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

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

But if your bill was under estimated you weren't paying what you were using you were paying a part of it.

When they got an accurate reading it will have billed accurately.

Did you check the meter reading figures given on your bills?

It's possible that doublebarrellednurse is right but you can't know without looking at the readings properly.

But we’ve had the smart meter for over a year so they’ve had what should be accurate readings?
For some reason the bills state estimated I asked why and they said it says that but they aren’t that the readings are from the smart meter ??

Sorry name change issue-that’s my one for SN board !

Sorry that’s my reply above 👆 I keep forgetting to change back usernames

The one thing I keep thinking about is the day it was fitted there were 2 engineers and one was being trained , I keep wondering if he made some kind of mistake ?
I’m going to have to just keep on at them to investigate it, I think someone independent needs to check the meter though as not sure it’s in British Gas favour to find anything wrong !

Did you actually check whether once everything that uses electric in the house was turned off, that the meter was showing no electric usage? Or just what was using the most?

Yes it was at 0

When the bills said estimated were the readings your actual readings? Ie disregard the words were the figures the correct reading9

British Gas contract all their work to independent fitters anyway, those who read meters are rarely directly employed by the company either.

The meter itself would have to be faulty so how they fit it, unless there is some catastrophic error which makes it unsafe, is not the issue. It's surprisingly simple to fit (and reroute) meters if you know what you're doing.

I think so as the amount shown on the meter was similar but I didn’t check it every day so can’t be 100% but I’d say they were the same as it’s near enough

Could it be an appliance that is temperamentally faulty as in it may not have shown a massive rise when we switched thing back on one at a time but sporadically is eating up electric ?
The smart meter does sometimes suddenly display a higher amount when nothing else has been put on I’ll be in the kitchen and see it suddenly go up but nobody else is home and nothing has been turned on ? So perhaps us just turning things on one at a time wasnt an accurate picture I might look into if we can get appliances checked somehow ?

The meters might be switched. Each meter has a meter point reference number which corresponds with the address. You will need to contact your local service that fits the meters and they will be able to confirm that your meter is for your house (for example they may have next doors meter as yours etc). I am going off when I used to work for EDF about at yrs ago but doubt much has has changed since then.

When you were turning off the breakers, one at a time, did you identify the one that made the big difference?

Was it only the cooker circuit? Not any of the socket circuits?

OP I think you're taking the right approach, which is to look at the kilowatt hours usage. Ignore pounds and pence for now, that's just a complication. As mentioned, your usage is abnormally high.

www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/average-household-gas-and-electricity-usage

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/your-energy-meter/find-out-if-your-energy-meter-is-faulty/

Faulty meter, faulty appliance, or someone stealing power are the likely causes.

I will ask dh when he’s back about that @pigletjohn as I’m not 100% sure as he was doing all the switching I was watching the meter I’ll double check with him

Someone may have mentioned this already. If you have gas heating with an airing cupboard and hot water tank check your immersion is not switched on as that eats up electricity.

oops, sorry, wrong thread

Even with the high oven usage, your annual consumption is ridiculous. As someone said, write down the usage every day and then you will see if its a constant energy drain or only on some days. Got to be faulty meter or cf neighbours. We've 4 large people here, 4 beds, 2-3 loads laundry washed and tumbled, oven every day, 5 tvs, and every electronic device needed by 2 teens and gadget obsessed DH, and we're about £140 for gas and electric. That's including son's 30 min showers and heating at tropical. And I work from home so here all day.

Wait unit its dark get someone standing out side looking at the other houses then turn your main switch off and on a few time at the fuse box and see if the lights or power goes on and off next door and listen for the TV sound going off or washing machine etc going on and off . if it dose its theft and a police matter between you and your neighbors . nothing to do with the electric supplier as it past the meter .

I've worked in houses when power been stolen from neighboring property it quite common . a good electrician can tell if the power has been take from your circuits with new test equipment and could trace it and chop it off .

Its also possible to have a faulty meter and you can have a check meter fitted by the network provider
This will tell if the meter is faulty only and confirm the supplied meter is working correctly

sometimes supplies can be connected up incorrectly if you have a shared supply pre meter its possible they been linked together rather than split this is common in house that have been split flats or HMO with each having its flats own supply .

If the power been taken from your side past the meter they are not interested because your paying for it .its your problem

You can check by unplug everything and turn all the light off boiler off heating fridge freezer keep door shut should stay frozen for a few hours . take a reading and another a few hours later to see if it makes a difference if it dose then you are still using or losing power somewhere . turn each circuit off at the fuse box unit the power consumption stops then you've found excessive use from that circuit .

You can ask your supplier if your consumption figures have remained stable over the years or you've had a sudden jump in usage by looking a your previous bills if they kept records .

There’s definitely something wrong! We have a pay as you go smartmeter (which I hate!) and I was just moaning to my husband that we’ve spent £100 a month on electric since we’ve had it. X4 bed mid terrace. Cook lots, use extractor fan lots, use tumble dryer a couple of times a day, and WFH - so we’re in a lot and using coffee machine, making lunch etc. We have x2 fridges. PLUS we’ve been working on the house so power tools being used most days. You bill surely is wrong, it’s not your usage, there’s something gone wrong.

I just want to check.. when you turned everything off to check the meter, did you do it all individually at the wall, or by triggering the fuses? As if you trigger the fuses and someone is stealing your electric, it will turn off their electric so will show 0 usage, the only way to be 100% sure your electric isnt being rerouted to neughbours is to manually unplug and switch everything off at the wall including appliances etc.

@worriedabouthealth

The smart meter does sometimes suddenly display a higher amount when nothing else has been put on

This is the problem, it should show at point of use, as you said earlier when you put the cooker on, it immediately showed on your meter. If you are 100% sure that the immersion is off and have nothing else on a timer, I would say theft is the most likely explanation.

Did you switch off the main fuse in the evening and check your ndn to see if theirs went off?

The account is frozen and being investigated so hopefully will get to the bottom of it.

An engineer will visit in 7-14 days or I will get a revised bill. They did say there was a big jump in October from 5 something to 8 something on the meter so they will look into it as admitted smart meters can be faulty sometimes ....fingers crossed it gets sorted out