I have a massive bill coming please help!

footyguy

joshinlondon wrote: »

HI
It is going to be over £2.5k which feels crazy to me, ...

15,733kWh is a crazy amount of electricity to consume in 7-8 months

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

footyguy wrote: »

15,733kWh is a crazy amount of electricity to consume in 7-8 months

If they have left the immersion on for 8 months (which I think they have), sadly its perfectly possible. Whilst that will account for most of it, running a dehumidifier is rubbing salt in this particular wound.

joshinlondon

small update, I was looking in the wrong place online and found the earlier bills, from when we moved in end 2013 (I still feel like we have just moved in though!), looks like we have had a massive jump in consumption over the last 8 months for some reason, I am going to point the finger at the immersion and dehumidifier! About to buy a monitor....

spiro

joshinlondon wrote: »

small update, I was looking in the wrong place online and found the earlier bills, from when we moved in end 2013 (I still feel like we have just moved in though!), looks like we have had a massive jump in consumption over the last 8 months for some reason, I am going to point the finger at the immersion and dehumidifier! About to buy a monitor....

Most energy monitors are not very accurate, you are better off reading the meter daily or even more frequently.

gazapc

joshinlondon wrote: »

I am going to point the finger at the immersion and dehumidifier! About to buy a monitor....

The immersion heater here is the main culprit, my dehumidifier is about 250watts at max setting, an immersion heater is likely to be 3 kilowatts, over ten times the power. You definitely need to make sure it has been turned off.

Even so 15,000 kwh over 8 months (say 250 days) is still 60 kWh per day. A very large figure! One small consolation is your gas bill should be marginally reduced because of using so much electricity, the down side of course is this electricity is ~5x the price per kWh.

First Utility may offer you a staggered repayment plan if you can't afford the whole lot up front.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

joshinlondon wrote: »

Can I fix onto a cheaper deal with them before paying this off, would they spread the cost over time?

possibly, but the cheaper price will only take affect from when you supply up to date meter reading, it will not be backdated to a previous reading.

Hoof_Hearted

The immersion doesn't run continuously. Once the tank has reached temperature, it cuts out (otherwise the water would boil). A year's electricity for us in a big detached house is 5,000 kWh but we have gas heating.

Even if you know nothing about billing, always compare the reading on the bill to the meter. If it's way out, ask for a revised bill.