High energy bill before account ser up

Robin9

Can you please check that you are reading the meter correctly - some of these modern meters can be very difficult to read.

Look for the decimal point and ignore the numbers after it.  A photo will help.

What actually is the heating ?

[Deleted User]

Alexkelly said:

  I could see the meter before that and the numbers on it but I couldn’t figure out how to translate that into a £ figure.

Hi,

take  a reading today (a), take a reading tomorrow (b),

subtract a from b = units used,

multiply by price per unit,

add daily standing charge,

then add 5% vat.

That'll tell how much you've used since you took the reading yesterday.

Be a good idea to set up a wee spreadsheet and update at least monthly.

Robin9

@Alexkelly Have a close look at the meter - there will be a sticker on it and the meter installer will have written the reading and date when he installed it.

Gerry1

Alexkelly said:

This is the first accommodation where I’ve had to sort bills like this myself so I’m a bit new to this!

You're learning the hard way !  Unfortunately, if you rely on others or make assumptions you're likely to get a lot of grief.  Landlords and agents often don't understand the complexities of heating systems and tariffs, they don't pay the bills and may just tell you what you want to hear.  Even worse, they may see you as a source of revenue, getting a bung for signing you up to an expensive tariff with Spark or similar.  You must take control and look after things yourself.

Ask to be put on E.On's cheapest tariff with no exit fee, preferably from the time you first contacted them, then switch ASAP.  Start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'.  What kWh rate and daily charge are you currently paying, inc VAT?

In the meantime, find out all the details of your room and hot water heating and how to read the meter on the wall.  If you have panel heaters that aren't storage heaters it will be very expensive.  Take at least monthly readings, keep records, and make sure that the bills show smart reading or those you have supplied, but never any that are estimates.

Next time make sure you get a place with gas central heating because it will be much cheaper.

Alexkelly

Robin9 said:

Can you please check that you are reading the meter correctly - some of these modern meters can be very difficult to read.

Look for the decimal point and ignore the numbers after it.  A photo will help.

What actually is the heating ?

The heating is just from electric panels (small radiators). We haven’t had to turn this yet.

Robin9

Did you find a sticker with the meter readings on ?   What did the Eon bill give as the opening reading and what date ?

I hope your home is well insulated  - panel heaters use on peak electricity and can cost a fortune to run.

MWT

Alexkelly said:

MWT said:

Alexkelly said:

Feels unfair that we have such a high bill that we wouldn’t have had if we could’ve seen our usage in the first week. Do we have any rights to get this bill reduced on those grounds? Or am I wasting my time calling eon to ask?

What was stopping you from checking the usage on the meter itself?

... and why wouldn't you check your own hot water and heating settings the day you moved in?

I was told (by the landlord) that eon were in the process of setting the accounts up. Assumed eon would be in touch soon. And the hot water is controlled by a console which is tricky to get the hang of. Assumed it was set up as a standard automatic setting.

Regrettably you have been badly advised and you have not followed the correct procedure for opening a new account.

Personally I wouldn't be sending a complaint to E.ON, but I would send a polite letter explaining that you were incorrectly advised about the procedure for taking over an existing supply and requesting that they put you on their cheapest tariff without an exit fee and backdate it to the start of your contract.

Certainly can't hurt to ask.

Without the opening reading on the first day you will have paid for any power used by the builders from the point the meter was installed and you'll never know for sure how much that has affected your first bill, but it is too late to fix that now.

Robin9

03377 at 11.58 and 03385 at 14.40 = WOW   

Robin9

You say panel heaters  - are they a flat panel or a "traditional"  water filled ones supplied by a huge boiler ? 

theoretica

Alexkelly said:

I could set the custom setting to come on in the morning say 6.30-10, then go off. Then back on 5-10pm or something but if we needed hot water during the day (both of us currently working from home too) we’d end up with no hot water!

When do you actually use a reasonable amount of hot water?  Showers etc?  Also how hot is the tank set?  You want it hot enough to not be a legionella issue but not hotter.

At present I suspect you may be wasting a lot of heat putting it into water in case you want it.  Why not try setting it to an absolute minimum and see both what that does to your bills and how much it annoys you?  You can always change the settings around until you are happy.