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

It did say estimated on statements but I queried this as it shouldn’t have been and they said it wasn’t actually estimated after all

I’ve just checked and for the period 31 Oct-9 jan it was 2669 kWH
I’m not sure what that means tbh I think it’s quite high I will look at the other amounts

That's crazy, works out as 38 kWh per day.

I've just check our bill which is at 11 kWh per day. We live in a 3 bed semi, 4 people and use games consoles and tumble drier daily.

And just a word of caution - be careful with messing with your immersion heater as it can cause legionella problems.

That is incredibly high usage. The way to work out your bill is price per kilowatt. So if your ppkw is £0.14 (for example) on your usage of 135kw for 3 days would cost £18.90, plus the daily standing charge of £0.26 per day is £0.78 plus 5% tax £0.98 = £20.66

135kw x £0.14 = £18.90
3 days standing charge @ £0.26 per day = £0.78
VAT on £19.68 = £20.66

What were your actual charges, I will work it out for you.

I don’t understand why you were not allowed to switch tariffs? If you on their standard tariff (the most expensive tariff) you can switch at any time. Even if you were on a specific contracted tariff, you can still switch, you just have to pay exit fees, usually between £30 - £50 per tariff.

On your bill there should be a section informing you of your yearly usage in kilowatts, what does it say?

Also don't pay them another penny until the meter has been inspected.

Could you write to the consumer section of a newspaper? The guardian always seems to have a good response tackling companies like British gas.

They said it’s from the smart meter so no idea why they put estimated

When I realised the tariff was standard which was high I went in my online account to change and there were no options to do so

I called and was told the same so we initiated the switch process
I’ve noticed on my last statement there is info about other tariffs available but too little too late !!

The last statement info for other tariffs is a fairly new thing, they have to inform you if you could pay less on another of their tariffs. British as are shocking!

British Gas is shocking.

Switch everything off now, and go look at the meter.

www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/complain-about-your-gas-or-electricity-bill-or-supplier

Also get someone to check your meter to check you're only paying for your electric! That sounds terrible. Good luck.

Have you tried changing on you switch online?
They just do it all for you, and say who will be cheaper.

You need to look at the kWh numbers on the meter and verify them to the bills. It can be informative to take reading daily, or even more often, when you are investigating high usage.

Your bills will often be for a different amount because electricity co's like to charge a regular monthly amount which they calculate based on what they expect you to use in a year.

Energy from electricity costs about four times as much as energy from gas.

The figures you mention will not be due to lights or chargers. It will be heat-producing appliances such as fan heaters, tumble driers and electric showers.

If you post a photo of your consumer unit with the flap open to show the circuit labels, we can suggest how to track down the usage.

If you physically switch off everything on the fuse box, you will be able to see if the meter is still turning. That way you will see if the neighbours are stealing your electricity. So best to do it when there are people at home. Time to find your torch.

If the neighbours aren’t stealing your electricity, you can still use this to isolate the oven, although there generally is a switch above the dishwasher / oven etc to turn it off. You can then see if the meter is going round like crazy for anything.

We've had a similar issue with British Gas and the electric bill. We pay quarterly rather than by DD, and our electricity bill is normally around £300 a quarter, however, last quarter, it was over £420. Nothing has changed with our usage, in theory it should be less as we've had the house rewired and all the lighting is now LED. Am keeping an eye on it at the moment. We don't have a smart meter, they came to fit one but couldn't get it to work, they said in our area there are problems with wifi black spots. Will double check if the tariff has been changed, although it's hard to find out, last time I logged in online, the website had changed. All the data I used to be able to see, eg yearly usage etc, had gone, and it said it was now only available for smart meter users only!

This is definitely not right.

I pay £50-60 pcm on electricity, we’re on a smart meter also PAYG rather than billed. We have three xboxes, sometimes they’re all in and I’m using a laptop while two phones are charging, of course the corresponding TVs are on and DH might be using the cooker. Highest I think we’ve paid is £70 and that was holiday week when were all at home.

I had a really shitty time with BG myself years and years ago where they insisted I’d used over £1000 of gas in a quarter....in a one bed flat. They were completely uninterested in sorting it out, I almost had a breakdown.

I would do the switch off thing and check see what is ticking over.

List everything that’s happened and the conversations you’ve had, with dates and times, as accurately as you can.

Contact the energy ombudsman - this was the only way I could resolve our issues - I had paid over £500 before they finally backed off (and I moved out).

We don’t have an electric shower

I had issues with Scottish power. We paid on receipt of bill. We can't do DD because we move around a lot and you can't just take the previous years bill and divide by 12, that doesn't work for our lifestyle.

Anyway, they sent us an estimated bill and we sent an actual reading and we ended up getting a bill that had doubled. The system had taken the new reading and added it to the old bill instead of taking the estimated amount away. They couldn't see that they were charging us twice for the same electricity even though it was clearly stated on the bill. After it happened twice we left.

The rule here is NEVER pay an estimated bill. ALWAYS look at your bills carefully and challenge them and also have your Smart Meter investigated. Involve the Ombudsman if necessary. I don't think it's a good idea to move until you've squared things with you current supplier as it just fogs the issue.

We are now with Bristol Energy and we think they're great.

This ?

For example, if you had a conservatory with a fan heater in it, it could easily use 30kWh in a day. Costing about £4.50

I'm sorry to jump in without RTFT but rather than keep trying to sort it out on your own and worrying I'd go straight to the ombudsman. I think that if you open a case with them then they will take over and sort this out for you. Make a file with copies of all e-mails, details of phone calls you've made, copies of bills and basically everything you've done to try and sort it out and just pass all the info onto the ombudsman. I think that the bills will be 'frozen' whilst it's being sorted out. It's then in their hands to make a decision as to who owes who what and in your case it sounds as if British Gas are definitely in the wrong and you have done more than enough to try and sort this out on your own. Good Luck OP.

have you checked that the bill for you is the same serial number on the meter?
just because we had this with a neighbour

No, that's the meter. Your Consumer Unit is what elderly people call a "fusebox"

It has a main switch and a number if breakers (more rarely, fuses) for the various circuits, labelled "upstairs lights" "downstairs sockets" "cooker" "smelting furnace" "cannabis greenhouse" and so on.

Yes it is same meter number on the bill

Some typical Consumer Units.

www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/domestic-consumer-units/cat7230028

Yours is probably cream plastic.

Post a picture of your fuse box