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 did get new neighbours about 18 months ago who had a huge amount of work done and that would coincide with our bills suddenly increasing no matter what we did but would it be accidental or is that kind of thing always done knowingly

This is clearly where you need to be concentrating your efforts. I like the suggestion above to turn off your main fuse and see if their lghts go out. Good thinking

I had problems with British Gas my bill kept going up and up even in the summer when we were hardly using anything so I switched to Bulb when my final bill came from British Gas it was for about £600 I complained and asked for a breakdown but the bill was so confusing as I’d sent in my final readings but the bill was still estimated and the estimations were more than the actual reading in the end I gave up as I felt I was fighting a losing battle I paid it off over 5 months
Bulb have been great I now pay £56 a month for gas and electric and at the minute I’m £185 in credit
I’ve also recently had a new boiler fitted which I think might have helped reduce the cost
I live in a 3 bed semi

Haven’t read the whole thread, but you are getting a lot of good advice, which is worth following.

Our immersion switch goes through a timer - a few years ago realised it didn’t make the slightest difference, obviously wired incorrectly.

If you follow the advice about switching off things and nothing happens to the neighbours then I suggest

Asking a qualified electrician to check the system. If it’s OK then,

Smart Meters are causing endless problems,

Contact Regulator, MP and write to the Weekend papers that have a money help column.

Wish you all the best.

If the fridge or freezer compressor is knackered it overheats and then warms up the fridge which then calls for more cooling and a vicious cycle begins - this is a common problem using massive amounts of power

Good luck with getting it checked OP, you should definitely do that to ensure the meter is not incorrect and your supply isn't tapped by someone. I checked our bill, we pay £178 per month for gas and electric together. We aren't careful at all, we have 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and this is for 2 adults and 2 late teens who shower/bath a lot, plus I am at home a lot.

Thanks for the pics.

Look at your meter. It probably has a flashing red light. This indicates the rate electricity is being used. Count how fast the flashes are. For now, you need not be precise. It might be "about 10 a minute" or "about four a second".

The B6 breakers are for lighting, it's unlikely to be those.

Is the meter close to the consumer unit? If so, turn off the B32 and the B20 breakers. Then the B16 for the immersion heater. See if any of them make a noticeable difference to the rate the red light flashes. If you can't identify any one circuit that makes much difference, turn them all off, and see if the meter has completely stopped flashing.

Does it?

If not, turn off the large red main switch.

Has the meter stopped flashing?

Then turn everything back on. You may need to reset clocks and timers.

I see you have no electric shower.

Do you have any elecctric heaters?

how often do you use the tumble drier?

BTW if you suspect your neighbours, it is possible (but of course very unlikely) that they have a cannabis plantation in the loft.

Do they seem to be an ordinary family?

Do they have any rooms where the curtains or blinds are permanently shut?

In cold weather, does the frost always melt off their roof first?

£310 a month for a 4 bed!? There's definitely something wrong. We're the same size semi (so arguably colder) and £140.

Great advice here about turning everything off at the mains. It sounds like you're paying for two houses.

@pigletjohn - unlikely but possible! The snow melting is how many a cannabis grower have been caught out.

It seems very high, hope you get it sorted.

Definitely something wrong there! We pay about £60-£70 a month for electricity. That's with occasional use of the tumble dryer, children who don't know how to turn anything off, working from home so the kettle used about once an hour and plenty of use of the oven.

Piglet John is on the case helping you diagnose, but it sounds like either someone has tapped your electricity or British Gas are shite (or both!).

You might have other issues too but as far as dealing with BG.
We use Resolver, it’s free and keeps a record of every email. BG try and ring then don’t record complaints and lie about things, so don’t talk to them over the phone. Take pictures of everything and every letter you get. Just record everything. Make an official complaint with BG. After 2 months you can take it to the ombudsman.
They offered no help but suddenly when we went to ombudsman they started offering goodwill gesture amounts. We’re seeing it through. They were charging about £200pcm for a 2 bed.

This all seems to be getting very complicated - but the smart meter will show her most of what you are saying without needing to go to the fuses and outside meter. The black box inside the house will show how much electricity you are currently using, how much you have used today and even break it down to individual hours for you.

