EDF - petrified?

RoseGold2021

BUFF said:

Looking at your figures provided earlier you are using ~ £250/month in electricity & gas at what should be the highest consumption time of the year. That is what I would be aiming to draw the line at for DD  - they may, however,  have something in their T&Cs that allow them to recover additional if your balance goes negative & to put you back into a credit situation.

 . . . I have looked @ my bills, and they are giving annual estimate figures. The previous owner was a family, and so naturally they would be using more energy. But as a single person, it does not seem fair that I have been walloped with the previous owners usage / estimate, and now having to pay for it. 

£250 seems excessive for a 2 bed mid terrace, which only accommodates me. Frugal with my energy usage, yet I am still given this hike!  

BUFF

RoseGold2021 said:

BUFF said:

Looking at your gas rates you are (& have been) paying now higher than people on SVT will be come 1st April (typically ~7.3p/kWh). Of course, come October if SVT goes up again you could be on a winner but not for very long until your tariff ends. ... 

But how am I on a higher rate when I am on a Fixed Rate?

This is really worrying me as I cannot afford this price hike! I know things are going up, but not this much! I am literally left with very little, if anything, to live on for the remainder of the month! And it is only me living in the property. 

Because at some point you agreed to those rates (this is why the advice at the time was for most people to go with the SVT).
Even at those rates the energy suppliers are possibly currently losing money supplying you.

Remember that you may get some help from the govt. depending upon what council tax band your house is & you will get the £200 loan.

BUFF

RoseGold2021 said:

I should also add I have installed a new boiler as well, as the previous one was not efficient. However that has made no difference to my gas bill @ all. 

What controls are you using, what temperature is set for room temp & for the flow/return temps to the boiler?

RoseGold2021

BUFF said:

RoseGold2021 said:

BUFF said:

Looking at your gas rates you are (& have been) paying now higher than people on SVT will be come 1st April (typically ~7.3p/kWh). Of course, come October if SVT goes up again you could be on a winner but not for very long until your tariff ends. ... 

But how am I on a higher rate when I am on a Fixed Rate?

This is really worrying me as I cannot afford this price hike! I know things are going up, but not this much! I am literally left with very little, if anything, to live on for the remainder of the month! And it is only me living in the property. 

Because at some point you agreed to those rates (this is why the advice at the time was for most people to go with the SVT).
Even at those rates the energy suppliers are possibly currently losing money supplying you.

Remember that you may get some help from the govt. depending upon what council tax band your house is & you will get the £200 loan.

Ah! See when I called EDF, they advised going on the Fixed, as it locked in the rate until November 2023, which sounded better - given I had just moved in, and the previous owner was with them.  
 
I am going to speak to them tomorrow, and try and get to the bottom of it! What on earth would I be paying if I had a family, 3 bedroom house?! £5000?? :-/ 

BUFF

RoseGold2021 said:

Ah! See when I called EDF, they advised going on the Fixed, as it locked in the rate until November 2023, which sounded better - given I had just moved in, and the previous owner was with them.  
 
I am going to speak to them tomorrow, and try and get to the bottom of it! What on earth would I be paying if I had a family, 3 bedroom house?! £5000?? :-/ 

They were looking after themselves rather than you ...

Tbh it pretty much costs the same to heat your house irrespective of how many people are in it unless you don't heat parts of it. Your hot water & electricity usage would be higher though.

May I suggest that you should start to work out what is using your energy & how it can be reduced? To give you an idea I live on my own in a 3 bedroom house & your 2 month electricity usage is ~ what I use for 6 months. 

RoseGold2021

BUFF said:

RoseGold2021 said:

I should also add I have installed a new boiler as well, as the previous one was not efficient. However that has made no difference to my gas bill @ all. 

What controls are you using, what temperature is set for room temp & for the flow/return temps to the boiler?

My new boiler is Ideal Logic Combi. 

Temp set for room - 21 degrees, set to come on 6am-9am, and 5pm, - 10pm
Flow temp I think is set to 80 degrees.

Considering moving to Scottish Power? But would that be jump from the fire into the frying pan?

