Elderly Parents getting Ripped Off

xlnc99

bsms1147 said:

xlnc99 said:

Another thing that does not add up is the amount paid to the Company my parents should be in credit by a huge amount (this is not including the absurd charges for Jan and Feb which i believe is wrong) - But when according to them they are only in credit for £100 (according to the bill) or £450 (according to their website), I calculate at least £1000 including the high charges they did.

Is this company trying to do something dodgy? Alot does not make sense, even after i showed the screenshots and some figures do not make sense, including Gerry pointing out October 2019.

Do you have screenshots of the bills from June 2019 onwards too? Between June 2019 and Jan 2020, debits totalled ~£1350 and credits totalled ~£1900 (so should have been in credit to the tune of £550), but the bill Jan-Feb showed a credit of only £60.45 at that point. That same bill also doesn't show any payment made that month either.

I will post screenshots of every bill tomorrow along with the meters

Robin9

The more I see of your energy use - the more I believe your parents have got a barn of a house. They have 4 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms for two people. The downstairs must be similarly a large space - lounge, dining room, etc. All of this will use energy to warm and light and this comes at a cost. You can pay less for what you use - so you take the advice and start a switch today; turn those lights off when you leave the room etc. But you are still going to be left with big bills.

Look forward to seeing the rest of the bills. 

GunJack

there's definitely something off about Jan & Feb's electric useage.... I just don't see how you can be pottering along at ave of around 450kwh a month, then use, what, 4600kwh-ish in 2 months.. I suspect a mixing up of two or more of those 5 numbers on the meter

Robin9

GunJack said:

there's definitely something off about Jan & Feb's electric useage.... I just don't see how you can be pottering along at ave of around 450kwh a month, then use, what, 4600kwh-ish in 2 months.. I suspect a mixing up of two or more of those 5 numbers on the meter

That's quite possible - I've done it myself - but wouldn't a subsequent correct reading then result in credits ?

elsien

Have they had anyone out to read the meter at all? I know the utility company only has to do it every 2 years but mine come out more often than that. Just wondering if that would give a base line at all. 

Talldave

Robin9 said:

GunJack said:

there's definitely something off about Jan & Feb's electric useage.... I just don't see how you can be pottering along at ave of around 450kwh a month, then use, what, 4600kwh-ish in 2 months.. I suspect a mixing up of two or more of those 5 numbers on the meter

That's quite possible - I've done it myself - but wouldn't a subsequent correct reading then result in credits ?

Not if you've been reading the "lower" register since the meter was installed and then one month switch to reading the "higher" register from then onwards (assuming they both track actual consumption). That would create the one off "leap" but wouldn't spread across two months, so I'm not sure that this is what has really happened.

Is this a second hand E7 meter that's been installed in non-E7 mode? If not, what are all those registers showing?

Gerry1

You still haven't stated whether they are on SP's Priority Services Register.  Then at least you might be able to get a meter reader to pop round from time to time which would eliminate some of the uncertainties.

Talldave

The OP's annual costs posted earlier in the thread excluded standing charges & VAT. I make the annual gas cost £970. With Ebico that would be £680. I  don't think there's much debate about the gas consumption, other than perhaps winding down a few radiators,  so would suggest that's a no brainer to switch immediately.  Leaving OP free to concentrate on untangling the electricity mystery and subsequently switching to a cheaper supplier. 

I'd suggest it's almost impossible to find an economic dual fuel deal for users with high consumption of both fuels.  Separate suppliers is the only sensible way forward.  Ebico for gas immediately, and possibly Neon for electricity as I'd be wary of landing elderly parents with Symbio!

[Deleted User]

I've just seen this thread, and rather than read through 10 pages of posts, has anyone noticed that the monthly direct debit taken, does not correlate to the level of bills generated? If it has, i'll be quiet

Gerry1

Wobbly_Bob said:

I've just seen this thread, and rather than read through 10 pages of posts, has anyone noticed that the monthly direct debit taken, does not correlate to the level of bills generated? If it has, i'll be quiet

Rather than plodding through all the bills and trying to unravel them, a quick check would be for the OP to subtract the opening electricity meter reading from the present reading, then working out the total cost of the kWh used, adding the standing charges and VAT.  Same for gas, except that the volume has to be converted to kWh, but that's easy

Then add up all the DDs shown on the bank statements.  That should give an understanding about whether the account is in credit or debit.