Utility Warehouse back bill and bill hike

Reviewreader9

Ok, so where to begin with this….. Up until the end of 2024, my gas and electricity bills were on average 145.00 a month which I have been advised is right for our size house and the amount of people in it. At the end of December, I received a back bill of about 2800.00 completely out of the blue from utility Warehouse! I was told this was because UW hadn’t received a meter reading since March 2022 (not true by the way as I had submitted at least one reading every 6 months but these do not seem to have been added to my account). We also have a smart meter for the electricity!  I was advised I would have to pay the back bill plus my bills would increase to around 330.99 a month! A ridiculous and unrealistic increase. There’s only me and my 13 year old daughter in the house most of the time as my partner works abroad and my daughter and I are both out at work and school! 

I have since obtained advice that I can not be billed for usage more than 12 months ago so the back bill to the start of March 2022 is incorrect and unlawful. UW are trying to say this isn’t true because they asked for meter readings and I never supplied them….they have NEVER contacted me asking for meter readings, again, we have a smart meter for elec, and I HAVE submitted readings but they were not added to my account!

On top of that, I have also been advised after sharing my bills and usage information with another provider (Octopus) that according to utility warehouse, my electricity usage is 5 times the average national usage per month which is extremely unlikely whilst my gas usage is half the national average which seems much more likely! We actually have a 200.00 credit on the gas account.  Therefore, I have been advised to raise an official complaint with Ofgem to get this investigated. There is clearly ann error somewhere. I have tried and tried several times to get this resolved with UW and have got absolutely nowhere since the end of December 2024. I am constantly told I will be contacted by the escalations team within 5 days and then I never hear anything. All of this has caused me so much stress and worry since the end of December 2024 as well as time and effort trying to get it sorted. I am at the stage now of seeking legal advice and raising official complaints with the energy and financial ombudsman’s and Ofgem. I have been approached by many people who have had similar issues with Utility Warehouse and have had to take it further and I am now seeking advice of how to do the same. 
The back payment and the monthly charges are clearly incorrect and our usage has obviously been miscalculated somehow as this can’t be right. Our bills can not have jumped from 145 to 330 a month and there is no way we are using 5 times the national average on electricity every month, that’s ridiculous. 

Our neighbours opposite have the exact same house as us but with 5 people in instead of 2-3 like ours (myself and my 13 year old most the time, my partner works abroad).

They said they only pay an average of 145 a month for their gas and electricity and they very closely monitor their meter readings and make sure they are being charged correctly. The most they EVER pay is 170.00. They are even in credit of 300.00 right now!

I am at a loss of what to do right now and wish I could ask Martin to look into this!!!

Robin9

Please ignore £    for the time being and concentrate on kWh.  that £145 is a DD towards your bill - it is not an all you can eat , use more pay more.

Look back at your bills and find ones from 12 month ago  - what were the meter readings and did they have have letters like A C E S  or our read#/your read against them.

What are your meter readings today please ?

Just because a meter was Smart once in it's life doesn't mean that it still is.  

debitcardmayhem

You also need to go through UW complaints procedure , then go to the Energy Ombudsman, not OFGEM they don’t get involved. If you have started a complaint with UW then after 8 weeks you can go to th EO.

Alternately get a deadlock letter from them and go to the EO.

Go through your bills as @robin9 said, and let us know. 

Swipe

Don't rely on utility companies to bill you correctly. Everyone should keep a spreadsheet with their current rates and standing charges and update it with meter readings at least once a month. That way, you will know how much your bill will be before it even arrives. I'm surprised Martin doesn't advocate this.

Xbigman

If you have supplied meter readings (and can prove it) and UW didn't use them then that is back billing. Open a complaint including the proof you supplied readings and take it to the ombudsman after 8 weeks.

That said, you are partly to blame for not checking your bills. These issues could have been spotted and dealt with years ago if you had.


Darren

QrizB

Robin9 said:

Look back at your bills and find ones from 12 month ago  - what were the meter readings and did they have have letters like A C E S  or our read#/your read against them.
What are your meter readings today please? 

As above. If you can share your meter readings and billing history we might be able to help you understand whether UW's bills are correct, and what you can do about it for the future.

dunstonh

Up until the end of 2024, my gas and electricity bills were on average 145.00 a month which I have been advised is right for our size house and the amount of people in it.

There is no such thing as being right for size and amount of people.  Its too lazy an approach to working out use and inevitably leads to incorrect amounts being paid.

On top of that, I have also been advised after sharing my bills and usage information with another provider (Octopus) that according to utility warehouse, my electricity usage is 5 times the average national usage per month which is extremely unlikely whilst my gas usage is half the national average which seems much more likely! 

Ours is almost 7 times the national average.   

There is clearly ann error somewhere. 

Statistically likely that you are the error.  I don't mean that in a cruel way.  Chances are you using what they are saying and you are underestimating it.      Indeed, not once in your post do you refer to use.  Just what you are paying.

