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Original poster

Huge E-on bill

86 replies

Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 21:20

I've got a flat which I'm renting, it's a one bed flat newly built (well, it's 8 years old now) All appliances are energy efficient. When I lived the I used to pay £19 a month and at some point they reduced it to £12 as I had a large credit on the account.

My current tenants (a couple) have been paying £32 a month for a few years. They are hardly there, both work full time, they put the heating on for barely 3 months as it's a warm flat and all double/triple glazed.

I got a smart meter installed 18 months ago and so it started with 0. The current direct debit hasn't been changed and the amount has been right. I added a new reading yesterday which was over 23000 kw and so we now have a massive debit of almost £5,000. 😳 I called E-on today and they said they'd check the meter for accuracy but I'm worried. Has anyone experienced this?

OP posts:
Lacedwithgrace · 15/06/2022 21:48

We recently had a big bill like this and were told we had been underpaying for the past few years. Very convenient that there was no way of proving it

limitededitionbarbie · 15/06/2022 21:50

@Lacedwithgrace

There would be a way of proving it. Do you still have the same meter? If so you could also look at the reads if you have them and ask them to prove the consumption.

Even if the meter has been changed the reads would be recorded when it was removed.

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 21:50

@ifoundthebread Yes, your calculation is what I am expecting.

OP posts:

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Cost of living
limitededitionbarbie · 15/06/2022 21:51

Please don't pay it without looking into what they are basing this on

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 21:53

@Lacedwithgrace Hopefully in our case, because they changed the meter 18 -19 months ago, we can argue that it's impossible to use over 23000 kwh in this time? It's literally impossible in that small flat.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 15/06/2022 21:54

Do you have an app or online account so you can see your readings and the balance over the last few years?

mrsfoof · 15/06/2022 21:54

dementedpixie · 15/06/2022 21:42

£32 a month sounds far too low. Looks like they've been underpaying for years. The account should be in their name and they should be paying the bill themselves.

Do you even know what the tariff is? Why do you only submit readings every 6 or 7 months?

Why. We have a 3 bed 1970s bungalow and only pay £42 month for electricity.

dementedpixie · 15/06/2022 21:55

Are you on the standard variable rate?
At current rates the standing charge alone would be £15 per month.

dementedpixie · 15/06/2022 21:56

mrsfoof · 15/06/2022 21:54

Why. We have a 3 bed 1970s bungalow and only pay £42 month for electricity.

Show quote history

Are you an all electric property?
OP has no gas so all the heating and appliances are electric

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 21:57

@dementedpixie Yes, I do. And I never had a debit amount, or nothing large anyway. When I lived there I was paying £19 a month and at some point they decreased it to £12 as I had a large credit. Then when my tenants moved in they increased it to £32 and that seemed to be the right amount for a long time.

OP posts:
User76745333 · 15/06/2022 22:01

£12 a month would be about 40p a day with no standing charge and so that would never have been right. Don’t you have any readings at all? No old bills or anything?

the standing charge alone would be more than that nowadays

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:01

@limitededitionbarbie Oh no, we are not paying it. They need to investigate. I'm pretty sure it's the smart meter not being very smart. Never had an issue with the old meter

OP posts:
Cazzawazzalazza · 15/06/2022 22:01

Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 21:53

@Lacedwithgrace Hopefully in our case, because they changed the meter 18 -19 months ago, we can argue that it's impossible to use over 23000 kwh in this time? It's literally impossible in that small flat.

We are an all electic 3 bedroom house. Our house was built in 2019 and we moved in around September/October. Our meter is currently around 23000, for three years use. I definitely think something is wrong with your meter!

But if the meter is correct, then you have definitely been underpaying. Our electricity bill has always been around £150pm.

limitededitionbarbie · 15/06/2022 22:01

For reference op

Huge E-on bill
limitededitionbarbie · 15/06/2022 22:02

They are not growing weed are they Blush

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:05

@User76745333 I do have old bills, I've never been in debit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:07

They are not growing weed are they

Oh gosh, I haven't seen anything. It's a small flat

OP posts:
NewBootsAndRanty · 15/06/2022 22:07

When they put the smart meter in, was it definitely at zero?

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:09

@NewBootsAndRanty I'm pretty sure it was, but of course that's a good point to raise.

OP posts:
Hutchy16 · 15/06/2022 22:11

Read the title as ‘huge E (letter) on bill’ and just popped in to see if anyone else had been that stupid, and to give you all a chuckle at my expense

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:14

@Hutchy16 😂

OP posts:
Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:16

@Hutchy16 I looked at the title and it does look like that 😂

OP posts:
Hutchy16 · 15/06/2022 22:19

Ok so if I am reading this right, you (and/or tenants) paid less than £150 a year for some years, but never more than £400 (15o is less than my monthly) for 8 years and you didn’t think anything was wrong over that period????

and now the smart meter has been fitted they have realised that it hasn’t been paid properly and you owe £5000? Sounds right…that’s less that I have paid on my utilities in the last 8 years, easily less.

i suspect you knew all along that you were paying too little, but didn’t ever expect to be caught out. Now you want someone from mumsnet to give you the loophole to get out of it???

if I am wrong then I apologise, but I doubt I am

Original poster
Whodidthewashing · 15/06/2022 22:24

i suspect you knew all along that you were paying too little, but didn’t ever expect to be caught out. Now you want someone from mumsnet to give you the loophole to get out of it???

Gosh, that's some crazy accusations there. Very very twisted!!!

I thought I had a very energy efficient flat, my tenants are hardly there so very little energy is being used. As I said earlier, when I lived there for the first 2 years I paid £19 and then E-on themselves have decided to reduce the direct debit to £12 as I had a credit amount. As soon as they moved in they've increased it to £32. That seemed alright until now.

OP posts:
Cazzawazzalazza · 15/06/2022 22:25

@Hutchy16 I don't think that's necessarily fair. As I've pointed out, if the OPs new smart meter was at zero when it was put in, then the usage on a one bedroom flat has been the same in 2 years as what my 3 bedroom house has used in 3 years. That doesn't seem right, does it?