electric bill help!

8amy5

hi i have been paying around £80 for both gas and electric per month continuously. however i have received a bill from electric company stating that i owe them £870 as i havent been paying enough over 3 years! i am at a loss as thats a lot of money to find. what can i do as i thought they would have to tell me each year and spread it over that year?
i didnt think i used so much electricity?
any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

DragonQ

When was the last time they took a meter reading? Did you not submit regular meter readings yourself? How can you expect them to know how much you've used and thus charge you correctly if you don't tell them?

HappyMJ

8amy5 wrote: »

hi i have been paying around £80 for both gas and electric per month continuously. however i have received a bill from electric company stating that i owe them £870 as i havent been paying enough over 3 years! i am at a loss as thats a lot of money to find. what can i do as i thought they would have to tell me each year and spread it over that year?
i didnt think i used so much electricity?
any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Check the meter readings are the same on your meter and on the bill.

When was the last "actual" meter reading and date and what's the latest meter reading and date?

8amy5

the last time they read it was around 3 years ago i believe, i have never been requested to do my own meter reading and it didnt cross my mind. i thought after 3 years i must be on the right track! i paid by bill for the first couple of months of moving into the house then after that i have paid £35 per month electric for the remaining 2 and a half years! i just dont understand why they didnt get to me look at it after a year and pay more each month? i cant understand how i can use £35 per month and still rack up £870 bill over 2.5years?

DragonQ

I believe they have to read the meter once every 2 years so if they haven't, you may be able to raise a complaint.

However, it's your responsibility to submit meter readings. Did you not see the word "estimated" on all of your bills for years? Did it not occur to you that an actual reading would be better? The companies don't employ mind readers, they can't be expected to somehow know you might be under/over-paying and ask for meter readings.

I'm also confused about what the bill is actually for. Is it definitely just for electricity? If it was for both gas and electricity that'd make more sense since last year's very long winter would increase gas bills a lot (if you have gas central heating). If it really is just electricity then you've used ~£60pm over 3 years instead of the estimated £35pm, which is a big difference but possible if you're wasteful.

8amy5

its just been direct debit so i have just paid £80 per month, £35 for electric and £45 for gas but obviously in summer i use less so balances the winters out!
i can imagine if i was over paying they wouldnt have got on to me!

im not wasteful thats what i cannot understand, i turn all electricals off at teh walls etc i have gas central heating but my gas is fine???

victor2

8amy5 wrote: »

....however i have received a bill from electric company....

Do you have a dual fuel agreement with the "electric company", so are paying the one company for both gas and electricity? It sounds like you do.
If you have any old bills showing an actual or customer reading, which may be identified with (A) or (C) by the readings those should be much more meaningful than any which say estimated or (E).
It sounds like your latest bill is a result of your supplier finally getting actual readings, rather than using estimates, and you've been underpaying for quite some time. The bill may well cover both gas and electricity, but it may only be one of them that has higher usage then estimated.
If you don't have any old bills or statements, phone your supplier and ask them to explain the latest bill and what actual meter readings they have and from when.
Once you can pin the issue down to a particular area, even if it is both fuels, you can start to look at if your usage is typical or excessive, and how to make savings. Your supplier may well suggest a way you can pay the debt back over time as well.