Ridiculous useage - help!

kittykat83

My sister lives alone in a 2 bedroom end terraced house.
She is out all day every day and most of the night on fridays and saturdays.
She is very careful with her appliances and electricity useage.
She only has electricty. She is on a standard tarriff which seems reasonable.
Unfortuneately she has 2 old storgae heaters which are her only heating. She only uses them when it gets really cold and then only usually uses one. From my understanding they charge up at night and give out heat during day.

In the last 12 months eon say she has used almost 10,000kwh of electricty and she is on track to use more this year.
She was paying £39 per month but currently has a debt of almost £400. They now take £100 per month.
In the last quarter alone, april may june her bill has come to £180.

Surely this cant be right?
I tried to sort this out for her last year. Meter readings were checked and eon were happy that this was her useage.
Her neighbour however has told her that the previous tennants always disputed their electricity and always thought there was something wrong.

Can someone advise please?
Am thinking of getting an independant electrician out to check the meter, all wiring and the storage heaters and looking at going to cab.
She really cant afford this
Can someone please help
Thanks

Nada666

When she uses the storage heaters do they only heat up at night - does she check the night meter readings and day meter readings to check only the correct meter tallies up (obviously a little late to be checking this now.)

£39 per month is barely enough to pay for cooking and hot water on top of background usage. As her Apr - Jun bill suggests.

Of the 10,000 kWh how many were day units and how many night units?

Has she shopped around for the cheapest tariff - if she is with her regional electricity company she may be paying a lot more than necessary (British Gas is often competitive).

How many units is she using to be charged £60 per month? That could be something like 400 units or less if she is on an expensive tarriff. 13 units is not impossible if she likes cooking and long showers and hasn't switched her light-bulbs.

It is possible that her meter is faulty but very unlikely - she has to check session to session how much she is using and whether the readings are realistic. Make sure she is comfortable reading her meter and reading the day and night displays and she should be able to find how she is spending her money.

chanz4

meters don't tend togo wrong, op what the normal problem is that the storage heaters are set incorrect. Ask eon to send an energy efficiency person out to show the correct setting. I bet any cash this is the fault

sheffield_lad

OP, £39 was never going to cover an all electric property. The new amount will be correct usage and debt recovery.

Take off the £400 debt and your left with around £67 per month. That sounds about right to me. Ask the energy firm to spread the cost over a longer period they usually will.

GL

macman

I agree. You cannot possibly heat light and power an all electric property for £468 pa. Once the debt is cleared it will drop back to around £70pm.
10,00kWh pa is not 'ridiculous' usage-it's very low.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi kittykat83

Already some great advice on here. Thought it might help if I confirmed a couple of things.

As others have said, £39 per month is a bit on the low side for an all electric property, especially with storage heaters.

The new amount will include the outstanding balance. As sheffield lad says, if your sister is struggling with this, she can talk to us and ask to spread the balance over a longer period. This will lower the monthly payments a bit.

Make sure she's on the best tariff. Pop her usage on the independent comparison sites and see what's available.

Ask her to talk to our Energy Efficiency team. They specialise in helping people reduce their usage. If she tells them about her property, appliances and heating arrangements, they'll be happy to help.

She can ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful tips to help her save.

Check out our website, too. Particularly the 'Interactive House' and 'Energy Menu.' More good tips here.

As Nada666 says, keep a check on the meter. Take readings regularly so she can build up a picture of her pattern of usage. Our Energy Efficiency team will also be able to talk her through reading the meter if she isn't comfortable doing this. There's a guide on our website to help, too.

Hope this is of interest kittykat83. Give me a shout if you need any more info as happy to help.

Malc

LittleMissAspie

kittykat83 wrote: »

She is on a standard tarriff which seems reasonable.

Standard tariffs aren't reasonable at all, they are always the most expensive. She will save a bundle by checking out the cheapest deal available to her. Try out a comparison site, not only do they tell you which deal is cheapest for you but they also compare it to the tariff you're currently on. I bet she can get it for much cheaper. Although her company won't let her move until she pays off her debt, but she could still switch tariffs with the company she is with.