Huge E:On Gas charges!

BournemouthHan

Hi all,

We have just input our gas and electricity meter readings into E:on for November 2013 to now. All meter readings up to now have been accurate and correct, and our electricity usage for the past few months is billed at £74, which I thought was quite low! However, they have said our gas usage is £404!! We only use gas for heating and hot water and electricity takes up everything else in the household. The heating is on for 45 minutes in the morning and 2 hours at night and we both shower once a day. There is just myself and my boyfriend in a 2 bed ground floor flat. As well as this, the boiler was switched off for 12 days from 23rd December to 4th January as we were visiting relatives for Xmas.

Any suggestions as to why our gas is this high?! Any advice would be very much appreciated as we cannot fathom why it is going to cost us so much?!

Thanks, Hannah

molerat

It is possible to use that amount of gas in that period if you like your house like a sauna, something like 10 metric units a day so not way out of reality although with your suggested timings unlikely. Have you double checked the figures, as you mention a flat is the gas meter yours (and yours alone). Give us some dates and actual meter readings, what does your meter read in m3/cu m or cu ft, is your bill based on the same, divide kWh charged by meter units, around 11 is metric, 32 is imperial.

BournemouthHan

It's ours alone, the other flats have their own too. Between 1st sept and 7 Nov, we used 1855kwh and 59 units. Since November we seemed to have used 303 units! as we haven't been officially billed yet (getting billed on 20th February) we still have another months worth to go on top of that bill to come!! Seems unlikely that we use that much gas as we have been out all day 5 days a week at work and rarely have the heating on More than the amounts on timers as we are trying to keep our bills down, ironically!

One of the flats above us had an issue with their gas meter, but didn't explain what. Even eon said it was uncharacteristically high based on previous bills for us at this address.

dogshome

Your Sept to Nov bill for 59 Units charged as 1855Kwh shows that you have an Imperial meter. - Check that it is marked on the front ft3
( Or at least you are being charged for an Imperial meter )

Your Nov. till today consumption of 303 Units works out to appx. 9,544 Kwh on an Imperial meter, which at 4.8pence per kwh creates a bill of £458. plus the Service charge and VAT.

Has your Gas meter recently been changed?
If it has it would have been swapped for a METRIC meter marked m3, which
delivers roughly only a third of the Gas and chargeable Kwh's for each meter unit compared to an Imperial meter, and so they clock up meter units nearly 3
times faster than an Imperial meter
If the meter has been changed to Metric the reading makes sense, as 303 Metric units translate into a bill of only £162 appx.

You say that the meter is "yours and yours alone" - Is this meter located within your flat or is it in a Service Room with all the other meters ?
If it is in a Service Room there the feint possibility that it has been changed without your knowlege - Have a look at it and check that the No. on it is the same as the number on your bills and that it is marked either m3 or ft3 - If it's marked m3 report that fact to your supplier in writing

BournemouthHan

The meter has not been touched in the 13 months we've been here as far as I'm aware. It's in the garage that belongs to our flat, however the other two tenants in the flats above can gain access if they borrow the key from us.

We have queried it with eon and they told us to take readings every day for the next 5 days around the same time so they can measure our consumption against the bill.

Our only option will be to set up a payment plan to eon, we can afford to pay it off but it will take quite a few months! Unfortunately we have a final pay off date for our holiday on 4th February so most of our money is going to that!

Needless to say, we thought the £250 spare in our joint account would cover our bill this 'heavy' quarter as the other quarters our bills have been around £100! Foolish thinking!

dogshome

Hmmm - Odder & Odder
I can only suggest that you Switch off the boiler and everything else run by gas as you go to work and then read the Gas Meter, on your return read the meter again - Any difference in the reading shows that your meter is delivering gas that you aren't useing

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Morning,

I think dogshome has pretty much hit the nail on the head with this and there's not a lot more I can suggest.

Taking regular reads for the time being is a start, just also double check the serial number on the bill matches the serial number on the meter.

Then again as dogshome suggests, turn switch off all the gas and see what the meter does.

I'm here to help you though if you need me

Helena

BournemouthHan

Thanks Helena. Our usage appears to be about 1 unit a day. Which is why we were so shocked by this bill!

Luckily I've dug some savings money out so will clear the balance, but we will be checking for leaks/unauthorised usage too as it is so unusual!

Hannah