Scottish Power CRAZY Gas bill

Pogster100_2

I'm really worried:

I gave my meter readings to Scottish Power who said that from 15th December to today I had used 1350 units of gas - the equivalent of over £650 in just 4 weeks. I live in a detached 3 bedroom house, with a coal fire on most of the time. The heating is on for approx 8 hours per day.

The thermostat hasn't been working, and consequently the heating has been pumping heat out full blast, but surely this shouldn't equate to such a high bill? My readings from previous 6 months have also been very, very high.

Any advice from people who have experienced a similar problem would be appreciated.

Robin9

Was the December 15th reading ACTUAL or ESTIMATED ?

System

Pogster100 wrote: »

I'm really worried:

I gave my meter readings to Scottish Power who said that from 15th December to today I had used 1350 units of gas - the equivalent of over £650 in just 4 weeks. I live in a detached 3 bedroom house, with a coal fire on most of the time. The heating is on for approx 8 hours per day.

The thermostat hasn't been working, and consequently the heating has been pumping heat out full blast, but surely this shouldn't equate to such a high bill? My readings from previous 6 months have also been very, very high.

Any advice from people who have experienced a similar problem would be appreciated.

When you say units are you talking about cubic metres of gas or kWhs? Bills show kWhs which at 4p per unit comes nowhere near £650.

A new thermostat would be a very good investment.

Pogster100_2

Thanks for your replies.

December 15th was ACTUAL reading.

The lady on the phone said 'units'. This was referenced to the meter readings:

Eg:

Dec 15th: Gas meter read 25646
11th Jan: Gas meter read 26402

Consequently, an increase of 1356 (in about 4 weeks!!)

Pogster100_2

Sorry, it should have read 'meter' readings. Consequently, they are ACTUAL readings

System

What type of boiler do you have and when was it last serviced?

CashStrapped

Where do you get 1356 units from?

26402 - 25646 = 756 gas units used. This then needs to be converted into KWH.

I suspect they have charged you meter in cubic feet rather than cubic meters.

There are two types of gas meter ft3 and m3. If the energy provider gets them mixed up it can create either an undercharged or overcharged bill.

This is a very common mix up.

If we calculate your usage 756 units in m3

= 8590KWH which is around £262 on a good tariff

If we calculate 756 units in ft3

=24,310kwh which is about £663 on a good tariff (and matches your odd bill)

So I suspect your energy company has got the wrong meter calculation.

This is a very common issue. Nothing to be too concerned about.

I suspect if you check your meter, it will say m3 somewhere and on your bill it will say ft3 somewhere.

Get back on to the energy company and correct everything.

You may even find that previous bills have been overcharged, but for some reason it could be just this one.

If there is a meter mix up, and the bill is closer to £262 I would still check your boiler out and get the thermostat fixed as that is still a very high bill for what has been a very mild winter.

As Hengus asked, what boiler model make is it?

pogster100

CashStrapped wrote: »

Where do you get 1356 units from?

26402 - 25646 = 756 gas units used. This then needs to be converted into KWH.

I suspect they have charged you meter in cubic feet rather than cubic meters.

There are two types of gas meter ft3 and m3. If the energy provider gets them mixed up it can create either an undercharged or overcharged bill.

This is a very common mix up.

If we calculate your usage 756 units in m3

= 8590KWH which is around £262 on a good tariff

If we calculate 756 units in ft3

=24,310kwh which is about £663 on a good tariff (and matches your odd bill)

So I suspect your energy company has got the wrong meter calculation.

This is a very common issue. Nothing to be too concerned about.

I suspect if you check your meter, it will say m3 somewhere and on your bill it will say ft3 somewhere.

Get back on to the energy company and correct everything.

You may even find that previous bills have been overcharged, but for some reason it could be just this one.

If there is a meter mix up, and the bill is closer to £262 I would still check your boiler out and get the thermostat fixed as that is still a very high bill for what has been a very mild winter.

As Hengus asked, what boiler model make is it?

Thanks for taking the time and effort to reply.

Contact SP today and confirmed it was calculated at m3. Strange as your figured fit!?!

The boiler is a 'Classic LXRS and RS Room sealer gas boiler'. I've just noticed that the thermostat knob was on full blast. Would this explain the crazy numbers?

CashStrapped

So the bill was around £262 all along?

Sounds like it was just a bit of miscommunication then....

Regarding your boiler:

It is an older non-condensing type with around 72% efficiency. Not great but not worth replacing. As it is a non-condensing boiler it should be much more reliable than modern ones.

Do not get rid of it unless it really fails and there are no spare parts.

What thermostat are you talking about? There may be a temperature control on the boiler. This will control how hot the water gets. This should not usually be on full. You need to adjust it until your radiators get are warm enough to heat the house.

You may also have a room thermostat. This is a dial separate from the boiler. This does not control the boiler temperature. The room thermostat just turns the boiler off when a desired temperature is reached.

Ensure both are correctly set and ensure the room thermostat is working.

In summary, ensure your controls are working and the boiler has been fully serviced. Ensure your radiators are all getting hot and heat up at a similar rate.

I assume you have a water tank for hot water. You may want to consider getting a cylinder thermostat for your hot water tank. That could help save a bit when heating the hot water. Ensure it has a good cylinder jacket on it too.

Hope that helps!

System

Have a look at paragraph 10 for boiler settings. You do not need to have your boiler at max temperature.

http://idealboilers.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/08/111500-4.pdf