Electric meter... wtf?!

[Eifla]

One person living alone in a one bed flat.

Pre-payment card meter, no gas at the property.

Work 8-5 Mon-Fri so not even home all that much! No tumble dryer, no bath, no dish washer, nothing left on stand-by but do run two oil filled radiators for a couple of hours in the evening.

Meter check and no fault, no debt on it.

Currently putting £45 week (about £180 / mth) in the meter and E-On tell me this is considered an average / reasonable amount.

AIBU to think that’s bullshit?! Can’t keep up with how hungry the bloody meter is!!!

Turn everything off in the property apart from fridge/freezer for 2hrs. See how much electricity is being used on the meter. Turn on each device one by one and monitor for an hour. Something is eating electricity. If it's still devouring it after everything is turned off then I suggest reporting the meter as faulty and demanding an inspection, because they'll have to check if it's hooked up illegally to someone else's in the property. Or has been jimmied in the past and needs correcting.

Also are you sure it's not wired accidentally to the communal area?

I'm in a one bedroom house and pay an average of £50 a month gas & electricity. I my Dec bill which included my heating being on lots was only £61

I'd ask them to come and check it

Plus I use the tumble dryer 3-4 times a week, dishwasher daily, all shower daily and far too many things on standby/charging.

I'd put money on debt on the meter or the immersion being on more than you think.

2 bed flat with a pre paid meter here in winter we put about 40 quid a month in. We have 2 kids dishwasher washer/dryer big victorian conversion so high ceilings. In summer 40 last much longer about 2 months as i dry washing outsidr etc. We do have a combi boiler tho. Oil filled radiators really don't use a lot of electric as far as i know.

Thanks guys... I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks it’s astronomical :(

I tried using the storage heaters one year but it was roasting in the morning and then the flat was cold again by the time I got home from work!

The plug in oil filled rads let me just fuzz them on for a couple hours of an evening, they come on at 7 and go off at 9 so I get heat when I want/need it.

E-on have been to check the meter and say no fault, definitely no debt on there from myself or a previous tenant, I’ve been here 5 years.

No standing monthly order on bills, to be honest I have been blinding just topping up £45 every week and it’s only lately I’ve kinda thought this is bloody insane... it costs more to feed the meter than it does to feed me every week lol

Now I know it’s does seem unreasonable to other people I’ll call e-on back.... I’ve got to get this down, it’s crazy. Will do some comparison sites too.

Oh yeah i meant for electric. That doesn't include gas we have normal meter for that. We pay 45 a month for gas.

That's nuts! I'm in a 2 bed flat, various things on throughout the day AND I have a snake viv which put the leccy up noticably. I'm only spending £20 a week!!

You haven't got someone tapping into your leccy have you???

Try switching absolutely everything off at the wall and see if the meter is still going. I lived in a flat once where, I think, another flat were paying all of my gas - did tell the landlady btw.

I would have the immersion on for half an hour, should be plenty for a shower!

No way, something very wrong there.
I have meters and my gas and electric for a two bed flat (actually three but the third isn't used or heated), is less than that a week and I have my thermostat at 30°

Hope you can get some sort of resolve when you call them back.

It does sound excessive. Although unfortunately no point comparing with those on gas as electric is about 4x more expensive. So relying on electric for any type of heating will always be a lot more expensive.

I used an app (uSwitch possibly) where you just scan the code on your latest bill and it brings up all the cheaper suppliers based on your actual usage. May be worth a try too?

I will definitely try switching everything off and seeing if meter is still going, and will also reduce how long the immersion is on... although it’s on two hours tops for shower, washing up dinner things etc.. definitely some scope to reduce it down though I guess.

I’m fairly sure no one is tapping into it.. small block of flats in village cul-de-sac, majority older retired people. All neighbours pleasant and get on fine, guess you never know though!!

Meant to say thanks everyone for the advice and ideas... I don’t know how the person at E-On who told me it was average/reasonable was able to keep a straight face!!

Yes if you are on economy 7 it would make a huge difference, do you have 2 different readings?

I'd be turning off circuits in the fuse box (flip the switch/ pull the fuse) starting with the immersion circuit when you think it's off.

In daylight I.e. at the weekend make yourself a drink and turn everything off and check the meter after 15 minutes. Are you still consuming.

If you are, try isolating the wiring circuits one at a time, wait 15 minutes check usage again. Turn that one back on and another off. Wait 15mins and check usage.

Suggestion by Ofthread is good - switch absolutely everything off and check the meter to see whether it is still moving. Do it several times, at different times of day, including when your neighbours are at home.

Your bills sound absurdly high - even with a prepayment meter. Do they ever send you a paper bill, or can you access it online, to see exactly what they are charging you for?

I don’t have any paper bills to hand so not even sure what tariff I’m on! That sounds really bad, I know. I’ll ask them when I call back.

I will definitely be trying switching everything off this weekend and seeing what the meter doe.

I'm not pre payment but live by myself in a 2 bed apartment
Mine is £45 per MONTH and that's for gas and electric

Check the neighbours haven’t got anything plugged into your supply or judging by the usage a street light lol.

Are you paying for the street lights as well?

Just a thought..... if you want to stay with that supplier tell them you want to change from a pre payment to a meter where you get bills