High energy bill - usage quadrupled?

Sopwop

Hi. This is my first time posting but I am so worried and wondering if anyone can help me to understand my energy bill. 
I live in a new build flat and have done for 3 years. I have dual fuel provided by Scottish Power since I have lived here.
Looking across my previous bills - on average I use 440 kWh energy per month! My quarterly bills are always similar each time, apart from the winter one which is slightly higher due to using the heating more.
I have just received my bill for July - Oct which states
July - 1683.21kWh
August - 2177.01kWh
September - 2151.40kWh
October - 2022.17kWh
I don't understand how I have gone from using 440 kWh to over 2000 kWh, especially in the summer months where we are not using the heating and I have no gas appliances.
When I spoke with Scottish Power today, I was informed that it is my gas usage that has made my bill so high but when I explained that I has been cautious over the last few months as I was worried about the hike in prices, I was informed that my usage is correct based on meter readings and they have informed me to contact them in 7 days with new readings for them to monitor my usage. I am so worried, as a single mother and a very low income. If I am unable to afford my summer bill - how am I going to afford the winter bill when I am using the heating too. 
Surely this usage cannot be correct when it has been so steady for the last 2.5 years!
Any advise will be hugely appreciated. Thank you in advance. 

Robin9

What letters do you have against those readings ?    Do you give monthly readings?

Sopwop

Robin9 said:

What letters do you have against those readings ?    Do you give monthly readings?

I have never given a meter reading since moving here. I was under the impression that it was all smart reading, however I may be wrong. This is my first time living alone since leaving my children father, so I feel that I have really messed things up and done this to myself. However, upon looking at all previous letters from Scottish Power - they have all been actual readings, and not estimated bills. 

Robin9

Just because the meter may have been Smart once in its life doesn't mean that it still is.

Read the meter today please.

daveyjp

The only way of knowing for certain your useage has quadrupled is having meter readings for an extended period.

If you have never read the meter you have no records so cannot state useage has increased.

2000kWh per month for an all electric property may not be high assuming water heating, showers and cooking.

QrizB

Robin9 said:

Read the meter today please.

As well as this, there should be meter readings on your bills. Could you share those numbers with us please, including any notations like "E", "C", "R" that might be beside them?

Sopwop

wittynamegoeshere said:

Reading a meter these days can require a degree in computing (Edit: I've got one but still didn't have a clue how to read mine).  If you can't make sense of it please post the makes and models of the meters, someone will be able to tell you the secret buttton combination.

In the readings you gave in your first post, August and September's readings were higher than October's.  You've got something wrong here.  It doesn't matter though, all that really matters is the current reading.

Hi, Sorry the figures in the first post were not actual readings, but my monthly energy usage that I was able to find on the Scottish Power App. I was having difficulty understanding how I had gone from on average 440 kWh monthly usage to 2000kWh. I shall get the current reading and try to find any record of previous readings before this. Thank you 

Sopwop

daveyjp said:

The only way of knowing for certain your useage has quadrupled is having meter readings for an extended period.

If you have never read the meter you have no records so cannot state useage has increased.

2000kWh per month for an all electric property may not be high assuming water heating, showers and cooking.

I have duel fuel, gas is heating and water - electric cooking & everything else. 
I just feel it was a big jump to go from 440kWh average monthly use, to 2000kWh per month. 
I am in a small 2 bed flat, just me and two young children. We are very conscious of usage - I don't leave lights on, try to shower or share baths due to living on such a low income. 
I am trying to find all previous meter readings on old letters at the moment, and will update the post if I can find this. 

QrizB

Sopwop said:

I have duel fuel, gas is heating and water - electric cooking & everything else. 
I just feel it was a big jump to go from 440kWh average monthly use, to 2000kWh per month. 
I am in a small 2 bed flat, just me and two young children. We are very conscious of usage - I don't leave lights on, try to shower or share baths due to living on such a low income.

Are your meters in your flat, or in a cupboard somewhere else with a whole bunch of other meters? Are you sure the readings relate to your flat?

How many kWh are electricity, and how many are gas?