BUFF

RoseGold2021 said:

BUFF said:

RoseGold2021 said:

I should also add I have installed a new boiler as well, as the previous one was not efficient. However that has made no difference to my gas bill @ all. 

What controls are you using, what temperature is set for room temp & for the flow/return temps to the boiler?

My new boiler is Ideal Logic Combi. 

Temp set for room - 21 degrees, set to come on 6am-9am, and 5pm, - 10pm
Flow temp I think is set to 80 degrees.

Considering moving to Scottish Power? But would that be jump from the fire into the frying pan?

Can you try turning down the room temp a degree or two (perhaps wear an extra layer instead)?  Do your radiators have TRVs?

Flow temp of 80 degrees suggests a return temp. of 60 degrees - this is above what is necessary (return<56C) for a condensing boiler to actually condense & thus save energy.

Tbh not only would moving to SP probably not help you much it may actually cost you (early exit fee) and if you are significantly in debt EDF can block it anyway.

BobT36

RoseGold2021 said:

BUFF said:

RoseGold2021 said:

I should also add I have installed a new boiler as well, as the previous one was not efficient. However that has made no difference to my gas bill @ all. 

What controls are you using, what temperature is set for room temp & for the flow/return temps to the boiler?

My new boiler is Ideal Logic Combi. 

Temp set for room - 21 degrees, set to come on 6am-9am, and 5pm, - 10pm
Flow temp I think is set to 80 degrees.

Considering moving to Scottish Power? But would that be jump from the fire into the frying pan?

EVERY DAY? Do you actually need to heat the home for eight hours every day? Sounds like you're constantly heating your home while you're in it. 
In the last 2 months I've used my heating about 3 times, for a total of about 6 hours. I just turn it on when I get cold. Otherwise I just wear thick socks and a fleece..

Also I hope you're taking at least monthly meter readings, that should ward off any "estimates", and allow you to demand the DD be set accordingly. 

As to ending up on the fixed, as another mentioned, they were looking after themselves, not you. Unfortunately they don't 'have' to offer the Variable tarrif (even though it's an option, and would have been cheaper for you), so they didn't. You could potentially complain that they misled you by not telling you about the true cheapest option though. 

BUFF

BobT36 said:

EVERY DAY? Do you actually need to heat the home for eight hours every day? Sounds like you're constantly heating your home while you're in it. 
In the last 2 months I've used my heating about 3 times, for a total of about 6 hours. I just turn it on when I get cold. Otherwise I just wear thick socks and a fleece..

To be fair, heating requirements vary with building construction & location. Also whilst the timer may be "on" the boiler may not actually be firing if the room with the roomstat has reached set temp. It sounds like some reduction of useage is possible though .

RoseGold2021

BUFF said:

RoseGold2021 said:

Ah! See when I called EDF, they advised going on the Fixed, as it locked in the rate until November 2023, which sounded better - given I had just moved in, and the previous owner was with them.  
 
I am going to speak to them tomorrow, and try and get to the bottom of it! What on earth would I be paying if I had a family, 3 bedroom house?! £5000?? :-/ 

They were looking after themselves rather than you ...

Tbh it pretty much costs the same to heat your house irrespective of how many people are in it unless you don't heat parts of it. Your hot water & electricity usage would be higher though.

May I suggest that you should start to work out what is using your energy & how it can be reduced? To give you an idea I live on my own in a 3 bedroom house & your 2 month electricity usage is ~ what I use for 6 months. 

Yes, clearly! :-/

There are loads of radiators in the house, however 2 of the radiators I have turned off as the rooms are not in use. The rest of them I have turned down because with the new boiler, the house is too hot. 

I already do this . . the main ceiling lights in the living room, I do not use (they're spot lights), I only have a side light on. Everything plugged in, gets turns off from the mains. Reduced boiling the kettle (use a thermos to have hot water without kettle boiling). Washing machine used 1-3 times for the week. The Gas, only used for rads on a timer, and cooking.  I also no longer work from home to reduce usage.

I am really frugal with my usage, so I do not understand where these readings are coming from.  I have just done an estimate quote with another energy supplied; with the estimated costs from EDF, yes they are ridiculous! However, gave an idea of when my usage was likely, and the bills plummeted to £160! Appreciate that will increase, but interesting!