EON overcharging!!! 😤

jj0911

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I stay in a small flat which contains two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption. Our estimate for the year is around 400pound. However we are now in debt £1000 to EON. We have been paying 80 pound per to cover the bills and they now want us to pay nearer 200pound to catch up. 

Our smart meter seems to be correct as far as I’m aware, However the usage is wild! I’ve attached a couple of photos to explain the situation we are in. Since moving in on April 2021 this is the figures. Please can someone explain what’s going on and what can I do? We are really in a bad situation and can’t afford this! 

eastcorkram

You're been paying £80 a month. 
That bill says you've used around £80 of electricity in just 12 days ?

Aylesbury_Duck

Where did you get the estimate of £400 for a year?  That seems unfeasibly low.  Why were you paying £80 a month (£960 a year) if your estimate for the year was £400?

From what you've posted, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong.  They're not overcharging, you are paying for the electricity you're using, and it seems you've been underpaying and so have racked up a deficit which they now expect you to pay off with increased payments.  Fair enough.

You say you have two storage heaters and a tumble dryer and unfortunately, those are not cheap things to run.  How is your hot water provided?  Electricity I assume?  I'm afraid the only way you'll save money is seeing if you'd be better off on a variable tariff, turning the heating down and cutting your energy use generally, but that won't affect the money you owe for energy already used.

I'm afraid you're likely to be in a worse position after July, because it looks like you're on a fixed rate that pre-dates the big increases we saw last autumn, and the more recent and upcoming rises.

QrizB

jj0911 said:

My girlfriend and I stay in a small flat which contains two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption. Our estimate for the year is around 400pound. However we are now in debt £1000 to EON. We have been paying 80 pound per to cover the bills and they now want us to pay nearer 200pound to catch up. 

Our smart meter seems to be correct as far as I’m aware, However the usage is wild! I’ve attached a couple of photos to explain the situation we are in. Since moving in on April 2021 this is the figures. Please can someone explain what’s going on and what can I do? We are really in a bad situation and can’t afford this!

In a little under a year you've used 7350-ish kWh of electricity. That's quite a lot for two people in a flat with storage heaters.
Do you have access to your meter? Can you get to it, take a photo of it and then carry out Gerry1's Meter Sanity Test?

Looking at your bill, you seem to have single-rate electricity. Normally an all-electric property with storage heaters would have Economy 7 or a similar dual-rate supply. Do you know why you've only got single-rate power?

Let's guesstimate your electricity consumption as 8000kWh/yr (this might be a bit low). Costs for that will be:

• On your current tariff, around £1500/yr, £125/month
• On April's capped variable tariff, around £2400/yr, £200/month

There's no point in leaving your current tariff early but switching to E7 might save £200-£400/yr once your current fix expires.

MWT

jj0911 said:

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I stay in a small flat which contains two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption. Our estimate for the year is around 400pound.

A better title for your thread would be 'Under-paying and over-using!' and it looks like you may have believed the EPC rating for that £400 estimate unfortunately...

In addition to the good questions above regarding why you are not on an E7 tariff, I would be inclined to make sure you have not left the immersion heater turned on over the last couple of months as your use has spiked very high since early January.

It has been colder too so that may just be your use of the NSH of course...

Phlik

jj0911 said:

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I stay in a small flat which contains two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption. Our estimate for the year is around 400pound. However we are now in debt £1000 to EON. We have been paying 80 pound per to cover the bills and they now want us to pay nearer 200pound to catch up. 

Our smart meter seems to be correct as far as I’m aware, However the usage is wild! I’ve attached a couple of photos to explain the situation we are in. Since moving in on April 2021 this is the figures. Please can someone explain what’s going on and what can I do? We are really in a bad situation and can’t afford this! 

Storage heaters, tumble dryers and dishwashers are some of if not the worst appliances for energy consumption. I should imagine if you're in a flat you have no external area to dry clothes so the tumble dryer gets used a lot over winter for drying clothes.
An estimate is just that, an estimate, it's your responsibility to keep an eye on your consumption to ensure you're paying the correct amount to keep on top of it especially when it's your first year in a new home as the estimate can be wildly inaccurate as you've found as there is no historic data to work from.

Turn the thermostat down on the heating and/or don't run it for as long, make sure the dishwasher is full when you use it and run it on eco setting if it has one. Same with the tumble dryer, if you have a balcony then use a clothes airer, ideally try not to use it at all.

pochase

When you moved into the flat last year in April did you take a meter reading? The first line of the readings you published says estimated, is this reading correct?

Also where did you get the figures you posted? In line two it states for the 16th of April 1836.9, and a month later on the 15th of May is 1597.0 so a lot lower. 




For the second of February it shows 2 readings 8141 and 7453 meaning you used almost 700 Kw that day...

molerat

That estimated annual usage on the bill is likely right for a small flat with another source of heating and hot water, not all electric.  Your usage of 423 kWh for 12 days is 35kWh per day, not unreasonable for an all electric property in winter.  Are you certain the heaters are actually "storage heaters" ?

stewie_griffin

I suspect like others that you don't have storage heaters but another type of electrical heating, which could potentially be on 24/7. The same could also apply to the immersion heater. Please can you confirm the make/model of the heaters.

MattMattMattUK

molerat said:

That estimated annual usage on the bill is likely right for a small flat with another source of heating and hot water, not all electric.  Your usage of 423 kWh for 12 days is 35kWh per day, not unreasonable for an all electric property in winter.  Are you certain the heaters are actually "storage heaters" ?

Or, if they are storage heaters, are they being used as storage heaters, rather than just boosted on demand?

To give you an idea I live in an all electric flat (no gas), it is fairly large 115 sq. meters, but well insulated. I shower at a minimum every day (sometimes twice if exercising, going out for the evening etc.) I use the dishwasher, washing machine etc. and the usage average includes working from home during lockdown and now working from home on average three days (with a desktop that draws quite a lot of power when I am working on artwork or video editing) a week and I use around 4,700 kWh pa. On that basis your usage would seem high, but not unrealistic, it would really be worth finding out what you are using the electricity on. 

Robin9

@jj0911  "two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption"

Where did you get that idea from?  As above those storage heaters are really panel heaters and expensive -  as is  tumble dryer.
Presumably you also cook, shower, have lights, TV etc  .

Even from the bills you have posted £80 is not enough.