To think there is NO WAY our gas bill can be this much?

[12ylnon]

We just received an email from utility warehouse (who advertise themselves as being the cheapest) telling us that our gas bill is going from £75pm to £131 per month.... Just for gas!
I can't believe this is right! We have the heating on for an hour in the morning and then when we get back at about 3.30, it's on until 10 (just ticking over on about 20 degrees). We live in a 3 bed new build, the 3rd bedroom doesn't even have the heating on.
Please help! Is this just the norm now? I know the price if gas is rising for everyone, but nearly doubling it is just silly.
There is no way we can afford to pay it, so are there any good ways of reducing our bill?

Well, your direct debit is being doubled but gas prices haven't gone up that much, so either you're currently underpaying and 131 pounds will pay off some of your debt and pay for the higher than estimated usage, or, they've just put it up too much. Best to phone them and ask.

Having said that, 7 1/2 hours at 20C is really quite a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's not too far off the mark. Put a jumper on and start turning radiators off in rooms you're not using (presumably you don't need your bedroom heating until you go to bed, for example).

Do watch those estimates. Last year our power company tried to hugely increase our bills. We were able to tell them the entire previous years usage did not compare to their estimate usage for the next year in the slightest. We got our monthly payments down to £56/ month for both utilities by both first switching tariffs and then arguing our payments down which worked out almost perfectly. This years tariff has gone up to £68/month but its the cheapest we can find.

Handy hint. Even if you are switching tariff to a different one with the same company choose one of the links from money saving expert. We are getting 6 bottles of wine with this switch.

I am also with Utility Warehouse. We pay £26 a month for gas, now that it's getting colder we actually use a bit more, this month we used £35.

We just put our heating on as and when we need it but tend to have it at 18, or 20 if I've got some washing I want drying quick. I also only have the radiators on in the rooms we need it.

What number do you have each radiator set to? And what temperature do you have the water set at at the boiler (not the thermostat)? There's three ways to control the temperature in most central heating systems.
Also, where in which room is your thermostat and the radiator with two valves but no numbered dial?

20 degrees isn't just ticking over. Turn your thermostat down to 18, put a jumper on and some slippers and try turning the heating off at 9pm.

A word about those monthly payments.

The energy companies tellt customers it is for their benefit. Spread the cost and all that.

It isn't. It is for the energy companies benefit. It makes sure that most of its customers effectively overpay, so their account is in credit all of the time. When you are talking about hundreds of thousands of customers, all of that money (which does NOT BELONG TO THE ENERGY COMPANY until a bill is due) is sitting in the energy company account, earning them a lot of interest.

If you are being asked for a big hike, my advice would be to switch to the direct debit system where you only pay when a bill becomes due. If you are worried about finding a lump sum when needed then open your own savings account and pay a certain amount in each month.

after 3 bills or so you will know whether what they are asking you for is reasonable or not.

Energy companies are using people's fears about rising costs to ask for ridiculous increases to monthly direct debits. The discount they offer you for paying monthly sums may not be big enough to make it worth your while. If you end up overpaying by a hundred or so pounds a year, is a fiver off your bill worth it?

(due to a wrong meter reading a couple of years ago, I realised eon had over £500 in credit on our account. I asked for that money back, as it was not money they were owed, and I wanted it sitting in MY account earning ME interest. They were very very reluctant to give it to me. Kept telling me that knowing my account was in credit gave me peace of mind and made sure I had enough to pay my bills. I ended up asking them for legal evidence they were allowed to keep my money, and then they refunded it. Since then i have paid bills as and when they are due. I pay monthly direct debits into my own savings account to cover all household bills. I up it a bit over a winter to cover increased heating costs. It has worked so far)