Need some advice/help r.e energy bill

farenheit

Hi All
I was wondering if someone could help me with an issue.
I have lived in my current property for just over 9 years and every year I change my supplier to get the best value for money (so to speak).
Therefore over the last 8 years I have been paying around approx £110 - £150 a month (dual fuel). The two figures indicate that I was initially paying around 150 and then it went down to 120 over the course of the 8 years.
So, to the point. I changed to Scottish Power in April 2015 and provided both gas and meter readings up until around September. I got caught up with making changes to the property as I was looking to sell and move on that I completely forgot to give my readings right up until now! I know.
Long story about chasing builder to complete work etc! I did get a visit for a meter reading in February for both electric and gas.
Anyhow, during my time with Scottish Power they have never been able to give me an accurate Electric bill due to an IT issue regardless of me submitting these online and having numerous discussions over the phone.
Right to the point. Now last week I called Scottish power for a balance check and I was advised I was in credit by approx around £100. Today I received an email regarding a direct debit change so I logged onto my account to find that I was over £600 in debit!!
I called them up regarding this and I was asked to provide actual readings, so I did which increased this debit to around £956!
Now, my question Is, how is this possible?
My usage over the last 9 years has pretty much been the same, except we' haven't had such a cold winter compared to previous years and they have quoted me over £1000 from mid December to mid March. That's a 9 month bill in 3 months!
So in a nutshell, i've paid £110 a month from April to March (approx 12 months = £1320!) and still owe them around £1000. This just doesn't sound right.
Is there something i'm over looking? Are their estimate's wrong? Is my meter dodgy?

molerat

Were the actual meter reads used for billing ? Often they do not use them.
Were the builders using power ? 500w lamps, power tools and heaters can run up a huge bill.
Post up actual meter reads over a long period of time so we can compare.
Working out an electric bill is not difficult.

farenheit

Thanks for the reply,
Builder only did work for a couple of days, replacing some damaged felt, plastering and painting a fence. When he decided to turn up that is.
I only had meter reads for a few months, Feb (They sent someone) and March (Today) the rest were estimates.
What information do you need and where can I get it?

molerat

Meter readings will be on your bills and on line account. Have you had a meter change at all ?

Bigphil1474

I wouldn't worry about the call you made where you were told you were in credit - my online account said I was over £600 in credit until I gave an up to date reading and it dropped to £150.
You have two potential issues - the electricity and gas usage is correct so there is something in your property causing a massive increase in usage. Or, the usage is incorrect, and they are basing the bills on inaccurate readings. If you've got bills for April to September where you say you were providing readings, are they correct? If you have an accurate read up to September and an accurate read now, you should be able to work out your actual usage and compare it to what they are billing.
It depends on your property as to how much, but most of us use most of our heating over winter (as you'd expect), so the £1000 for mid December to mid march may be high but not as high as you might think proportional to your whole bill - roughly 75% of your estimated usage at the start of the year. 75% might be close for gas, but probably not electricity so it sounds like it's probably not the actual usage for that period.
Based on my usage, (we pay £80 a month which is accurate for our usage) - billing period June to May - we tend to be about £300 in credit by October, then the credit disappears to a debit by this time of year, then builds up a bit to May. We have had a milder winter, which is why I think we've got a bigger credit so far this year. You should have seen a credit from the first half of your year - April to September, then a big drop in the last 6 months.
Its all about the meter readings, their billing, and any changes which may have affected your use. Hope that helps.