Energy bills this christmas!?

Sir_Artois

Hiya all, thanks for reading.

Heres the situation.

I changed energy firms to first utility in june/julyish this year. My bills were on average £30 for dual fuel.
My baby came home in August ish and my bills rose (naturally) to around £35.
In november i get a bill for £75, which i question. The advisor tells me that all the previous bills were estimates and this is a calculated one. I ALWAYS submit meter readings monthly as they prompt me!

After chatting through with her, i agree it, as it does make sense, even if i am miffed about it.

Yesterday, i get a hefty bill for £78.. for one months usage.
This is what i cannot understand.

I gave my meter readings, which are higher, despite us using the heating less (i made the mrs turn the thermostat down 1-2degrees).

This morning my mrs say the boiler isn't working (although a good smack got it going in the end - what an engineer!).

Could the two be linked? i fail to see how what would realistically be approx £40 bill a month can double when the energy is more or less the same!?

So my question is - can a dodgy boiler (if it is dodgy) cause more gas charges?
If not, what could? what are the chances of the meter being at fault...if so can i claim money back etc etc.


Sods law..just in time for christmas

Cheers All

matelodave

Ok then - if you send the readings in monthly do you also check the statements monthly as well to ensure that -

a) your statement is based on your reading and not some guesstimate because you don't send it in on the right day (if you send it in early then FU will guess some random number to pad it out to the end of the billing period).

b) That your direct debits or payments are covering your consumption and not slowly racking a deficit.

Just bunging in readings and hoping for the best isn't enough - you really must make sure that bills/statement do actually reflect your consumption & meter readings - you can do your own sums but providing the readings are correctly recorded on the statements and that your payments also recorded and covering your consumption then there shouldnt be a problem. Don't let them get away with estimates, get bills corrected if they've guessed a reading

Its a good idea to keep your own spreadsheet and read the meter yourself (ideally weekly) so you can see if there are any anomalies. if you don't know how much you are using in kwh then you can't monitor it properly.

Finally make sure that the tariff shown on your statements or bills is the one that you signed up for - it's not unheard of for tariff to change without you noticing

McKneff

£30 per month is peanuts.


£78 a month for fuel for a month is really, low, especially with a baby in the house.


There are 2 of us in our house, both retired, both at home all day and ours averages out over the year at £90
So probabably well over £100 in winter and £50 or so in summer.


Why not do a direct debit so that you can pay the same every month, makes it much easier to budget.

Cardew

Talk of 'how much' you use is pointless unless you describe the accommodation.


Do you live in a tiny modern well insulated flat, or a huge badly insulated mansion?

Robin9

You are misleading your self if you think energy is cheap. With a baby and mum home your heating bill will be high and don't forget hot water.

SG27

First thing I would do is look at your online account and work how many units you used last month by comparing the readings you submitted. Then look at your tariff and calculate the exact cost don't forget to add the daily standing charge. See if this is the same as your bill amount.

Why are your bills estimated? If you submit readings each month then you should pay for exactly what you have used. When I submit my monthly reading (with British gas) it gives my bill amount instantly based on the readings.

Sir_Artois

Firstly thanks for the replies! sorry its taken me so long to come back

£78 is low for energy? yikes! i thought i was beating the system with ease!
my house is a 3 bed terrace, roughly 1920s build, reasonably well insulated, but with single glaze windows in all but the reasonably new conservatory which is double.

I am liking the idea of keeping my own spreadsheet & working out my own bills, thanks for that advice.. funny how the simplest things dont occur to me sometimes despite me being a tight fisted !!!!!!.

Cardew

A normal monthly bill for three people in a 1920's three bed house would be around the £100 mark(£1,200 a year). This would mean paying around £150 a month in a normal winter.


Whilst technically possible for a wonky boiler to use more gas, it is improbable.

System

Sir_Artois wrote: »

I am liking the idea of keeping my own spreadsheet & working out my own bills, thanks for that advice.. funny how the simplest things dont occur to me sometimes despite me being a tight fisted !!!!!!.

Spend 99p for the Meters app. Enter your tariff details and it will do all sorts of magical things when you start entering meter readings. For example, I entered a gas reading today and it shows that I have used £8.96 worth of gas since the 26th December (my last gas bill).

macman

A boiler that 'isn't working' is not burning gas. If it was it would be leaking unburnt gas, and you would know about it. If you and your house were still standing.

lorenjane

Hi there

I know ML always raves on about switching to get the best deal etc, but at the end of a price fix for example, if you are over what you have been paying, you have to pay the excess anyhow so what exactly is the point in having a fixed tariff?