Help needed on extremely high electricity bill

Gentlegiant

matelodave said:

have you not been reading or understanding the whole of this thread (now 21 pages long) - it appears that you are giving free leccy away to someone else.

Please, please, please, read the meter carefully - both registers and then turn off the big red switch for an hour. Sit in the dark if you have to. If the meter increments by even 1 watt  on either register then something else is using it and any info that you think you are gathering is going to be wrong and so of no possible use in determining your consumption.

being on the wrong or a poor tariff is the least of your problems if someone else is using 50% or more of what you are paying for. There really is no point in trying change suppliers or even tariffs until you get the issue of where its all going and who is going to pay for the stuff that you've probably lost sorted out.

BG wont care who pays so long as somebody does and at the moment its down to you because you are their account holder and it's all coming through the meter that is your responsibility. The fact that you didn't install or modify the wiring isn't down to them it's between you and your landlord and whoever has been getting the benefit of the leccy that you have been paying for.

Yes thanks.. I am aware if these I am only asking about the tariffs when infact this has been resolved and I have to switch. I am sure the meter reads when completely switched off. And I wont know much until the weekend when the technician comes and I am not electric savvy as you may have found out and That dont want to be touching anything. 

Gentlegiant

niktheguru said:

I must say despite this being an incredibly long thread it has been very interesting seeing how the saga has panned out.
Must say i'm not entirely convinced this "technician" of the landlord will be particularly helpful, especially if he/she was the person that did the original work in the first place on that splitter.  It might be worth getting a decent electrician out to have a look at it and investigate it. Sure it'll cost a bit, but you may be safer with your case with the landlord that there has been tampering and they would be liable for this if it was there when you moved in.

Gentlegiant, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE as everyone else has said turn off your consumer unit (the two red switches) for an hour and see if your meters change at all. It is the most critical of tests currently.

Also, have you spoken to anyone else in your building about your situation? If so perhaps that could be why it may have improved. alternatively if the flat below is currently unoccupied, all that extra use could be from back when it was actually occupied.

I will do as you have said. I will switch the main unit off for 1 hour and see what happens. And No, I haven’t discussed with anyone. I will rather have the landlord’s electrician to have a look as I am not allowed to tamper with anything as it may void the contract. But I will be there with the “Technician” watching his every move. 

Hasbeen

Gentlegiant said:

matelodave said:

have you not been reading or understanding the whole of this thread (now 21 pages long) - it appears that you are giving free leccy away to someone else.

Please, please, please, read the meter carefully - both registers and then turn off the big red switch for an hour. Sit in the dark if you have to. If the meter increments by even 1 watt  on either register then something else is using it and any info that you think you are gathering is going to be wrong and so of no possible use in determining your consumption.

being on the wrong or a poor tariff is the least of your problems if someone else is using 50% or more of what you are paying for. There really is no point in trying change suppliers or even tariffs until you get the issue of where its all going and who is going to pay for the stuff that you've probably lost sorted out.

BG wont care who pays so long as somebody does and at the moment its down to you because you are their account holder and it's all coming through the meter that is your responsibility. The fact that you didn't install or modify the wiring isn't down to them it's between you and your landlord and whoever has been getting the benefit of the leccy that you have been paying for.

Yes thanks.. I am aware if these I am only asking about the tariffs when infact this has been resolved and I have to switch. I am sure the meter reads when completely switched off. And I wont know much until the weekend when the technician comes and I am not electric savvy as you may have found out and That dont want to be touching anything. 

OP at this stage I would not trust the LL or his "technician"
If it is bypassed you need an independent to verify.

I would suggest getting an actual Electrician out to have a look before the weekend.

It will cost you but could rectify your problem.

Gentlegiant

Gerry1 said:

Gentlegiant said:

- Should I switch to a smart meter? 

No, unless you don't intend to send meter readings monthly.

Gentlegiant said:

- If asked, what is my basic consumption for a non E7 standard plan?
- Do I still use E7 on the new plan or just go with a single rate plan?

You'll have to guess.  If you expect to get the 'down below' problem sorted out then you could try 2900kWh.