I am at the stage now of seeking legal advice and raising official complaints with the energy and financial ombudsman’s and Ofgem.

The FOS have nothing to do with it.

The back payment and the monthly charges are clearly incorrect and our usage has obviously been miscalculated somehow as this can’t be right. Our bills can not have jumped from 145 to 330 a month and there is no way we are using 5 times the national average on electricity every month, that’s ridiculous. 

Why is it ridiculous to be 5x the national average?

They said they only pay an average of 145 a month for their gas and electricity and they very closely monitor their meter readings and make sure they are being charged correctly. The most they EVER pay is 170.00. They are even in credit of 300.00 right now!

Doesnt matter what they pay on a budget plan as that isn't use.    They could be very high users, in credit and paying £145pm.  For example, if they had built a high credit in the past and are now burning it down.

I am at a loss of what to do right now and wish I could ask Martin to look into this!!!

It doesn't need Martin to look into it (and this isn't his site any more).  You need to look at your energy use first.  Not what you are paying.     

As the others above have said, what are your readings and dates.      Budget plans only work if you pay the correct amount for your use.  If you don't know your use and a guessed figure is used then it will inevitably be wrong and the longer you leave it, the more money you can end up owing.

Start looking at your IHD with it set to kWh rather than £.    National average is around 7.3kWh per day.  How much is showing on your IHD towards the end of the day?

Think about heavy use electrical items.  e.g.   Lighting (spot lights, halgens, outside lighting etc),  American fridge freezers or chest freezers,   Gaming consoles or PCs where 3D or graphics heavy games are played, large TVs with all the options on an high contrast.        

Turn everything off as you normally would do if no-one is in the use and check your IHD for how much electric it is using when the house is idle.   It could be something around 60w-120w.    Higher than that and you probably have devices left on draining more than you realise.

Its all about knowing your use. 

Reviewreader9

Thank you all for your responses so far. I am Hopi g the below list of ACTUAL electricity meter readings will maybe help?

31/03/2022 - 018831
readings I took between this date and the next do not seem to have been added to my online account as they all say estimated
31/12/24 - 036792
01/01/25 - 036832
14/1/25 - 037129
16/1/25 - 037153
01/02/25 - 037738
04/03/25 - 038114
21/03/25 - 038489
31/03/25 - 038759
15/04/25 - 039024
29/04/25 - 039260

does that help? 😊

Reviewreader9

Decembers bill said the last 12 months usage was 3118kWh
the latest bill in April says last 12 months usage was 13847kWh

Robin9

 
 

Based on your Dec to April readings when the consumption was 2500 kWh   - you are a high user  - perhaps 8000/9000/10000  a year.  That  ties in with  March 22 to Dec 24 when you used 18000 kWh

The question for you is - why ?   What is your heating - panels, underfloor -  electric showers  etc.   gaming pc's, American style fridge/freezers

   PS I don't think back billing rules apply as they have been billing you albeit with estimates

dunstonh

Reviewreader9 said:

Thank you all for your responses so far. I am Hopi g the below list of ACTUAL electricity meter readings will maybe help?

31/03/2022 - 018831
readings I took between this date and the next do not seem to have been added to my online account as they all say estimated
31/12/24 - 036792
01/01/25 - 036832
14/1/25 - 037129
16/1/25 - 037153
01/02/25 - 037738
04/03/25 - 038114
21/03/25 - 038489
31/03/25 - 038759
15/04/25 - 039024
29/04/25 - 039260

does that help? 😊

If we take 31/03/2022 to 31/03/2025 that is 19,928 units.    3 years worth equates to over 18 units per day.
That puts you nearly 3 times the national average.

Bottom line is that you just haven't been paying enough in your budget plan for your use.  You understated your use and its caught up with you.

That means you are using devices that are eating electricity at a higher rate.   
Some were mentioned on the earlier post but others could be:
dishwasher not being run on eco mode. (or worse still, on quick washes or very hot washes and multiple times a day)
tumble dryer being used regularly.   That can give you 1.9kWh on a single dry.
washing machine on a hot, long wash.

Prior to the mini energy crisis we were using around 18kWh during the day and like many on here at the time, we bought energy monitoring plugs to identify the higher users and then took action.   Some things were surprising. TVs with connectivity settings enabled used high amounts in standby.  Turn those connectivity options off and it dropped to virtually nothing.   I replaced the last of the halogen spots with LED.   Kitchens and bathrooms often have halogen spotlights all over the place and they eat electricity.    We bought a new dishwasher to utilise a better eco mode and fridge freezer (the lowest energy rated one at the time).         Turning off lights rather than leaving them on and more.

In the end, that 18kWh a day dropped to 6-9kWh a day.

This forum was very busy back in the energy crisis with people pointing out where the energy was being used and ways to reduce it.   You need to do the same now.