Huge Electric Bills (£300+ per month) - Scottish Power

MarkoVB_2

Hi All,

I'm running out of ideas on what I can do and have had the worst experience with Scottish Power (SP) that I can ever imagine with any supplier.

I moved into a 2 bed flat that is only supplied with electric and has a hot water tank and electric radiators (not storage radiators). I moved into the flat in October and had my first bill in November for £130 which covered around 3 or 4 weeks and was excessive (this was an actual bill and not an estimate). The reason behind the excessive bill was due to the last tenant leaving the immersion heater on. Since turning this off I have had intermittent hot water and the bills have dramatically increased to in excess of £300 per month.

I have tried calling SP on numerous occasions, three times i have called and been cutoff (having been on hold for in excess of 50mins each time). Having had electricians and plumbers visit the property, they advised that the only thing it could be is a faulty meter. Once I could finally get through to a SP advisor without getting cut off, they sent someone out (which I had to wait 4 weeks for) for them to only turn the power off to my flat!! I then had to wait another 3 weeks to get someone out to fit a check meter... I have had the check meter installed for a week now and the readers appear to be reading the same... My current bill stands at £750 for nearly 3 months use and I often run out of hot water and am often cold (heater is on for 2hrs in the bedroom in total and the living room one is on for approximately 2-3hrs in the evening).

I'm running out of ideas on what to do and the only thing SP have said is that they are just responsible for supplying the electric and not the usage... I have had to ask them to send someone out each time (they didn't advise or offer this as a suggestion) and I have no clue what to do.

As it is a rented flat the only thing i want to do is leave but am tied into a contract for another 6 months...

Your time is largely appreciated to anyone that can help me in this nightmare.

Kind regards,

Mark

dogshome

An all Elecric flat that does not have it's power supplied via an ECO7 meter that heats Storage Radiators and Hot Water overnight at a 'cheap' rate, will always be a BIG money eater

Heat the Hot Water only when you are about to use it ( If the Immersion is on for just half an hour it should be sufficient for a shower and bowl of hot water for washing up)

Whilst you have quoted "£'s", what really matters is how many Kwh each of the heaters is burning - Whilst it's probably 3kwh an hour for the Immersion Heater, the heaters are an uknown quantity , (These will have a rateing plate on the back which says how many watts they are useing, but you are stuck if they are fixed to the wall).

The only upside is that we are entering summer when you won't need the heating on - If it gets cool in the evening put a jumper on, not the heaters .
With your lease ending in September be prepared to move elsewhere, and thoroughly check the energy set-up of that 'elsewhere' before you sign the lease

good_advice

Hello marko

Have you told SP you are a new tenant so you are not paying any debt off from previous tenant?

Have you tried turning everything electric off to check the meter stops?

Electric heating is expensive. TURN IT OFF. Our heating is completely off now the weather is a little warmer.

Unplug everything you are not using.

The next move make sure you have good insulation and gas CH.

Best wishes

ermine

and electric radiators (not storage radiators).

That's the most expensive way to heat somewhere. Basically pull back to one room, heat just that, and consider just heating water on demand using a kettle for washing up. Some libraries will loan out a power consumption meter so you can kind out exactly how much the various appliances are using and how much it costs (from the unit price).

And move. On the upside, it's been a relatively mild winter and the weather is getting warmer. If you have to use direct heaters, a fan heater makes you feel a little warmer than a convection heater because you can target the heat, but there's not much in it.

Are you paying off the last tenant's clever idea of leaving the immersion heater on? Challenge that.

@dogshome although an immersion heater is rated at 3kWh the thermostat should kick that off when the water is hot enough, so it isn't a continual 3kWh drain. If it were, at a 15p/unit rate that would be £75 a week, and while the OP is paying £300 a month they are using other heating devices too so the immersion heater must be using less.

dogshome

Ermine - I'm perfectly well aware of how an immersion heater works, and a half hour burn, (Dependant on tank size), will provide enough Hot water for a shower and washing up bowl - The fact that the Immersion element has a thermostat is irrelevant - What matters is that the OP has it switched on for as shorter periods as possible

macman

OP, I'm baffled as to why you think that this is SP's fault? The check meter now appears to show that the original meter is reading correctly, so how do you think that SP are responsible for your high usage? As they said, they are only responsible for the supply. You are aware that you will now probably be charged for the meter change?
If the flat is absurdly expensive to heat, then the conversation you need to have is with the LL to improve the insulation and install E7, assuming that gas is not an option?
PS: why are you paying any part of the previous tenant's bill? You should have taken a reading and submitted it on the day you moved in, then the usage to that date is the responsibility of the outgoing tenant.

km1423

My mum lived in a rented flat for 2 years, heated by electric, and E7 rads.

Bills were very high - even when she went away on holiday for a month in December 2012.

Early in January, she had a flood - hot water tank burst.

When it was removed the old tank was FULL of limescale and super thick on the elements which had built up over god knows how long, plus, the tank was fitted with a hot water booster switch which had been turned on since the day she moved in - EA never told her, and she never knew.

When old tank was replaced, I read the instructions. Advised only to use hot water boost, if house was full of guests, and only for 1 hour at a time, say in the morning and again in the evening. This eats energy.

If you have just moved in, ask LL to advise how old the tank is, find instructions, go online if necessary and see if it has a water boost button, plus Get LL to get it descaled, will need a professional.

Are you reading the meter yourself, or is the meter in the Landlord's cupboard, which is then read by energy provider, or some other person, and then submitted to SP?

Have you asked SP what Tariff you are on. Don't mean to sound condescending.

As a final measure, assuming you have access to to meter, in/near your property
turn electric off at consumer unit, use a torch and see if meter is still running. If so then the meter is at fault, or could be spliced to another property where they are growing Ganja.

good_advice

This is beginning to look a suspect first post. A tall story put up just for replies.

couponkingpeter

You might be paying of a previous tenant's debt.