Massive increase in energy usage despite nothing changing.

wenmac

Hello, 

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine (937 kWh electricity and 3,547 units of gas) and this is way more than even the coldest of months.  The cost this month is £445.00

Brutush gas are useless and have just said there’s no fault you’ve used it!!!. 

My question is what do I do now. How can I check I fir any faults, can the energy supply be tapped by a 3rd party or can the supplier quicken a meter somehow remotely to get more money as her bio can bit be right. 

Thank you for any assustance

wendy 

Sea_Shell

Does she have a smart meter?
Are her bills based on actual readings or estimates?

victor2

wenmac said:

Hello, 

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine (937 kWh electricity and 3,547 units of gas) and this is way more than even the coldest of months.  The cost this month is £445.00

Brutush gas are useless and have just said there’s no fault you’ve used it!!!. 

My question is what do I do now. How can I check I fir any faults, can the energy supply be tapped by a 3rd party or can the supplier quicken a meter somehow remotely to get more money as her bio can bit be right. 

Thank you for any assustance

wendy 

Firstly, check if any estimated readings have been used, either for previous bills or the latest one. It will be stated on the bill alongside the readings used. Typically "E" means estimated or "C" means customer reading.

[Deleted User]

Check your Mother’s bills. Readings will be annoyed A, C, E or S. My guess is that BG has been underestimating usage and this is a ‘catch up’ bill. 

victor2

We're all singing from the same hymn sheet!

MWT

wenmac said:

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine

As Dolor mentions this sounds like a 'catch-up' bill so isn't really just for a 4 week period...

If for example the previous bills closing reading was 'estimated' and you recently provided an actual meter reading, perhaps on 31st March as suggested by Martin, then the bill is probably accurate but reflects additional usage over a much longer period back to the last actual meter reading.

Taking another reading now and comparing to that last actual reading would give you the confidence that the consumption is still reasonable.

wenmac

Thank you,  Hoping that could be an explanation for it especially as they only increased her direct debit minimally considering how much the bill showed had been used.  I am going to make sure readings are taken daily for the next month though so I can keep an eye on it.

wenmac

victor2 said:

wenmac said:

Hello, 

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine (937 kWh electricity and 3,547 units of gas) and this is way more than even the coldest of months.  The cost this month is £445.00

Brutush gas are useless and have just said there’s no fault you’ve used it!!!. 

My question is what do I do now. How can I check I fir any faults, can the energy supply be tapped by a 3rd party or can the supplier quicken a meter somehow remotely to get more money as her bio can bit be right. 

Thank you for any assustance

wendy 

Firstly, check if any estimated readings have been used, either for previous bills or the latest one. It will be stated on the bill alongside the readings used. Typically "E" means estimated or "C" means customer reading.

Thank you for you reply.  Mum gave a meter reading 4 weeks ago as I told her to make sure she was on monthly billing (was 6 monthly) before the new prices changes came in so we could keep an eye on it.

wenmac

MWT said:

wenmac said:

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine

As Dolor mentions this sounds like a 'catch-up' bill so isn't really just for a 4 week period...

If for example the previous bills closing reading was 'estimated' and you recently provided an actual meter reading, perhaps on 31st March as suggested by Martin, then the bill is probably accurate but reflects additional usage over a much longer period back to the last actual meter reading.

Taking another reading now and comparing to that last actual reading would give you the confidence that the consumption is still reasonable.

Thank you,  I'm going to ensure daily readings are taken for the next month so I can see if anything is unusual.  Hopefully the inflated bill is a catch-up bill so that would allay any fears Mum has for future bills.

[Deleted User]

wenmac said:

MWT said:

wenmac said:

looking for some help with my 73 year old mums bill she’s just received which has shown for a 4 week period her usage has tripled despite no change in her routine

As Dolor mentions this sounds like a 'catch-up' bill so isn't really just for a 4 week period...

If for example the previous bills closing reading was 'estimated' and you recently provided an actual meter reading, perhaps on 31st March as suggested by Martin, then the bill is probably accurate but reflects additional usage over a much longer period back to the last actual meter reading.

Taking another reading now and comparing to that last actual reading would give you the confidence that the consumption is still reasonable.

Thank you,  I'm going to ensure daily readings are taken for the next month so I can see if anything is unusual.  Hopefully the inflated bill is a catch-up bill so that would allay any fears Mum has for future bills.

I hesitate to say this, but I do so as a 72 year old, get your Mother a smart meter, and choose a supplier such as Octopus that offers monthly billing. Then download an App such as BRIGHT and you can monitor your Mother’s energy costs from afar.

The App also takes tariff data from the smart meters and the above graphic can also show cost.

wenmac

Sea_Shell said:

Does she have a smart meter?
Are her bills based on actual readings or estimates?

Thank you.  Mum does have a smart meter.  She gave a reading 4 weeks ago as I told her to ring up and change to monthly billing so she can keep a better eye on what's being used / spent.  The usage on the app doesn't work and hasn't since January (don't think British Gas are bothered to fix it).  Hoping this will explain it and a catch-up bill (as suggested) is the reason.