electricity help / british gas

zoelouise88

im with british gas and my electric is costing me a fortune, im sure they are over charging me as im getting charged over £35 per week which i feel is ridiculous as im only in a 2bed flat and its only me and my son (2yrs old) living here. my neighbours who are in the same type of property has said thiers cost between £5 & £10 per wekk

is there anyway i can tell if they have been over charging me? if so is there anyway i can claim anything back if they have?

any advice/info would really be appreciated

dollarjon

Can you give us more info such as do you use electric for hot water and heating? if so then £35 a week isnt so bad at todays prices.

Conor_3

Are you on a prepay meter?

zoelouise88

hi i will give a bit more info

i only have electricity no gas and its on a pre payment metre, its economy7.
i only have 2 heaters on and thats in my frontroom & babys room, i only heat my water once a week (over night as its cheaper) the rest of the time we shower, i use the cooker for 1 meal a day and have the tv on basiaclly all day and use the washing machine about 4 times a week (at night as well) and that is basically it.
which is y i am so p***ed off as my neighbour said she uses all her heaters, washing machine, tumble dryer and has her hot water on evrynight and still only uses £5-£10 per week, shes also with british gas which is y i cant see hoe mine can be so high.

ive just worked it out and that means i am paying them £1820 per year when my mum who has a 4bed house with 5 kids is only getting charged £540 a year

anniecave

It costs you £35 per week now (in the middle of winter). I presume you are just putting money on each week for what you use (not paying off previous arrears or anything?). How long have you been in the property for? In the warmer months is it less?

zoelouise88

anniecave wrote: »

It costs you £35 per week now (in the middle of winter). I presume you are just putting money on each week for what you use (not paying off previous arrears or anything?). How long have you been in the property for? In the warmer months is it less?

hi yes just waht we use no arrears or anything and no its the same in the summer when it was realy cold we were using upto £50 per week but now its a little warmer we have cut down on using the heaters.

Cardew

Are your heaters storage heaters? - They obviously should be if you are on Economy 7.

If they are storage heaters and you are using them incorrectly - i.e. on at the wrong time - that will account for a lot of your high bills.

If they are not storage heaters, you shouldn't have an Economy 7 tariff.

zoelouise88

hi yes they are storage heaters and they only work at night so i cant be using them at the wrong time

Cardew

zoelouise88 wrote: »

hi yes they are storage heaters and they only work at night so i cant be using them at the wrong time

Most(All??) storage heaters have a top up facility so they can be used during the day if the heat runs out.

This top up facility costs a lot.

bryanb

I guess you use an electric shower rather than cold? That can rack up the units if it's used for long showers. Most are 8-10 kwh.

SwanJon

Is your meter programmed correctly? Does it 'know' you are on E7.
If it is one of the new key meters you should have screens J & K if it's 2 rate.
Have you checked the heaters are only coming on when it is cheap rate?
How well insulated is your house?

Take readings at the same time each day to work out an average consumption , then see how much it would cost using their prices on the website - check your meter has similar figuers (Screesn I & K).
Let us know what you find out.