Sudden HUGE energy bill!

FEM71

Hi
I am new to using this site for threads....but wondered if I could get some advice?
I have just received an energy bill (electricity only) from Scottish Hydro. It appears over the (hot) summer I have used 7000 units of electricity? Meaning a monthly direct debit of over £400.
This will cripple us.
For over a year they have read the meter at the required intervals, and yet the usage has all remained identical on my bills - until now.
My 'domestic discount deal' runs out in January 2014.
This recent bill is either incorrect, or they have made an error in not giving me an accurate bill despite reading my meter?
I have tried to call them but they are shut! :mad:
I have a little 2 bedroom end terraced. Our habits have not changed.....is this their error for not feeding back the readings correctly before?
Do I have a leg to stand on ie not treating the customer fairly etc?
and
Is it a good idea to pay what I owe and get out of there and swap my deal?
Any ideas welcome
Thanks all !

HappyMJ

Have you been supplying meter readings yourself?

7,000 units should cost not much more than £1,000 so not sure why they want £400 per month for a 3 month bill. What period does the bill cover exactly and what was your previous usage?

spiro

If you have several bills to hand post the dates and reading. How often have they read the meter and why do you think the latest reading is wrong? Have you checked the reading on the latest bill against the bill to see if its right?

comeandgo

Check your meter and check the final reading they are charging you for - I once had SP transpose two figures giving me a huge bill but after I pointed out their mistake it was rectified.

macman

The supplier only has to read the meter every two years-intermediate reads are your responsibility if you do not want estimated bills.
Is the bill an actual or estimated bill? Do the readings match the meter readings? If former bills were estimated, then this may be a big catch up bil on an actual reading.
You need to do these basic checks first before anything else.

[Deleted User]

You say "they " have read the meter. I take it some meter readers have been reading it. They make plenty of mistakes, especially with "dial " meters ( 6 rotating dials )

FEM71

Hi everyone!
Thankyou for the replies!
I have been doing some investigating....and had a good look at my account on line. The bills I can view go back to Feb 2012.
They read my consumption as ;
Feb - May 2012 day 1643 units night 2129 units estimated
Feb - Aug 2012 day 1643 units night 452 units actual reading
Sept - Jan 2013 day 1643 units night 452 units estimated
Jan - April 2013 day 1643 units night 452 units actual reading
April - Oct 2013 day 8732 units night 698 units actual reading

I have just done a 24 hour test and appear to have used 41 units.
I have not had the washing machine on, had the cooker on twice for dinner, the pc, xbox and laptop have been on (typical family weekend) I also have an electric shower. It is an all electric house, and have storage heaters (the worst possible for consumption) but I turn these off during the day as it is still mild.

I understand these items consume electricity.....but no-one I know in other family homes identical to mine have this kind of energy bill. Wondering if something is wrong somewhere....

I cannot possibly pay £400 per month! I may find a fixed deal elsewhere (Npower have a good one just now) and pay what I owe to Hydro......

Andy_WSM

FEM71 wrote: »

I have just done a 24 hour test and appear to have used 41 units.

Well, one of a few possibilities.

Either you have a faulty appliance and you have used the power, in which case it will have to be paid for.

or

Your meter has gone faulty (rare).

If the first option then you should feel heat coming off something! That's a lot of energy to use in 24hrs given the current mild weather. I am currently all electric and used 21kWh yesterday, which is for heat, hot water, cooking & 3 washing machine / 2 tumble dryer loads.

You need to find whats using the power. Do you have an old style meter with a spinning disc or a modern one with a flashing light? Is the disc turning quickly / the light flashing rapidly? If it is you need to turn off each circuit in turn until it stops - this will help you narrow down what is using the power.

Quentin

Your previous use seems too "even" to be accurate.

Irrespective of the length of time the bill covers, your day units are the same whether they have used a reading or a guess!

Likewise your night units for 3 bills are identical.

Coincidences like this don't happen!

MAybe you have at last got a bill following a meter reading?

Andy_WSM

Quentin wrote: »

Your previous use seems too "even" to be accurate.

Irrespective of the length of time the bill covers, your day units are the same whether they have used a reading or a guess!

Likewise your night units for 3 bills are identical.

Coincidences like this don't happen!

MAybe you have at last got a bill following a meter reading?

I hadn't even noticed this!

Option 3 then - it's a catch up bill, however - OP says they used 41kW in 24hrs. That's a LOT of power in mild weather.

Cardew

Have you typed that table correctly?

Four different quarters all using exactly 1543kWh day rate and three quarters using 452 night rate - two of these 'actual' readings?

For an all electric house with storage heating from Feb 2012 to April 2013(14 months) based on actual readings to have only used 6,572 kWh day rate and 3485 kWh off-peak rate doesn't seem plausible.

It seems pretty certain that the Oct 2013 bill is a 'Catch-up' bill and the previous 'actual' bills are a mistake and were estimated.

From those figures you have used in 20 months(Feb 2012 -Oct 2013) 15,304kWh day rate and 4,183 off-peak rate. That is below average consumption.