Electricity bill up by 235% !!!

Minute

We live in a small 2 bed cottage. Our electricity bills have always been ranging between £70-120 . Our bill for sept-dec was £76, then we had to switch our meter to a smart meter as ours was apparently old and non compliant - I had delayed it until we received a nasty letter from southern electric stating that they could get a warrant to access the property and change it -

A week ago or so two people (usually its just one guy?) turn up at the door a man who took the reading and a woman apparently checking / double checking what he was doing.

Our bill came through the door today : £305 for jan- march
I nearly fainted. What in earth is that amount ? Nothing new has happened in terms of usage, as I said our bills have never exceeded £130. I'm horrified . I know energy prices go up but on the bill the price per kw is the same as last bill .

Any suggestions ??

Torry_Quine

Were your previous bills actual readings or estimates?

CashStrapped

As per the above post, and in addition.

How were you paying?
How often were you giving actual meter readings?
When was your meter last read by a meter reader?
Did you let them in? Leave a correct reading for them?

Somthing is a bit amiss as I suspect it was not just changing the meter that led to a warrent being issued. We have meter readers on the forum who may shed more light on this.

As the second post stated. If you have not been in the habit of sending in actual meter readings and the energy company has relied on estimates, you always run the risk of accruing a debt. This is a debt that you owe for fuel you have used.

At the least, I would supply a meter reading every quarter. That ensures your account is up-to-date. I supply one every month and do not get any nasty surprises when the bill comes through.

1) You need to pay what you owe
2) Work out your annual use for gas and/or electric in KWH.
3) Use a comparison site and compare tariffs.
4) If you find a cheaper one....switch!

Minute

Hi

Im not sure about what you mean by sending them regular readings - We would always receive a quarterly estimated bill every time, and I would send them a reading if theirs was higher or just pay their amount.

The warrant came after they sent 2 letters saying our meter needed replacing and I hadn't contacted them as I had heard negative things about smart meters .

This is the highest bill we've ever had energy wise.

Cardew

They can change meters but Smart meters are not compulsory.


What do you use for heating and hot water?

SoletraderSteve

So you paid for what you had used when their estimate was higher, and underpaid when it was lower instead of providing a reading? How many quarters ago was your last accurate bill?

Minute

No, There was never a huge variation and the last bill was accurate (a reading) as i recall - the old meter was old but good ! i didnt want to start underpaying as i knew about a potential massive bill later so i kept up Yes I had heard about it not being compulsory but the tone of the letter was threatening and it looked compulsory to me or if not they certainly made it sound that way.

For heating and hot water we are using a combi boiler .

Minute

Something weird happened though a few weeks ago, the cupboard where the meter is made a big buzzing noise I actually thought there was a queen bee in there it lasted a minute or do then stopped . Was that a fault or the meter 'taking a reading' ??

dogshome

When the meters were swapped, the change crew should have left you a card that showed the reading on the old meter as it was removed, and the new meters reading as it was installed , ( These are often just left in the meter cupboard )

Carefully check the new bill for agreement between the readings stated on the card and those on the bill

Minute

Thanks all. Good point Dogshome, I just realised they included the last reading from the old meter. It matches that of the bill.
The bill for the new meter part , for 93 days is £25 (at 26.1pence)

I guess the problem is with the old Meter bill reading bit. It doesn't say how many days just how many kw ((1977 at 13.37pence), amounting to £264!!!! Problem is I don't remember when they switched the meters, between Xmas and early jan, and problem is what if the last old meter reading was wrong ? I never checked it myself after all when they came . What to do ??

dogshome

Not having seen the paperwork, I am guessing.

If the new meter is charging 93 daysworth of Service Charge, then the meter was changed 93 days before the date of the bills end reading - So assuming the bill was issued on 15th March, the meter was changed on December 18th.
You haven't given details of your tariff, but a Stand. Charge of 26.1p a day is very high

So far the Old meter charges are concerned, check you previous bill to see that the End reading matches the start reading on the new bill, and also calculate the number of Standing Charge days by the date on the old bill snd the meter change day