Ridiculous Electricity Bill

Smodlet

It is beginning to sound as if this expected bill might just be correct, after all. I admit I know nothing about water-filled, electrically heated radiators but just thinking about how much it costs to boil a kettle, it sounds like an absolutely ridiculous way to heat space to me. At least with storage heaters you are heating up solid blocks rather than water, which retain their heat for a long time and tend to be on Economy 7 type tariffs.

I'd look into either changing your heaters for something like those, getting mains gas installed or moving somewhere that already has it.

dimbo61

Who is your energy provider and what tariff are you on ?
First question I would be asking once I moved to a new property Renting or Buying !

45002

Windofchange wrote: »

No idea I'm afraid. This is what we have:

https://www.landisgyr.eu/product/landisgyr-e470/

Thanks...


Just out of interest.


Do you know who the utilities supplier was before you took over the supply and who is utilities supplier know ?






...

Fire_Fox

Windofchange wrote: »

We moved in and awaited our first bill as right move in our tenancy contract stated they would sign us up with a certain provider which we could then change on day one if we wanted to. I therefore sat back and awaited my first bill having filled in the paperwork etc with them.

About 4 months into being here, I got a final demand addressed to the landlord's building company stating that unless he paid £70 then the bailiffs would attend etc etc. Got hold of his office lady who said oh dear and leave it with her. A month later I got the same demand for £70, but addressed to me which I paid. I agree, I no doubt owe more than £70.

I have taken photos of the meter readings for the past 2 months, and we are using about 4-500 Kw hours a month. As per my initial post, I couldn't give anyone any readings for the past 6 months because he had it all under lock and key. This is what is so dodgy. I'm now expected to believe that I have used some 9000 kw hours in 7 months. I'm on one of the big utilities standard year tariff.

I am finding it impossible to follow the thread. The objective facts are buried in an enormous amount of subjective stuff, issues with your landlord, people posting about their large gas-heated house ....

Deal with your difficult landlord situation on a separate thread (this one) to your electricity bill query (new one).

Landlord: deal with them in writing - letter or e-mail - so you form a paper trail. Flailing about phoning, texting, e-mailing ... I cannot see how anyone can prove to anyone else what was and was not requested to, responded to or ignored. If telephoning is essential at any time, follow that up with a confirmation e-mail to maintain the paper trail.



Electricity bill: relevant facts include size of property, type of property, age of property.

What you have regarding dates and meter readings/ alleged usage in kWh, in chronological order.

How you used the heating, every room or not, ambient temperature, how many hours a day/ night, how many weeks/ months. If you left windows ajar often alongside or anything else unusual.

How you used the hot water, frequency and duration of showers and baths. Washing machine, do you hot or cool wash (temp). Tumble dryer, do you have one, how often is it used.

Everything else electrical is gravy. Lighting, media and all that pale into insignificance alongside stuff that really kicks out heat.

Moving from kWh to £££: what type of meter do you have (E7 or not), what type of tariff do you have (E7 or not) supplier. If you never changed anything you will be on the standard tariff which is not cheap.

I suspect you have misunderstood/ misinterpreted the information supplied by RightMove as regards the 'deemed contract' with the supplier.

You cannot now switch supplier until this bill is settled but you can change to a cheaper tariff with the same supplier.

Your photos of the meter over the last couple of months are very helpful to work backwards over months where your predicted use was similar (heating on/ off, immersion heater reprogramme).



Carefully review the paperwork you have for the £70 charge. It is entirely possible you have paid the landlord's bill. If you have you want that reallocated to your account. That would make more sense than the supplier estimating your use at a one off £70. Does that bill have actual or estimated readings?

HTH.

baldelectrician

The meter is a smart meter and can be used to read historic data

Take note of the meter serial number and call your supplier, you can then make sure you are on the correct meter and correct tariff.

Your meter should be fairly accurate and you can check the tariff.
This meter supports multi tariffs- with a set up like yours with a heat store you should be on
Domestic and Economy 2000 (*SP area only) or a local equvalent such as Economy 10

Windofchange

I'm with British Gas and have just checked - I'm on the temporary tracker tariff. The boiler that I have is a storage boiler - it was setup apparently to heat water during the cheap times of the day, but whether that has actually happened or not who knows with my landlord.

To answer your questions Firefox - I have always communicated via e-mail for the exact reasons you state. Where I have had informal chats with him when he's been on site I have always sent a follow up mail. I have two meter readings taken over the last two and a bit months which is how I've got to my 4-500 kw hours figure of monthly usage. The house is well insulated and generally warm, hence I have had the heating switched off since the end of February. The radiators in our spare room are turned off. I feel I have optimised everything in terms of the heating situation - not wasting money there. The £70 bill I paid was for the period from November when we moved in until end of April. Yes, too cheap I know, but that is what they sent me, so that is what I have paid. We don't have a tumble dryer, do washes on quick cycle, and although we have a dishwasher, we use it maybe twice a month when we are feeling lazy.

In terms of changing things, switching to gas etc, we rent, so not going to start paying out to get gas pipes installed and so on. It is what it is at the moment. We don't want to move for the sake of gas as we are happy here, and want to stay.

As for the contract, this is copied and pasted from the bit about electricity

Utilities
Data about the Tenant and the Premises may be supplied by the Landlord or the letting agent to the Utilities or the telephone supplier. At the date the let commences, gas and electricity supplies will be supplied by Spark Energy Limited or be in the course of being supplied by Spark Energy Limited however you can opt to change energy supplier at any point during your Tenancy.
The exception to this will be if the electricity and gas utility is included in the rent and payable by the landlord.

That is pretty explicit to me, and it never happened.

Norman_Castle

What I suspect has happened is that he has been using the electricity supply for the years that it took him to build all the flats and houses, and actually hasn't zeroed anything.

Presumably there will have been a supplier and charges from when the meters were installed prior to you moving in to the property. Explain the situation and ask the suppliers if there evidence of payment between installation and you moving in.

KiKi

As someone else said, as a smart meter the elec company will be able to take the date you moved in and work out what is yours and what isn't - so that should solve the issue of not having a reading.

steampowered

Might your supplier be able to help, if you call them up and talk to them?

Windofchange wrote: »

I'm with British Gas and have just checked - I'm on the temporary tracker tariff.

You should switch tariff ASAP. You should probably change provider completely as British Gas are expensive.

I'm on BG's temporary tariff as well as well for just a week while I change provider. BG quote £130 a month for the same amount of electricity other providers quote £25 a month for.