Student HMO

girlsmum

Ok my daughter is in a student flat with 2 others.  One outspoken girl refuses to put heating on due to the cost. ( the other girl seems to agree but she is not there much as works and stays at her BFs too ) Its a prepaid meter and she said that if they put the heating on for a hour and say 50p comes off the prepaid amount that it then takes a couple of days to settle down? Apparently her mum told her that.....  My daughter put the heating on yesterday as she was freezing and stuck £2 on the side to cover it and stop her moaning about the cost, but she is adamant that even after the heating if off it continues to use gas. A spike she called it,  Whilst I realise the pilot light uses gas as does when they use it for hot water (combi)
I said this cannot be the case  and she is taking out of her posterior but my daughter won't say anything as she has nothing to back it up.
Anyone know where I can find anything on this?
Thanks. 

macman

It only uses gas when it's running. An older combi will have a pilot light, newer ones will not.
Did they obtain a new key or card for the PPM? If not, they are probably paying off the previous occupant's debt.

Gerry1

What makes you think it's using gas when the heating is off?  If true, the volume used (m3) would increase, and that's very unlikely.

However, the credit can decrease when no gas is being used.  The standing charge will keep nibbling away, and there may also be a debt that's being reclaimed.  She can find out what's happening by interrogating the meter.

Prepayment Gas Meter Codes

Prepayment Gas Meter Codes

Prepayment Gas / Electricity Meter Codes

girlsmum

I don't neither does my daughter, its her flatmate.  My daughter put the heating on for an hour yesterday read it before and again after an hour and 19p was used. She said yes but it continues to cost money until it settles down in a couple of days? When DD told me I laughed but flatmate believes what her mother told her and still refuses to put heating on as apparently 19p is just the start of an increased cost over the next couple of days. We just don't know how to get through to her flatmate who thinks it spikes and goes down slowly 

girlsmum

Gerry1 said:

What makes you think it's using gas when the heating is off?  If true, the volume used (m3) would increase, and that's very unlikely.

However, the credit can decrease when no gas is being used.  The standing charge will keep nibbling away, and there may also be a debt that's being reclaimed.  She can find out what's happening by interrogating the meter.

Prepayment Gas Meter Codes

Prepayment Gas Meter Codes

Prepayment Gas / Electricity Meter Codes

Its not me or DD just her flatmate who believes it and i don't know how we can get through to her.

there' is no debt, they have been there over a year but now she is making these ridiculous claims. They have £23 credit on their meter at the moment, but she watches it daily.  She posted on their house  group chat saying that "its back down to 58p a day now as apposed to the extortionate £1.50 over 2 days"
DD said that's 17p a day between 3. Apparently its a spike. And will come down over the next 2 days according to the flatmate. 
Its quiet laughable really, if it wasn't the fact  that DD is trying to study from home and said its miserable. 

rp1974

DD if paying for her own usage can do as she chooses.TBH outspokens behaviour needs nipping in the bud,sooner rather than later.Should be firmly told to mind her own business if shes not paying for it whilst she is benefiting from it.Outspoken sounds just a little dim,sometimes I do blame the parents.

MWT

She is almost certainly mistaking the daily standing charge for a 'spike'.

Otherwise it is easy to prove that the metered use does not go up if it is not being used, if the other person is just watching the meter credit as a surrogate for checking metered use she will make mistakes over the standing charge being 'use'...

Robbie64

Outspoken sounds like a nightmare to be honest. Maybe she (Outspoken) is just being frugal or perhaps she's, as rp1974 put it, "a little dim".

How many rooms (bedrooms, lounge, kictehn, bathroom)? £1.50 over two days with a daily standing charge included (which is usually about 25p to 30p) doesn't seem that much to me. Your daughter needs to get this sorted out quickly, before winter arrives and temperatures do fall much lower. It won't make for a happy house atmosphere if there are arguments over someone not wanting the heating on in the middle of winter.

macman

If they've been there over a year now, how come this issue did not occur last winter?

Smodlet

For the love of god(s), gas heating costs pennies per hour, does not cause "spikes" (so-called "smart" meters notwithstanding) and benefits everyone in the property, even if they have just come in:  Who wants to walk into a freezing, cold house unless they have to?  (It's called a "timer" by the way)  Are you sure the heating is supplied by gas, OP?  If they are in the north of Scotland and reliant on electricity for heating, "Outspoken" may have a point...

If your daughter can afford it, she should not have to be cold, ever; no-one in this country should and those who have to choose between heating and eating are testament to just how useless this government is, imho.

Being too cold is not conducive to anything, certainly not to studying or anything else brain-related; I believe studies have confirmed this.  I vaguely recall some vaguely scientific TV programme with what's-his-face from the Goodies (the one with the specs) illustrating this but have no idea what it was called.  I do remember it said we feel more alert when we are cold but, actually, because cold slows down circulation, we function less well than when we feel too hot, for all we might feel more lethargic...

I think "outspoken/clueless" would benefit from reading the utilities board on the main site and from reading this thread.  If she really has a problem with perceived "spikes", why the hell does she not contact the supplier and ask them how it works?  Yes, usage will cause "spikes" because someone has actually dared to use gas; it is there to be used!  If she is so bothered, she/your daughter/the other tenant could always look into switching for a better deal.  Whose name(s) is/are on the account, we wonders, yes, we wonders.

Knowledge is the key to fear, OP.  "Outspoken" and, certainly, your daughter need to look at the bills and find out what the unit rates and standing charges are; they can then work out for themselves exactly what their usage is costing.  If they are incapable of basic maths, they/you could always post their last two readings on here and several of us will be more than willing to work it out for them.  HTH.

UnclaimedEnergy

Did they also use hot water? - that would also use up gas.... 

I wouldn't call the other girl "outspoken" for not wanting to waste money on gas heating when you can just put on a hoodie...

I had to have heating on up until April in my last year because house mates wanted to walk about in shorts 24/7, decided to just let them do it as I was working at the time.