Massive first bill from nPower, am I right to query?

Tonno100

Hi,

I recently received my first bill from nPower, £135 for a 40-day period.

This is for a two-bedroom flat, no gas, boiler on all the time (might this be why its so high?), heating used for about 5 hrs a night I should think.

The amount is based on an estimated reading for the move-in date but an actual reading for the final reading.

I think this seems pretty high, If asked someone who who lives in a house with a family of 6 and their bill is still less than this for a month

All opinions welcome, and I've turned the boiler off now!

Cardew

Why an estimated reading when you moved in? Did you not take a reading?

Also what sort of electrical heating? Storage heaters or 'normal' heaters?

Allowing NPower to estimate an initial reading is like signing a blank cheque!

Having said that with 'normal'(eg daytime tariff) electrical heating I am afraid £135 for nearly 6 weeks is certainly high, but not 'massive' for the winter. It also depends on other factors like insulation and how warm you like the flat.

Lavendyr

£135 is high for a 40-day period. The problem is most likely the estimated reading for the move-in date, you should never allow these to be estimated and should always take a reading as soon as you move in, otherwise it's very possible that you are paying for power that you have not used.

Just to give you an idea, my OH and I live in a 2-bed house and our last electricity bill for just under 3 months was less than £40 (gas for central heating and hot water comes to £25 a month roughly).

Terrylw1

You need to ask them to re-estimate your opening reading since you now have a firm reading in place. It sounds like they have estimated this too low and you could be paying part of the previous occupants usage.

This is very common when they have to estimate especially where they have little reading data on the previous occupants account. So, they may have been underestimating the previous occupant which means the same will apply to the opening reading.

Never let these companies estimate opening/closing or change of supply readings. It works well but only when they have had frequent access and had COR's from occupants.

If your heating does not appear to be the issue (and your reliance on elec over gas) then you need to contact them to dispute the opening reading. They will then re-calculate the previous occupants closing reading to see if it should be lower based on this new firm reading.

It would be worse you calcuating how much elec you are using due to not having gas before you do this just incase that is the issue.

shuggs

you can transfer a dept to a pp meter as long as it is under £100 , this is the case with bg anyway.

SwanJon

If you don't have a reading from when you moved in, take one now and use this and the recent one from the bill to estimate how much you are using each day, you can then make your own guess about the opening reading.

Shuggs - any* amount of debt can be trans to a PP meter, but if you can pay another way it'll be cheaper in the long run

*Yet to see one refused because of the size of a balance

maninthestreet

Tonno100 wrote: »

Hi,

I recently received my first bill from nPower, £135 for a 40-day period.

This is for a two-bedroom flat, no gas, boiler on all the time (might this be why its so high?), heating used for about 5 hrs a night I should think.

The amount is based on an estimated reading for the move-in date but an actual reading for the final reading.

I think this seems pretty high, If asked someone who who lives in a house with a family of 6 and their bill is still less than this for a month

All opinions welcome, and I've turned the boiler off now!

'Boiler'??? - as you have no gas, do you mean an immersion heater in the hot water tank?