Need help to reduce bill urgently

[worriedabouthealth]

We are having massive issues with our electric bill. I’m stressed and upset as have tried to reduce it to no avail

It was too high but kept creeping up so we started to make changes and tbh we weren’t using tons anyway.
We accepted a smart meter to try and help
I thought the tumble dryer was a problem so we got a double washing line and 2 airers but still the bill went up

We made sure we turned off all lights etc.
Checked how energy efficient appliances were
Got different light bulbs to be better

Still the bill went up.

In desperation we decided last October to switch as found out we were on an expensive standard tariff and not allowed to switch so we decided to change suppliers.
We have been blocked at every turn it was meant to switch in early Dec but the company kept saying they weren’t aware we wanted to switch (they were as wrote to us ‘sorry you’re thinking of leaving us’??? )

The bills kept going up and the smart meter no matter what changes we made wasn’t showing less. Then it was showing more ???
We were living in darkness it was ridiculous

FINALLY after lying what we thought was the final bill we switched this week and having been carrying on our efforts so hopefully it will help BUT

We got another final bill for an astronomical amount from old supplier. The letter stated ‘tariff change in 4 Dec’ and they’d put us in an even more expensive one ???
It also said the bill was estimated ?

I called them and they denied both saying it’s not estimated (why does it say that ?) and they haven’t changed any tariff (again why does it say that ?)

I don’t know to do I’m worried we aren’t doing enough to save energy but I’m turning everything off at night and I’m the day I’m here and it’s dark and I’m not using anything I even use a flask and make one lot of tea in the morning so not boiling kettle a lot etc

I dont see how they could change the tariff to a more expensive one as we were switching they said I was mistaken it was just a price change

I’m so angry. They won’t accept there’s anything wrong I don’t know who can help
Plus I don’t know if there’s anything else I can do to reduce the electric usage and I’d really appreciate some help
Thankyou

OP, once more, you are getting a lot of good advice here, but there is also a lot of not particularly helpful comments about TVs on standby. In first instance, you need to focus on the kWh, not the tariff, as that is where your biggest problem lies.

Read what @coconuttelegraph & @longtimelurkerhelen say on this page, and also the suggestion from Eon that someone posted on page 8. They are likely to be far more helpful than focusing on the tariff displayed on your smart meter.

I agree your bill is insanely high and anyone in the supplier's call centre must realise that too.

I am in a 3 bed detached and pay about £120 a month for both gas and electricity. We don't scrimp on anything electrical although I am quite careful about turning lights off etc but we're definitely not perfect and we have a tumble dryer which we use a lot this time of year as nothing will dry outside.

There is something very wrong. Sadly, the only way to get energy suppliers to wake up and do something seems to be to get the consumer press involved. Try writing to the Times or Guardian weekend consumer pages and see if they can help. Or join Which? and ask them.

(as a side note, it's interesting that I rejected advertising cookies on MN yet am receiving energy-related ads on the side panel)

That's completely mental . Ours are £45 a month for a 3 bed semi. I have two kids that like to leave lights and TVs on too.

I'd make a complaint to the ombudsman.

@Alaimo I don't disagree. But if she can check the items on in the house she might isolate and appliance. Also she will see whether or not it's correctly working e.g. 34p per hour for a houses electricity over 24 hours would be a crazy amount.

Even with a big tv and lots of lights on my smart meter is currently showing 0.03p cost per hour. We pay £117 a month gas and electricity combined for a large detached house and don’t restrict our use of oven or tumble drier at all. There is definitely something wrong with your readings.

@berlinbabylon my FB is full of ads about switching supplier....

We have lots of gadgets, lots of tvs on standby,
Use the tumble drier several time’s a week

Three ovens which we often use for hours, a 10 seater hot tub and a koi pond with a heater and three pumps

We are not frugal at all

And out electricity is only about 180 a month.

Is there an attic, shed, basement or similar where a rogue heater might be?. I agree the way forward is to go through your fuses as described by a previous poster. This will let you check exactly which area of the house is causing the problem

After you've tried all the good advice here, if you end up getting no-where you could try writing to one of the consumer champions in e.g. the Guardian. That usually gets results.

I was going to suggest what @MaJoady said.

This happened to DP at the flat he was renting before we started living together. He'd been overcharged by over £450 in a year and got £300 compensation, because they were a complete nightmare about sorting it out.

I also had two clients, in separate flats converted from one house. One client, who was hardly ever home, had huge bills. The other had a key meter. It only came to light when the first one had no electric at all one day, and when the electrician went round to fix it, it turned out that the meters had been registered to the wrong flats, so first client was paying for the 2nd client's leccy and vice versa. The electric had gone off because the second client had gone away and hadn't been putting money on the meter.

It took two years to sort out and we helped him take the case to the Ombudsman. The £700 overcharge was refunded, and he got £750 compensation. The 2nd client got the the underpayment of £700 written off.

I really hope we sort this out! I'm on the edge of my seat in indignation for you, OP!

That’s insane usage. I’m in a 4 bed detached and I average £82 pm gas and electric. We do have solar panels which helps the cost, but there’s something dodgy happening with your supply.

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/i-think-my-energy-meter-is-faulty

Try here - grants to help pay energy debts

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-help-paying-your-bills/grants-and-benefits-to-help-you-pay-your-energy-bills/

I've just done a calculation, and a modern TV that uses 1W on standby will consume electricity (priced at 14p kwhr) at a rate of £1.23 per year.

Obviously more than £1.23 if you turn it on at all...

This is awful. Following...

Have you turned everything off and looked at the meter yet?

We are going to do it at the weekend when we have the time as ds has been unsettled and crying all aft and evening and DH worked late.
I have done the online form for the energy ombudsman though so will see if they can help

.

Yeah ignore the pointless advice telling you to unplug your TV. As someone above said there are only 3 reasons your usage is that high. I would also rule out a rogue appliance because modern consumer boards have RCDs which will protect from that sort of thing (provided you have a modern consumer board).

If you don't have thieving neighbours, then you have a faulty meter.

It can't be a faulty meter though because the meter has been changed within the timeframe of the increased usage.

The meter could be wrongly connected, as pp's described.
Attaching a new meter to the same wiring wouldn't solve the problem.

Switching everything off at once, to see if the meter reading still goes up, would be a good start to tracking down a problem.

I know when we left BG and switched to co op energy or bill went down £80 a month!! We'd been on a day/ night tariff that you have when you have storage heaters and we have had radiators.