You can see instantly the impact of switching things on and off.
And they are normally wireless and have a built in battery so you can carry it around the home (with the baby) and see the impact of switching on a light here or the TV there.....

Hi OP, you're getting some really good advice here. While obviously the bills are the most worrying, to assess the problem, it's much more useful to know the kWh used. As you have said on a previous page, you're usage was something like 135kWh in 3 days (10-13 January). That's about 5x as much as the average household.

Assuming those readings are correct (and they should be if you have a smart meter), then there must be an actual problem somewhere. Follow the advice others (longtimelurkerhelen, mssmith50, pigletjohn) have given you in terms of trying to locate the problem. If you are still struggling to identify what causes your high usage it might be worth asking an electrician to visit. It will cost you a bit of money, but will save you so much more in the long run.

Hang the fuck on. £220 in one month on electric only when you have had Central heating/got water?

Unless you are running a grow something is very wrong. That is an astronomical amount of electricity to be using (roughly 12p/kWh so including standing charge of 20p/day around 1,700 kWh). That's insane.

This is insanely high. I would think it’s your neighbour tapping into your supply, tbh.

We're also on gas heating, so the electricity is 300-400kWh /month. Your usage doesn't sound right, it's 3-4 times as high; we're home all day and aren't careful (no tumble dryer but occasional heated airers, big TV etc)! Shutting the fuseboard down bit by bit should show you which area is using all the excess, which would help you to figure out why.

That's an insane amount! We are in a four bed detached and both work from home so heating/computers/lights etc are on all day and we pay £140 a month for gas and electric combined.

Maybe your meters are wired up wrongly by being swapped with neighbour and they're thinking wow this is cheap so are leaving everything on.

We had this with a smart meter! I said to British Gas about it and they refused to send an engineer. In the end they wrote off the full bill because I proved there's no way we could use the amount of electric they quoted,

We are now with Bulb and have no issues

I have only skimmed the replies, but got a jist. This happened in a property I owned (I had to stop renting it out in the end as the electricity charges were ridiculous). On advice from y supplier, I removed all storage heaters, replaced bulbs, everything and no matter what I did the electricity was astronomical. The people that bought it off me were using it as a second home - visiting mainly in the summer months, which I was relieved about and I said the electricity costs were high (it was all electric).

Fast forward and I was advised the meter was faulty and after a few months of moving in, they INSISTED on someone looking at the meter. The electricity company refused, so they threatened the Ombudsman and eventually got it looked at. It was running twice as fast as it should and they got their money back.

There are, as I see it (and others have indicated) either:

1. A faulty meter
2. Electricity theft as others have described
3. One of your appliances is faulty and using way too much electricity

I don't think your expensive tariff would be responsible in itself for such high bills.

Finally, I have a shop, and last year my electricity usage jumped up by a third. Same tariff. I got some great advice from Eon which I will post when I find it. Basically, to isolate the problem and to find out if it is the meter or is it an appliance, etc. In my case, it was an old freezer.

Get ombudsman involved and your MP if necessary.

Hope you get it sorted and you get a refund.

Is everyone else now getting the Crimestoppers energy theft big advert

Here is Eon's advice. Bare in mind it is a business, but same principle applies. Not easy to turn off everything with a baby, and as someone pointed out, if you switch off the actual mains switch, it would also switch off your neighbour at the same time (if there is theft), so maybe just switch as much off as you can - or switch off the main switch at night and see if your neighbour's house is in darkness!

What we would suggest in cases like this, is to do what we call 'spaced readings'

"This is basically taking a meter reading last thing at night as you leave, then again take a reading when you arrive the next day.
Then you leave on the next day, take a reading again but this time try switching things off at the fusebox, so the switches for all lighting, any cookers, boilers, water heaters emergency lights etc, anything other than alarm systems. If possible the entire main switch completely, then if when you come in the next morning take a meter reading. and compare the differences, if the usage for the 2nd night is less than the first then there is a problem with an appliance, if its similar then it could be the meter"

Wait til dark, check your neighbour's lights are on, switch off the mains, see if their lights go out!

Smart metres have been known to lie.