High dual fuel bills 1 bed flat

annegler

My son is in a rented 1 bed flat and is currently spending £5 a day on energy ( as per the smart meter). He does not use much fuel I.e does not use a washing machine and only uses a shower (not bath). He also works during the day and lives in the South so his usage surely shouldn’t be that high? He has cut back on everything he can including heating, which is unhealthy. Any advice is gratefully accepted! 

Brewer20

Is that meter just for his flat, not shared? Can he actually read a meter to check against billing what actually used?
Can't really say anymore on the subject as I don't have a smart meter myself.

annegler

The smart meter is just for his flat and gets readings directly from the gas and electric meters. It just sounds expensive for a 1 bed flat 

Robin9

Are you getting the £5 from his bills or from the In House Display Toy in the kitchen ? The IHD is not the Smart meter  - that will be in an outdoor meter box or a communal cupboard (as has been said check that the meter is his - switch off at the consumer unit and all the power in his flat should go off)

Does the shower come from the gas boiler or is it electric ?  If the latter then they can be expensive.

Give us some actual (not estimated) meter readings please from today and from a bill about 12 months ago together with his tariff.

matelodave

Please bear in mind that as Robins says, the thing thats telling you the cost is the In Home Display and isn't actually the meter, so for accuracy you need to read the actual meter and not the IHD.

Many people also find that the pricing calculations that are produced by the IHD can be wildly inaccurate depending how they are derived so you should actually be reading the meters and checking the bills to ensure that they are correct.. Our IHD was miles out when it was working.

There are hundreds of posts on this forum where people have had nasty surprises because they've relied on the meter sending its data back to the supplier and expected the bills to accurately reflect their consumption and costs., Sadly this doesn't always happen, so its a really good idea to  check the meters once a month and then get onto your on-line account and make sure that the meter readings are being used on the bills.

And please do as suggested, check that the meters in the meter cupboard are really the ones that are feeding the flat.

annegler

Robin9 said:

Are you getting the £5 from his bills or from the In House Display Toy in the kitchen ? The IHD is not the Smart meter  - that will be in an outdoor meter box or a communal cupboard (as has been said check that the meter is his - switch off at the consumer unit and all the power in his flat should go off)

Does the shower come from the gas boiler or is it electric ?  If the latter then they can be expensive.

Give us some actual (not estimated) meter readings please from today and from a bill about 12 months ago together with his tariff.

It’s a stand alone flat, so I don’t think that’s the problem. He did switch it off to check. The meter I’m talking about is definitely a smart meter, a portable device, where you can see all the info on it. I do appreciate your help so I will ask him for the readings ....

Robin9

annegler said:

............ The meter I’m talking about is definitely a smart meter, a portable device, where you can see all the info on it. ...........

That is not the Smart meter - that is the In House Device - he needs to take readings from the meters themselves . 

  Are you sure he has gas and electricity ?

MWT

Quickest and easiest check is to compare the tariff being used by the IHD with the actual tariff he is on with his supplier.

The IHD can be using outdated information, especially if he has switched suppliers.

FaceHead

Ask your son to respond to the questions asked above, directly. It's hard enough to discern what's going on from a few lines written by someone who's not an expert (that's fine, that's why you're asking for comments). However, when the information is all second hand too it's going to be very unlikely you'll actually get any advice which improves the situation. 

£5 in a day on a cold winter's day isn't unusual. £5 everyday all year round is an excessive bill for a one bed flat. 

annegler

Robin9 said:

annegler said:

............ The meter I’m talking about is definitely a smart meter, a portable device, where you can see all the info on it. ...........

That is not the Smart meter - that is the In House Device - he needs to take readings from the meters themselves . 

  Are you sure he has gas and electricity ?

Ah, ok.  That makes sense re the IHD. Not sure if they changed his meters as well. I will get him to check.  He has both Gas and Electric and I will get the readings as soon as. Thanks again. 

annegler

FaceHead said:

Ask your son to respond to the questions asked above, directly. It's hard enough to discern what's going on from a few lines written by someone who's not an expert (that's fine, that's why you're asking for comments). However, when the information is all second hand too it's going to be very unlikely you'll actually get any advice which improves the situation. 

£5 in a day on a cold winter's day isn't unusual. £5 everyday all year round is an excessive bill for a one bed flat. 

Good point re second hand info 🙂 I’ve sent a link so he should be able to answer direct.