise ringing them to get your last 12 month's usage figures and get back on here with them (and your billing area) and we will have a look at alternatives that will probably save you a decent amount of money.

macman

No hot water since April? Cold showers and washing up since then?
The charge is 'acceptable' if that's the correct rate for your tariff.
There is still a fixed cost of metering, reading, billing and supply whether you choose to use the supply or not.
Just like line rental for your phone.

[Deleted User]

I looked at a prepay gas meter standing charge today and it was charging 34 p a day (BG ). The young lady was in debt for £400, all for standing charge as she was nt using gas at all. Can someone verify that there is a charge to remove the meter, and another charge to re install it. I think I read on here that it was about £75 to take it out. At 34 p a day, (£124 a year ) probably the best option in these cases is meter removal

kittycat204

macman wrote: »

No hot water since April? Cold showers and washing up since then?

Electric shower.
Save washing up and boil the kettle. Water has to be on for over an hour to get warm, so although not the best, kettle boiling is a better idea
Obviously want a new boiler system but not got the cash for that atm.

spiro

sacsquacco wrote: »

I looked at a prepay gas meter standing charge today and it was charging 34 p a day (BG ). The young lady was in debt for £400, all for standing charge as she was nt using gas at all. Can someone verify that there is a charge to remove the meter, and another charge to re install it. I think I read on here that it was about £75 to take it out. At 34 p a day, (£124 a year ) probably the best option in these cases is meter removal

Removing the meter will not stop a standing charge, removing the gas supply will.
How is she heating water/house is she is not using gas? Gas is cheaper that elec for doing this.