Electricity costs in electric only flat - Advice needed

Pachey

Hi All, 
I am very much new to the forum, and after searching for some advice and not finding too much on the subject, I decided to start a thread. 
I moved in to a two bed flat two years ago, as with new flats (and soon to be any new build) the flat is completely electric. I switched from BG to Bulb because of the competitive pricing and the monthly costs they had quoted. The smart meter was installed a month or so after switching and the monthly direct debits to Bulb were covering the usage. 
About 5-6 months after the meter was installed, reviewing the meter readings on the app, I noticed they were still estimates. I got in contact with Bulb to see why when the smart meter was installed months prior - they looked in to this and then before I knew it I was around £750 in debit. I challenged this to say I live alone in a flat where I have the heating set on a time for twice a day (morning and evenings 2 hours) and couldn't understand why the bills were so high, they looked in to it and a lot of the bills/readings were adjusted which made it complicated to understand, and it still left my account significantly in debit. 
I changed the monthly payments from £50 (as quoted) to £115 to try and bring down the debt, however the monthly usage was averaging at £250 a month, they came in lower over the few summer months but just enough to be covered by what I was paying. Since then I have had extra insulation added to the walls to help combat the costs in the winter. I've had my November bill at £170 and to make up for the debit I am still in the monthly direct debit is now £237 a month, which given that we haven't hit winter weather just yet, will be covering the usage rather than paying off any of the debt. 

I am at a loss of what to do as I can't afford £237 a month on electric, and have no way out of the debt that has occurred through errors on their side and the extortionate monthly cost. I am working from home now and I don't have any heating on in the day because I'm so worried the monthly cost will hit the £300 mark.
I am perplexed that it costs so much to run a flat with a single person, considering within a few years time all new homes will be electric, I can't imagine what the cost would be for a four bedroom house. 

Has anyone else got this issue? any advice on what I can do? I would really appreciate any advice you can offer. 

Thanks. 

bradders1983

You say the errors are all on their side - at any point did you read the meter and submit the readings either to the old suppliers or Bulb? Was the account closed with the old provider with ESTIMATED readings or an ACTUAL reading? How much were you paying to the old provider?

I suspect one of two things have happened:

a) You have never read the meters and you have been paying estimates every since you moved in, the account with the old provider was closed on the basis of an estimated reading, and now you have given a reading it has caught up and you are paying the price
b) when the meters were swapped over there was an error made and the reading on the old meter was entered incorrectly somewhere.

Robin9

If you've got an all electric flat then monthly bills of £80-100 are not unusual.

What was the actual consumption ( in kWh's ) while  with BG and what has it been with Bulb,  What consumption figures did you give to Bulb when you switched,?

Pachey

bradders1983 said:

You say the errors are all on their side - at any point did you read the meter and submit the readings either to the old suppliers or Bulb? Was the account closed with the old provider with ESTIMATED readings or an ACTUAL reading? How much were you paying to the old provider?

I suspect one of two things have happened:

a) You have never read the meters and you have been paying estimates every since you moved in, the account with the old provider was closed on the basis of an estimated reading, and now you have given a reading it has caught up and you are paying the price
b) when the meters were swapped over there was an error made and the reading on the old meter was entered incorrectly somewhere.

Thanks for the response. 
So with BG they had my meter linked to the wrong flat at first (its new build they were the supplier to all flats at the time) so meter readings were given when that was corrected, I quickly switched from BG to Bulb when I completed and moved in, and a meter reading was given to Bulb upon joining. The reason I chose to have the smart meter is because my meter is actually situated in an inconvenient place for me to check (it is placed in the flat underneaths private garden) so thought it would make it easier. 

I didn't think to look to see if there was an error with the switch across - I may have a look over the old statements to see (it was my first time dealing with utility bills etc!). 

bradders1983

Is it possible Bulb have reverted back to the meter at the other flat then? Check the meter reference number on the bills and cross reference it with your meter.

Pachey

Robin9 said:

If you've got an all electric flat then monthly bills of £80-100 are not unusual.

What was the actual consumption ( in kWh's ) while  with BG and what has it been with Bulb,  What consumption figures did you give to Bulb when you switched,?

Thanks for the response. 
I'd be happy with a bill of £80-£100 a month, after researching that does seem about right and I could budget that, however £200-£300 seems like a lot. 

I don't believe I did give them the kWh usage, that was probably my naivety really, so that was my first mistake it seems. 

dave2319

Yes, there's no way you should be paying 250 quid a month for electric when living on your own.
I'm also in an electric-only flat and with Bulb, and I have Economy 7 - presumably you also have that do you?

If so it's worth checking what times your night rates are, and here's the page at Bulb about that: https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360015855172-Off-peak-hours-for-Economy-7-2-rate-meters

If you've got your heating coming on for several hours a day outside of the night rates - which are significantly cheaper - that would definitely be making a big difference, and likewise if you've got the water heater on outside those times.

bradders1983

Surely new build flats wont have Economy 7 meters put into them?

Pachey

dave2319 said:

Yes, there's no way you should be paying 250 quid a month for electric when living on your own.
I'm also in an electric-only flat and with Bulb, and I have Economy 7 - presumably you also have that do you?

If so it's worth checking what times your night rates are, and here's the page at Bulb about that: https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360015855172-Off-peak-hours-for-Economy-7-2-rate-meters

If you've got your heating coming on for several hours a day outside of the night rates - which are significantly cheaper - that would definitely be making a big difference, and likewise if you've got the water heater on outside those times.

I don't have an Economy 7 boiler - my heating is on a timer (6.30-8:00 & 18:00 - 21:00) which doesn't feel excessive but I could be wrong. 

bradders1983

bradders1983 said:

Is it possible Bulb have reverted back to the meter at the other flat then? Check the meter reference number on the bills and cross reference it with your meter.

Have you done this yet?

Pachey

bradders1983 said:

bradders1983 said:

Is it possible Bulb have reverted back to the meter at the other flat then? Check the meter reference number on the bills and cross reference it with your meter.

Have you done this yet?

Yes, sorry. It's definitely the right meter that they have.