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

Any luck, OP? I'm invested in the mystery!

Sorry ds has been unwell ! We finally managed to get a chance to turn absolutely everything off.

The cooker is a massive problem (electric. 10+ years old) and turning that on caused a huge rise so def an issue the usage went from 0.02 to 0.97 the whole time we put it on then we tried with the grill/oven/hobs etc it went up and up
Tumble dryer wasn’t great but we don’t use that too often.
The lights made virtually no difference at all and to think I’ve been living in darkness. It’s days !

Is the cooker drawing power when your not cooking on it?.

No when just turned on it didn’t when we started seeing if it wa the actual cooking that was the issue it went up massively
Which is odd as when the meter is on and we look at it when cooking we don’t always notice such a big rise But it is used quite a lot so can’t think what else it could be

Do you have a slow cooker or pressure cooker?. It would be cheaper to use that than a cooker.

I used to cook pukka pies in mine

Go through your old bills and look at actual meter readings to work out your usage. The average annual usage for dual fuel is 3100kw elec and 12000kw gas.

My usage as a person on my own is 2600kw elec and 9500kw gas. I have an electric oven, tumble dryer, dishwasher, microwave, washing/mc etc. I use Money Saving Expert to get the best deal, and get a £25 cash back on each change. There is a current BG deal £88 cheaper than mine and I can change tariffs without exit fees in the same supplier, this is the second change within a year. These tariffs are not available through the BG site.

You can save over £300 on average usage, and it is important to check actual meter readings. A friend's elderly mother found het bills doubled. When we looked she had two night store meters due to living in a house that had been 2 small cottages. Her meters had not been read for 2 years and she has changed from using night store to plug in heaters and water. She was on standard charges and had built up arrears.

Good luck with sorting this out

If it hasn't been said. I think it is the smart metre. Loads of issues with them

I’ll check the old bills too just in case but I’m assuming the cooker really isn’t helping

I have a slow cooker we are going to use that instead and see if it makes a difference
Still going to get the meter checked

I don't even leave my electric cooker or microwave on at the wall! But then I am a Scottish frugal lass!

My electric oven(s) use around 2.5kW each while heating up, which takes 10-15 minutes. Once up to temp, they switch on and off, controlled by the thermostat, to maintain the temperature, so the usage in an hour averages out at quite a lot less. I think the big oven is well insulated, so uses less than the small multifunction oven once it is hot, if you are doing a long roast or bake. So if you glanced at your meter, it might often be at an "off" moment.

Hobs use more.

I have a gas hob (gas is much cheaper than electricity) and the cost is negligible in summer months.

What's the 0.97 when the cooker is on? But I don’t think that can be causing the huge bills if you are just cooking normal family meals as its known that cookers use a lot of energy comparatively but everyone has that cost as part of their bill IYSWIM?

But glad you are not sitting in the dark anymore.

Definitely get the meter checked. After changing from a card meter to a regular meter, my empty 1BR rental property ran up a bill of 700 pounds in one month! Took a lot of back and forth with the electric co but the meter was faulty, got replaced, bill canx and seems ok now.

Hi meter engineer here - 230 per month is crazy. My advice re the final bill would be to check your own readings against what you have been billed for. If it’s right then that isn’t the issue. It’s either a faulty meter (unlikely as it’s new) or you have something massive and/or constantly drawing power. If you have a fuse board or consumer unit, turn off the power using the main red switch. Take a reading, leave it off for 10 minutes, then check the meter again, if the readings have advanced you have a problem. If they haven’t think of any high use appliances and turn them on - keep checking the meter or your smart display. Have you got a back up immersion heater ? If you rent ask your Lld if not get a sparky to Cone and check everything - 100 quid for a check is much cheaper than paying out this amount. Good luck

I think we probably will get someone to check as although it was going up a lot with the cooker it just seems excessive bills. I don’t want to get anymore that high as it’s a ridiculous amount.
I’m very aware that the bills have just gone up and up since we get the new meter really so it does need checking

Did you try turning the meter off and seeing if next door's lights went out?

Remember that some of your current payments will not be usage but will be paying back your debt. I would ask for a breakdown of your usage and your payments and see where the discrepancy is. It doesn't sound like a meter problem. You've had a meter change and you describe the bill rising in line with the amount of people rising in the house. All normal.

If you had the same cooker when your bills were much lower, then it's probably not that, unless it's developed a recent fault

If the only thing that has changed as far as you know is the meter, then having that checked is the obvious next step

If you had debt with the old meter as well though is it really likely the meter? It's very rare they go wrong

Before we changed the meter it wasn’t this high, the bikes just started to rise so we cut back, then they rose again so more cutting back but then we decided to switch suppliers and got this huge final bill which seems ridiculous

We have to complain through British Gas again and then can go to the ombudsman as we haven’t had a ‘deadlock’ letter and the complaint is less than 8 weeks old. We are telling them we are disputing the bill and I don’t know should we ask the new company to check usage what makes me wonder is we had to put in our yearly use to get the right quote and the amount we need to pay them is so much less, their tariff is a lot cheaper but still I’m just not sure what’s really going on but it’s being dealt with so hopefully by doing all this will get some answers

bikes ....bills

It sounds like your old supplier under estimated your bill then got a real reading in and it caught up.

You paid based on the underestimation so have ended up in debt.

New company may have based bills on underestimations as well and then the smart meter is actually giving accurate information so it looks like it's risen but hasn't really it's just the old information was wrong.

You need a breakdown of your ACTUAL usage over the last few years and what you've paid and I would bet there's a discrepancy.

Before I was a nurse I worked in debt for a power company and this scenario was very very regular. People don't check their bills until there's a cost to them and by then it's too late.

Really hope you get this sorted OP. After moving into our old house, we were sent a bill for over £3000 which we paid off over 3 years. Looking back, I just paid it, but our bills once it was paid were only £127 a month so there'd obviously been a mistake somewhere. We have recently moved into a 6 bed, 3 story victorian house with single paned windows and no insulation. Our bills our £124 a month. We are due a review soon so hoping it doesn't go up too much. The smart meter says we use between £2 and £4.50 a day. I have the heating on a lot and cook loads too X

We weren’t in debt we had paid each bill as we got it so balance was back to 0 each time

No debt was carried over to the next bill it was just the next bill the usage was even more so each one had been more and more