British Gas and meter readings - please HELP!

Gerry1

Your readings are correct, there's no decimal point or red numbers to confuse the issue.  If you have non-storage electric radiators that's about the most expensive form of heating you can have, so the bills will always be very high.

You need to make sure you're not on Economy 7 because the day rate is even more expensive than single rate.  What is your kWh rate and daily charge?  As you're with British Gas, you're probably paying far too much; start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch'.

MWT

ViktorijaZ said:

Basically, what I understand, even if there is no dot or the number is not in red, the way how meters work is that the last number is constantly changing 1,2,3,4 etc and when it gets to 9 and then 0 again the number before that then adds 1kw showing that we used 1kw now. So the last number does never count.

Sorry, but no, that isn't the way your meter works.

You can prove it for yourself easily enough, turn on a known high load like a kettle or one of your heaters and you should see the last digit going up several times over a 10 min period if you are right...

Can you give us the dates of those two meter readings please? ... just trying to see exactly how many days that total was over.

adonis

If the meter is being read OK try turning everything off and see if the meter is still using electric,

it could be communal areas are using your electric.

tim_p

What exactly are the two new radiators you say you use to heat the place?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

in first meter photie sticker shows meter change 7/5/14 reading 0.

OP provided reading 10814 in 12/20, so 6 year 7 months, 79 months = ave 137 units.

OP reckons with corrected readings her usage should be 139 units.

Be interesting to see what her daily usage is now.

Robin9

If those are "magic dust" panel heaters and then you add in water heating and electric showers then £100  a month is quite possible.

ViktorijaZ

Hello guys! Thanks so so much for all your replies. Boiler is always off unless we are about to take a shower (we turn it on and then off afterwards).  

You mentioned different types of heaters and I am not sure what they are, but mine is not a portable heaters, it is an economic radiator (similar to the one in the picture). 

Meter readings in the pictures are 18th of November and 18th of December (1 month exactly). 

British gas asked me to do daily readings for a week, but since they are taking all the numbers into account per day usage is always high as opposite if you don’t take the last number into account, so I felt this was a bit pointless. 

Once I tried turning on kettle and was looking at the meter so the last number changed a few times while it was running.

I have not tried turning everything off, will do that tonight when I am back from my sis. 

Again, thank you all for you input as I really need to get to the bottom of this as my bill is currently 350 pounds for 2 months bearing in mind it is a studio flat! 

ViktorijaZ

Forgot the pic of course! Something very similar to this  

tim_p

Boiler?  Do you mean immersion heater in the hot water cylinder?
can’t see how the kettle can make the last number change ‘a few times’ unless you boiled it from cold multiple times. Assuming it’s a 3 kW kettle it would need to be boiling for 20 minutes for the last digit to change by one. 

Gerry1

You have the worst possible heating system, panel heaters using daytime electricity.  This will always be prohibitively expensive, as you have discovered the hard way.

You haven't provided the info you have been asked for, e.g. tariff details.

All you can do is to minimise your usage (lower thermostat settings, reduced heating hours, shorter showers) and switch to a cheaper single rate tariff.

Best of all, assuming that you are renting, move to a property with gas central heating.