How to save money in rented accommodation with gas and electricity meters?

hanlou88

Hi

I live in a rented 3 bed semi with a housemate (landlord won't let us rent out the other bedroom). I pay her all the bills money etc and she pays landlord direct. Last year it seemed that she just spent all the money for bills that I was giving her and didn't put any aside herself to pay her share, as we got quite a large bill (around £500 for the quarter - dual fuel) which still should have been covered by the payments that we had been making and she said we had been forced onto the meter and she couldn't afford to pay. I was angry to say the least, but now I am having to live with no heating... During the summer this was fine but it is now getting colder and she is already complaining about the cost of electricity and heating.

She is home all day, pretty much every day and I work 11hrs most weekdays. I would love to come home to a warm(ish) house but as it is on the meter it is very expensive.

I am not sure how well insulated the house is. The bedrooms get very hot in summer which makes me think there's little loft insulation. Windows are double glazed but there are a lot of them. The whole ground floor, except the living room (carpeted) is tiled. We have put a hall runner down, and a thick rug in part of the kitchen, and a rug in the bathroom to help with this.

The house has a gas boiler and hot water tank and showers are hot water heated with a shower pump. I am lucky as hot water tank is in a cupboard in my room so I leave the door open to steal some of the heat (it does have an insulation jacket on).

Last year we did have the heating on a timer, but my housemate would switch the heating on constantly while I was out using the +1hr button. The house doesn't stay warm for very long, so it's nice and warm when the heating is actually on but it doesn't stay long. We turn off radiators in rooms we don't use very much and close doors to these (is it worth keeping hall radiators on if doors to rooms are open?). We also wrap up warm with hoodies and leggings and thick socks and slippers.

Does anyone else have any tips, aside from talking to the landlord about insulation? I have looked into the costs of him swapping to a combi boiler but it doesn't seem like it would save a lot in the long run.

Would an electric blanket push up the costs a lot?

Any tips would be gratefully received!

datlex

When you say you were forced on to the meter, do you mean that you now have a prepaid meter?

I think your biggest issue isn't the size of your bills it is the fact your housemate stole the money you had passed her for the bills. Spending the money which was for bills is stealing simple.

hanlou88

Yes it's a prepay meter and it takes off extra money to pay the bills back.

I've not given her extra money, so she's paying it back out of her own pocket. It obviously made me angry but that's sorted now, and she's learned her lesson as she's the one having to pay it. It's just annoying that we're now on the meter. I still give her the same amount every month as I refuse to pay extra, especially when I'm hardly ever here.

Would just like to know some simpleish ways of reducing heating costs. Is it better to have the hall radiators helping to heat the rooms, for example? When would the best time be to put the hot water on, how long for... Can we be on economy 7 if we're on a prepay meter? Can we switch energy providers if we're on the meter and owe E.On money? I have tried looking it up but its not very clear which would help.

Nada666

You can have E7 on a prepayment meter and it is, in fact, easier to switch with a debt on a prepayment - you can change suppliers with a debt of up to £500. On a standard credit meter an existing debt of £0.01 can result in a block.

But as you do not already have an E7 meter and your housemate is at home all day then the last thing you need is an E7 or E10 tariff.

ollski

When you say she's home all day does that mean she works nights or does nothing?, if she's on jsa for example then she may qualify for an affordable warmth boiler replacement.

hanlou88

No she works one or two days a week - it is also rented accommodation so would the boiler etc not be down to the landlord?

happenstance

ollski wrote: »

When you say she's home all day does that mean she works nights or does nothing?, if she's on jsa for example then she may qualify for an affordable warmth boiler replacement.

Isn't that only (unfairly) if you have kids?

Get an electric blanket, on the low all night setting they use 40w so less than 5p for 8 hours.