High Gas Bill - Help!

johnnyboy111

Hi, I really need some help and advice on how to deal with a gas bill I have just received of £659.61 in debit. I switched from Npower to Utility Warehouse in January 07 and the opening meter reading was 2117 (I have checked and Npower have only billed me to this reading also) and the latest reading was on 03.01.08 at 3503 (taken by a meter reader). No meter reading was taken officially at the start in Jan 07 or since, despite us ringing on numerous occasions as well as submitting readings every month they say they never received any of these readings.

I have read the meter reading this morning and it is showing as 3817, When I rang UW, they say that the difference in reading of 3503 on 03.01.08 and 3817 on 23.02.08 is excessive and this is why the bill is so high, is this excessive? basically to clear the defecit and to cover our new monthly payment they are going to increase the DD to £140.00 per month - £12.00 of which will be bill and £20.00 per month for the debit - this seems way too high. i have paid in DD's £479.00 over the year - so this takes the yearly gas bill to £1138 - this does not seem right considering previous to this I was with Npower and the DD was £28.00 per month and I was never in debit with them.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rikki

Gas prices have increased a lot in the last year. My gas bill has reached the £800+ for the year.

Are you sure when you received your final bill from Npower this was based on a reading?

You have used the gas from 2117 to 3817 so it has to be paid for, but you may have used it over a longer period than you think.


I would suggest is taking weekly readings. It will help you monitor the amount of gas you use and know where it is going.



EDIT: Energywatch are worth calling for advise 08459 06 07 08

johnnyboy111

Thanks for your reply,

I really don't know if the opening reading was right, but looking back at a previous Npower statement from Aug 06 the reading was an accurate reading of 1430 so I guess it is about right.

However, looking at the Npower bills it is showing that in Oct 05 I had my gas meter replaced and they reset the dial to zero - so that means from Oct 05 to Jan 07 - 14 months I used 2117 units of gas and adding up my bills of DD of 9 x £27.00, 3 x £52.00 and my final bill of £98.00 that means my yearly bill was just over £500 for 14 months gas, yet Utility warehouse are charging me £1138 for 1386 units? Am I missing something.

I am going to ring energywatch that was recommended but want to get it straight in my head first. Justas a comparison my mum and dad in law live round the corner in a 3 bed semi same as us, they are in all day and have the heating and fire on most of the time, wheras we put it on at 6.00pm for 3 hours and in the morning for 1 hour. The only other appliance we have is the oven, we have no fire, and they are currently paying quarterly as the bill comes at £90.00 per quarter.

Thanks for your time reading this post I know I have waffled on, but I'm so worried.

Rikki

I understand your worried and trying to make sense of it all. I have had many dealings with my supplier and involved energywatch on two occasions.

I take regular readings and don't pay by direct debit and never pay an estimated bill unless its only a few units out. I have always done this so they don't get my money before I get my gas.

It might be worth checking the price each company are charging for the units to give you a comparison. There has obviously been and increase but it would give you an idea for the reason of the price difference.

Does the new company has a standing charge?

Maybe the new company is just expensive?

When you get to the bottom of this it might be worth looking for a new suppler. If only for a cheaper option to save money, I think you'll find all companies have their faults

andymkay

Johnnyboy111. I had the same problem we hadd a DD set up of 100 per month for both leccy and gas and received a bill after the quarter for 169 pounds on top of this!! I feel this is the way th ecountry is going!! Then British gas post huge profits!!! GREED
However I cut donw now, put on a jumper and take a reading each week so I knwo what i am using and cut down if possible!!

notbritishgas

Johnyboy. Check to see if your meter is measuring Hundreds of Cubic feet or is a metric one measuring in cubic metres.
If you had it changed in Oct 05 then I suspect it is metric.Using this assumption, you have used from Jan 07 to Jan 08, 3503 minus 2117 which equals 1386 units, convert this to Kwh by multiplying by 11 and it comes to 15246 Kw. Using a very approximate average price of gas of 3.25p per Kw this gives a bill for the year of £495.
If your gas company have worked out (wrongly) your bill assuming it measures in Cubic feet then the bill will be approx 3 times bigger.
I hope I have done my sums correctly, but I am sure someone will check them!

feclmum

hi we had this same problem 3years ago with british gas and when i phoned they agreed it was a very large bill for a 3bed house and so i insisted they take the meter away and test it,this was tested by an independent body and was found to be faulty this took couple of months to do and they put our bill on hold until it was sorted,so may be worth asking for the meter to be checked.

johnnyboy111

Thanks everyone, I have checked and it is a metric meter, but I am confused now notbritishgas - does this mean you think they have wrongly trebled it thinking it is in feet, or that it is correct and that it should be treble my previous bills as it is metric.

I have just tried to ring to see if I could ask, but after being stuck in a queue for 20 mins it cut me off - I wouldn't mind but it's 5p per minute and I've already spent a couple of hours yesterday and today sat in queues. If there's one thing I worry about it's money - glad I found this forum you've all been so helpful.

notbritishgas

Hi Johnny, There is a possibility they are billing you as if it is an imperial meter (cubic feet) when it is actually a metric one.
To be certain can you give us one of your bill units ( ie where they have subtracted one reading from another) and then say how many KWh they have converted that to. Hope you understand.
If they are doing this then your bill will be 3 times higher than it should be.

KxMx

johnnyboy111 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply,

I really don't know if the opening reading was right, but looking back at a previous Npower statement from Aug 06 the reading was an accurate reading of 1430 so I guess it is about right.

However, looking at the Npower bills it is showing that in Oct 05 I had my gas meter replaced and they reset the dial to zero - so that means from Oct 05 to Jan 07 - 14 months I used 2117 units of gas and adding up my bills of DD of 9 x £27.00, 3 x £52.00 and my final bill of £98.00 that means my yearly bill was just over £500 for 14 months gas, yet Utility warehouse are charging me £1138 for 1386 units? Am I missing something.

I am going to ring energywatch that was recommended but want to get it straight in my head first. Justas a comparison my mum and dad in law live round the corner in a 3 bed semi same as us, they are in all day and have the heating and fire on most of the time, wheras we put it on at 6.00pm for 3 hours and in the morning for 1 hour. The only other appliance we have is the oven, we have no fire, and they are currently paying quarterly as the bill comes at £90.00 per quarter.

Thanks for your time reading this post I know I have waffled on, but I'm so worried.

It might be worth trying to cut the use-age down as well, do you need it on every night at 6 for 3 hours? The temperature outside varies and often a nice fleecy blanket will do in the evenings instead of putting the gas on. Also in the mornings, if you're headed out to work and no-one will be in the house then you may be able to do without then as well, especially with all the rushing round mornings involve!

johnnyboy111

This is a copy of the bill they have just sent so you can see how they work it out - it makes no sense to me.

Meter reading 31.12.07 (E) 2522 03.01.08 (A) 3503 Units - 981
Calorific value MJ/M3 39.200
KWH 30914
price p/kwh 2.285
Volume coversion Factor 1.022640
Ft3 Consumption 105400
M3 Consumption 2982.82
Total Kwh 33232
Total usage cost £759.34
standing charge £1.40

Hope this helps

Thanks - If this is right I will certainly be using a jumper and putting the quilt over me from now on. Its just that for the past 7 years of living in the house have been paying roughly £30 per month for gas and had no problems with the bills and then all of a sudden I change supplier and the bill hits the roof, I can understand gas going up but not trebling what I pay per month surely?