£2,000 Gas Bill (£10 Per Day) Please Help Us!

Gerry1

Did you give an opening meter reading when you moved in?  Never rely on a reading taken by anyone else, e.g. landlord or previous occupant.  It's not unknown for such readings to be too low, which means that you end up having to pay for some of their usage.

Unless you can show that you have been billed for more kWh than you have used you'll just have to pay it, perhaps asking for a payment plan if you can't pay in one go.

BTW, energy is expensive.  What are your rates per kWh and the daily charge, inc VAT?  That may be a significant part of the problem.

MWT

xskullx said:

Thank everyone, so we just take this on the chin?
We are students and this seems so unfair! The gas meter is in another property and it is not easy to take readings.

Take a lesson from this that 'unfair' things will happen if you don't take responsibility for what you consume...

However as per my other post in this thread there is some hope for you, and the mention of the meter being in another property is also a concern...

Is your '2 bedroom house' something that has been split out of a larger property? 

Are there other meters located where your meter is that cover other parts of the same property?

Have you ever checked if the meter is actually yours (compare meter number to bill) and is serving only your house? (turn off all the gas appliances and see if the meter stops going up).

xskullx

Tallerdave said:

Have you checked and double checked all the meter readings on the bills - including the final read from the old meter and initial reads from smart meters. £2k is still a colossal amount of gas (65,000-70,000 kWh)

I think your only redress with the landlord would be if you weren't provided with a gas safety certificate when you moved in. 

Just because you rent you can't offload responsibility for ensuring that things are ok.

Thanks, we have double checked! Seems crazy how it was so high. 
So much gas usage... even Ecotricy were like "wow"

xskullx

MWT said:

xskullx said:

Thank everyone, so we just take this on the chin?
We are students and this seems so unfair! The gas meter is in another property and it is not easy to take readings.

Take a lesson from this that 'unfair' things will happen if you don't take responsibility for what you consume...

However as per my other post in this thread there is some hope for you, and the mention of the meter being in another property is also a concern...

Is your '2 bedroom house' something that has been split out of a larger property? 

Are there other meters located where your meter is that cover other parts of the same property?

Have you ever checked if the meter is actually yours (compare meter number to bill) and is serving only your house? (turn off all the gas appliances and see if the meter stops going up).

Thanks for the feedback! 
Yes we live in a shared Edwardian building (basement, ground, first floor, second floor and third). We reside on the third floor and our gas meter is behind a locked gate in another property on the ground level! All residents share this area for gas meters.

I will be sure to check that nice tip!

MWT

xskullx said:

MWT said:

xskullx said:

Thank everyone, so we just take this on the chin?
We are students and this seems so unfair! The gas meter is in another property and it is not easy to take readings.

Take a lesson from this that 'unfair' things will happen if you don't take responsibility for what you consume...

However as per my other post in this thread there is some hope for you, and the mention of the meter being in another property is also a concern...

Is your '2 bedroom house' something that has been split out of a larger property? 

Are there other meters located where your meter is that cover other parts of the same property?

Have you ever checked if the meter is actually yours (compare meter number to bill) and is serving only your house? (turn off all the gas appliances and see if the meter stops going up).

Thanks for the feedback! 
Yes we live in a shared Edwardian building (basement, ground, first floor, second floor and third). We reside on the third floor and our gas meter is behind a locked gate in another property on the ground level! All residents share this area for gas meters.

I will be sure to check that nice tip!

Do check my earlier post in this thread as well...

molerat

Something is definitely wrong with the usage.  I can only manage under £4 per day on my 3 bed detached mid winter in N Scotland with the heating and water on 24/7 !

Definitely need to look at the meters and past bills.

xskullx

MWT said:

xskullx said:

Hello,

This is my first post and thanks to anyone in advance for the advise!

Me and my girlfriend rent a two-bedroom house in Liverpool. We pay our energy bill on time every month (usually around £140 pm) and have done since we moved in (September 2019).

... a small glimmer of hope for you, when exactly did the smart meter get fitted?

Your energy supplier is obliged to make sure that you receive an accurate bill at least once every 12 months and cannot simply issue a massive catch-up bill if they fail to get a meter reading for a long time...

Can you check a few details please...

Look at the bills you have received since you moved in and see if any of them have an actual meter reading or if indeed all of them are marked as estimates (E)...

Also there should be a meter reading for the meter they removed written on a label attached to the new meter or close by, does that match the reading shown on your bill?

The explanation for the problem being 'hot water on 24/7' doesn't make much sense as that alone wouldn't have caused a massive bill.

WOO-HOO I think we cracked it thanks to your help!
I checked all the bills in detail like you said and the bill where we saw roughly £2,000 added was the bill where I found an anomoly. Looks like we have been billed for the estimated usage AND smart meter usage in one. It had taken 3+ months of both these readings and billed us in one go.

Wow. This is a game changer!
Thank you so much

MWT

Happy for you if that is the case, but do feel free to post a copy of the bill on here (with personal details removed) if you want a few more eyes on it...