British Gas overcharging?

Janeybo

Houbara wrote: »

Your Mums electricity usage is extremely high, its a lot higher than the gas usage. Is she using a couple of electric fires around the house as well as the GCH
At around 9600 kwhs annual usage based on her 739 khrs for 28 days
Is the meter being read correctly ? There are still plenty of old electric dial meters around ( 6 little rotating dials ) which are so easy to get wrong.
The national average is 3200 kwhs a year.

ok, you're the second person so far to say how high it is. She has a modern meter, BG put a smart meter in. I'm now wondering what's happening. No electric fires, I can't think what it'll be. I'm going to phone her tomorrow.

Janeybo

matelodave wrote: »

My MIL used to have horrendous energy bills.

She would wind the room stat up to around 30 degrees. I would turn it down to around 25 and she would re-tweak it when I'd gone.

She would also have a two bar electric fire flogging away all day and evening in her living room - even in the summer (the central heating stat was in the hall so not really affected by the fire)

She'd have the patio door open a foot or so so her dog could wander in and out.

She was quite happy to pay for it and I couldn't persuade her to change either her suppliers or her habits however much I tried.

Sorry but your post made me smile, it's soooo difficult. But I can't think what she is using to use so much elec. She didn't have the heating on over summer - or so I'm aware of. Like you I don't mind that, it's her free will, but I wonder if something is on which she's not aware of!

Janeybo

badmemory wrote: »

If my energy DD was under £100 I would think we've had a year long heat wave. If the £250 is correct, which honestly it may well be, think very carefully before you start persuading her to turn down the heating. I am retired but somewhat younger than she is but when my energy bill started creeping up, I thought turn the thermostat down. It was a big health type mistake, because for a very small saving I found myself huddled under a blanket with a hot water bottle instead of up & doing. Much better for both her physical (yes and mental) health to be warm & as active as possible. It never occured to me when I was younger that being warm could have such a signifacant effect on a persons wellbeing even though I have always felt the cold.


So yes make sure the immersion heater isn't on 24hours a day, bright but lower usage light bulbs are in place, even newer model TV, washing machine, fridge & freezer to reduce usage but not reduce the heating.

Oh the emersion heater - I think that might be it! I'd never ever try to get her to use less heating, I just want my mum to be comfortable. She's gone through a lot in her life, so the least she can have is comfort. I'm glad she agreed in the end to change supplier as it will save her money, she can then have money money to spend on the things she like - clothes! Thask for your reply, keep the heating up!

PennineAcute

Just wondering why you are saying that BG are overcharging?

If their UP and SC is higher than someone else, how is that over charging?

Some people do put comments which allegedly could be deemed liable on here.

Robin9

Janeybo wrote: »

ok, you're the second person so far to say how high it is. She has a modern meter, BG put a smart meter in. I'm now wondering what's happening. No electric fires, I can't think what it'll be. I'm going to phone her tomorrow.

Some of these modern meters can be very difficult to read; some will need a button press. There will often be a decimal point involved. Is she reading from the IHD?

Don't forget that now she has switched the meter will be in dumb mode .

Janeybo

PennineAcute wrote: »

Just wondering why you are saying that BG are overcharging?

If their UP and SC is higher than someone else, how is that over charging?

Some people do put comments which allegedly could be deemed liable on here.

sorry that ship has sailed, see previous posts. And it's a question!

Janeybo

PennineAcute wrote: »

Just wondering why you are saying that BG are overcharging?

If their UP and SC is higher than someone else, how is that over charging?

Some people do put comments which allegedly could be deemed liable on here.

She now has the same meter as us, with buttons to press, so that seems to be right, I'm thinking, as in a previous persons post that it might be the emersion heater!

Biggus_Dickus

Janeybo wrote: »

She now has the same meter as us, with buttons to press, so that seems to be right, I'm thinking, as in a previous persons post that it might be the emersion heater!

In line with others, there appears to be something inordinate about mums leccy bills.

Even if the immersion heater is left switched on 24/7 it wouldn’t (or shouldn’t!) account for mums high electricity usage.

If mums hot water tank is very well lagged/insulated the immersion heater won’t use too much energy as it switches off once the water in the hot-water tank is up to temperature and a well insulated hot-water tank will keep the water at a sufficiently high temperature for a surprising amount of time.

However, if mums water tank is unlagged and in a very cold part of the house then the copper water tank will act as a very expensive radiator and will no doubt consume an alarming amount of electricity.:eek:

It’s definitely worth checking out mums immersion heater/tank,... and also ensure the immersion heater thermostat is set to the recommended (safe!) temperature level.

The elderly can be at higher risk of injury because they may be less sensitive and slower to react to very hot water.

Janeybo

She now has the same meter as us, with buttons to press, so that seems to be right, but it's not the emersion heater as she never turns it on

System

An immersion heater alone will not account for very high electrical usage. Leaving an immersion heater on 24/7 does not mean that it is heating constantly at 3kWs per hour as the cylinder temperature is thermostatically controlled. Clearly, a poorly insulated cylinder will lose more heat than one which is well lagged.