Gentlegiant said:

- Do I still use E7 on the new plan or just go with a single rate plan?

Keep it simple.  Just go with single rate on the E7 meter, just as you are at the moment.

Gentlegiant said:

I intend to call BG today after work and change the tarrif I am currently on.

As previously stated that's not a good idea because BG's best tariffs are only available via comparison sites: start with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?' and perhaps a few others such as Uswitch (making sure you click on Filter so that you see the whole market).  You could always make a note of the exact name of tariff that's the cheapest and then phone BG and ask them to switch you to it, but almost certainly the call centre staff probably won't be able to access any info about it so you'll have to use a comparison site.

You could also try British Gas Evolve, but with your debt you may find that plain British Gas may block the transfer if they consider British Gas Evolve to be a separate company.

Alternatively, if you accept that the BG bill is accurate then you could pay it if you can afford to do so and then switch to the cheapest tariffs from the whole market.  You should also switch your gas from pre-payment to a credit meter; you have separate suppliers at present and they may well remain cheaper than dual fuel, although probably not the same ones.

If it turns out that you having been paying for another flat's usage then you may wish to contact Citizens Advice if your landlord is unhelpful.  There won't be any point in discussing it with BG because it's not their concern who then uses the energy that you have purchased from them.

I will hold off switching for now in that case but i have at least now I know what to look out for. U til this whole saga is rectified. I am also waiting for the BG new invoice which I hope to get by the end of the week m. So all in all this weekend I will know more of where the situation is heading. Thanks again

tim_p

The landlord doesn’t live there was well do they?

Gentlegiant

tim_p said:

The landlord doesn’t live there was well do they?

Nope

tim_p

Just a thought! 

 It’d be an idea to ask the electrician to disconnect those cables, his reaction might be interesting. I’d be suspicious if he refused. 

matelodave

Gentlegiant said:

niktheguru said:

I must say despite this being an incredibly long thread it has been very interesting seeing how the saga has panned out.
Must say i'm not entirely convinced this "technician" of the landlord will be particularly helpful, especially if he/she was the person that did the original work in the first place on that splitter.  It might be worth getting a decent electrician out to have a look at it and investigate it. Sure it'll cost a bit, but you may be safer with your case with the landlord that there has been tampering and they would be liable for this if it was there when you moved in.

Gentlegiant, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE as everyone else has said turn off your consumer unit (the two red switches) for an hour and see if your meters change at all. It is the most critical of tests currently.

Also, have you spoken to anyone else in your building about your situation? If so perhaps that could be why it may have improved. alternatively if the flat below is currently unoccupied, all that extra use could be from back when it was actually occupied.

I will do as you have said. I will switch the main unit off for 1 hour and see what happens. And No, I haven’t discussed with anyone. I will rather have the landlord’s electrician to have a look as I am not allowed to tamper with anything as it may void the contract. But I will be there with the “Technician” watching his every move. 

you dont need to be everso electrical savvy to see two cables going somewhere they shouldn't - demand that they get disconnected. immediately. 
If they refuse then just get a smart meter fitted and request that the meter tails are diverted directly to your fuse board and not through the splitter.

Gerry1

You'd be far better off postponing or even cancelling the visit by your landlord's electrician and getting your own independent electrician safely to disconnect the wires going down below and then checking that absolutely everything in your flat still works.

It won't cost much.  Afterwards, say nothing, just read your meters daily and see what your genuine consumption really is.  See whether it feels colder when you peep through the letterbox.  Are there any lights on downstairs?  Might be a good idea to change the cylinder in your front door lock, otherwise the wires might just get reconnected !

And please do an overnight Meter Sanity Check PDQ.  Many things operate intermittently, especially if they have thermostats, so 20 minutes can't give much of an idea.  Far more convincing to have several kWh which can't be ignored rather than just a watt hour or two.

niktheguru

completely agree with the above. And what if your landlords "technician" says everything looks alright. Then what will you say? You definitely need an independent electrician to look at this. What did your landlord say when you asked him about the situation?

Like we've all said multiple times, you need to do that test with the consumer board fully off (not just closing everything except the TV etc.) and then this will give you a concrete answer. Why wait till the weekend???