Final electricity bill ridiculous!!

EachPenny

bob_bank_spanker wrote: »

...I'm afraid this is an expensive lesson....

matelodave wrote: »

...and then getting stung...

I know what bob bank spanker and matelodave meant by these comments, but just to clarify in case the OP isn't sure - if the final meter readings are correct then a big final bill is only to catch up with paying for what you have used, you are not being overcharged or penalised.

The amount you have 'saved' on smaller monthly direct debit bills over the year is just being charged now.

The advice of other posters is god advice - don't rely on the energy companies to get the bills right without you doing some work yourself. If you cannot afford to pay a big bill at the end of a contract then make sure you are paying the right amount each month.

On the other hand, if you can budget and pay big bills in one go, getting £1300 interest free credit for a year is a deal to be happy about. Would anyone complain if they had been taking advantage of a 12 month 0% on purchases credit card deal? Because that in effect is what you've just had.

You say the bill is only for electric - have you checked your gas meter readings too?

dogshome

Something seems awry

This £1300 bill together with the £506? paid out in D/Debits adds up to £1800 for 14 months worth of Electricity.
Might be possible for an all electric household, but the OP has Gas CH

Mis-read meter? Check the Start & End readings
Wiring fault in the house or appliance? Turn off everything and check the meter has stopped - If it has, turn on one appliance at a time and watch meter for excess activity - If it has not stopped, call an electrician in

No bill since April 2016? - Claim Back-billing relief for April, May and possibly June 2016

ERICS_MUM

How much have you actually used since you've been with them ? What tariff ? Do the calculations to see if you arrive at £1300 plus what you've paid by DD.

Are you sure that the 'start' reading and final reading are both correct ?

ctdctd

Go and read your meter now.
Look at your closing bill from Flow and find the closing reading they used.
Look at your last bill from Npower and your first bill from Flow - what are the closing / opening readings - do they agree?

Post your readings (Opening / Closing / Now) here with the dates taken and we will be able to guess if the bills are correct!

hansug

Thanks everyone. Have been doing some digging as it's not as straightforward as it seems- the property was my parents and we bought it from them. Up until last April when we switched, the Npower account was in my dad's name as there was a major on going dispute with Npower regarding their gas bills (all dealt with now and entirely them at fault!).
My dad is looking for our final bill from npower to check the start meter reading but in looking he has found one from May 2015 which was for just over 9000 units (it's a newly refurbished property so only 3.5 years old). Flow have us down as starting at just over 12000 units but it's a deemed reading as it appears they didn't use the one we entered when we switched (no idea why!). The meter is currently reading 28800 which means they think we've used 16000 units in a year!!! This seems crazy...

ssparks2003

Silly question but were any other buildings converted at the same time close by? could you meter be supplying more than one property?

dogshome

Never mind 2015 Elec billing from N'power, what was the actual meter reading on their Final Bill in 2016, and what was the actual meter read you gave to Flow to open the account, and what Start Reading was used by Flow and what is the reading now?

ctdctd

If the property is 3.5 years old and the current meter reading is 28800, that suggests 8228 units a year - even that seems high for a gas heated home.
Have you got anything electrically heated - water, underfloor heating, garage, conservatory etc etc.?

hansug

No we have nothing apart from the usual appliances- dishwasher, washing machine etc. Hot water is via gas.

matelodave

As has been said, you need to find a bill with an ACTUAL reading, not a deemed or estimated reading as a starting reference and you need to read your meter now to check what the ACTUAL reading is and check your FLOW energy bills to see if it's anything near.

Without having a previous actual reading as a reference everyone is just having a guess.

You could do a lot worse than reading the meter daily and recording it on a spreadsheet to get some idea of what you are actually using and try to extrapolate backwards.

Just thinking that you haven't used that much isn't really all the helpfull, you need some evidence and that can only be a previous actual meter reading.