£500 a month energy bills

Angsharp123

Hi I’m wanting advice on 500 pounds a month energy bills we feel that we have been paying way too much for years but don’t know what to do. Our neighbours all pay about 175 a month and there are only 2 of us living in our house !! We contacted flow who say we have excessive use of gas but we only have central heating everything else is electric! We have found that we have an old meter that they are going to replace but they say nothing is wrong? There are 4 houses of same size in our cup de sac and we pay so much more We timeout heating and it isn’t on constant We are getting a smart meter fitted but we are sure our meter is going way too fast but how do we prove this ? Please advise how how can get help

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Robin9

Is it just your last bill that was £500 then Flow may have been playing catchup following receipt of an actual meter reading.

Have you been giving Flow an actual reading every month ? Look at your last bills and let us know which have the letter E for Estimated or A for Actual. Give us the readings.


Edit - looking back I see you have posted the same question several times - what action have you taken for the advice you have been given.

Please don't post the same question time and time again - just reply to the first one.

victor2

Also check that your gas meter type (imperial or metric) is the same as you are being billed for. The meter will have ft3 or HCF on the front somewhere if imperial, and m3 or similar if metric. Then verify that your bills are reporting your meter readings according to your meter type. A metric meter billed as if it were imperial will have the kWh inflated by a factor of 2.83.

[Deleted User]

Suppliers will fit a check gas meter to test for a faulty gas meter ..Expensive gamble though if it turns out to be normal. They charge over £100..No charge if meter is found to be faulty
..Sounds like you have an old Imperial meter..If so they will be billing you for the correct meter.. The overbilling by 2.83 comes with metric meters being billed as Imperials.

Robin9

Further to Victor2 and Houbara - look at your meter and note the serial number and also is it marked ft3 or m3 . Now look at your bill - are these details the same ?

Angsharp123

Our bills for energy are 500 pounds per month and are readings taken ! It has been like this for years. When we were with npower when we queried they asked us if we had a swimming pool or something expensive running which we haven’t. Then we got the bills down a bit with flow fixed for a while but they have crept up again we live a the same kind of house as our neighbours they pay 175 a month for theirs and more people live in their houses ! Flow said we had spent something over 300 just in gas in January but we were away for 6 days of that month ! They are fitting a smart meter but we feel sure our old meter which is old must be running fast how do we prove ?

Angsharp123

They say it is an old meter but all calculations are correct we have asked this. I can’t believe we spend this kind of money

Robin9

Angsharp123 wrote: »

Our bills for energy are 500 pounds per month and are readings taken ! It has been like this for years. When we were with npower when we queried they asked us if we had a swimming pool or something expensive running which we haven’t. Then we got the bills down a bit with flow fixed for a while but they have crept up again we live a the same kind of house as our neighbours they pay 175 a month for theirs and more people live in their houses ! Flow said we had spent something over 300 just in gas in January but we were away for 6 days of that month ! They are fitting a smart meter but we feel sure our old meter which is old must be running fast how do we prove ?

Flow will instal a check meter but will charge you for it - if the meter is in error they will refund that charge and adjust your bills. Get this done before you get the Smart meter installed otherwise the old meter will have been scrapped and lost for ever.

As per other replies - let us have meter readings and check those meter details.

Norman_Castle

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gas-meter-readings-and-bill-calculation#metric-or-imperial


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victor2

Angsharp123 wrote: »

They say it is an old meter but all calculations are correct we have asked this. I can’t believe we spend this kind of money

Don't just rely on asking the supplier - it's easy enough to check yourself.
Then check what usage the meter is recording when your boiler is on. Take a meter reading, switch on the heating and take another reading, say 30 minutes later. From the difference between these readings calculate the kWh used. That should be no more than the rating of your boiler. You can always post the readings, time elapsed and boiler model on here if you want some help with that. With such a big billing issue, you should get an idea if the meter is recording realistic consumption.
Let's face it, there is unlikely to be a significant ongoing gas leak you are not aware of!

Robin9

What type of old meter ?

my.flowenergy.uk.com/help-and-support/how-to-add-a-meter-reading

Dial/Digital Metric/Imperial