Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What to do Electricity bill could be £10,000?

288 replies

floridapalmtree · 12/03/2022 10:33

I have read the meter and think we are over 30,000 kw's over. I have been asked for a meter reading and think it's going to come to around £10,000. What do I do give them an accurate reading now? Or wait a year or so to give the correct reading hoping prices will come down?

The reason it is so much over is my mil was living here and had electric radiators on all day in her room and didn't care about the cost as long as she was warm. Plus there is a problem with the boiler and we have had the emersion heater on often continuously to heat water.

I just don't know what to do, any advice?

OP posts:
Original poster
floridapalmtree · 12/03/2022 14:24

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

Are you sure your 20p and 30p figures are correct, That would have been a high rate to have fixed at pre Dec 20

Are you in the UK?

yes they are correct, and yes UK
OP posts:
Asdf12345 · 12/03/2022 14:25

Firstly and most importantly take the excuse to boot out the mother in law.

Secondly check the reading is definitely accurate.

TheElusivePotato · 12/03/2022 14:28

I had this once (but for about £1500) and it turned out I was reading the wrong figure - I had given the day and night reading added together as the day reading - could you have done something like that?

RandomMess · 12/03/2022 14:29

You absolutely need to give them an accurate reading now before the prices you up on 1st April.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 12/03/2022 14:29

I assume you are on a fixed rate as 30p is more than both the current and April cap rate. When you fixed how did you go with the estimated usage?

LIZS · 12/03/2022 14:30

If it has been three years of estimates then it is possible that the cumulative effect of mil extra usage has built up over time. Estimates are calculated on previous years' readings/estimates.

TheHoptimist · 12/03/2022 14:34

@Asdf12345

Firstly and most importantly take the excuse to boot out the mother in law.

Secondly check the reading is definitely accurate.

RTFT and try and be a bit more sensitive.
Baaaa · 12/03/2022 14:40

Any chance they'd let you repay it over 3 years?

AngelinaFibres · 12/03/2022 14:43

You are supposed to submit your own readings.We haven't had anyone here to read our meter for years. We are with Eon. You just log ,go to 'submit a meter reading' and send them the numbers. The bill is updated and we get an email asking us to increase the direct debit if necessary. Your husband should have been doing this for years. It is your household's fault that you have only paid vastly underestimated bills for years. The only thing you can do is submit a correct reading and then negotiate a monthly payment plan with them to clear the debt. After that you must submit a reading at least 4 times a year. Since covid happened the chances of someone coming to read it for you, especially if ,like us , the meter is in the house, are nil.

EvilPea · 12/03/2022 14:53

You are supposed to submit your own readings.We haven't had anyone here to read our meter for years

Ours send someone if you don’t submit them

elbea · 12/03/2022 14:56

I think you’d benefit from a Smart Meter going forward, you’ll see what is being spent every day to keep on top of it.

SeasonFinale · 12/03/2022 15:02

So you have had estimated bills for at least 2 years and never checked before whether they matched the actual readings. No sympathy with your DH I am afraid as that is down to him. He probably didn't want to put in the actual reading because he didn't want to pay the small amount extra each time and now those small amounts have added up to a larger amount.

I suggest talking to the energy company if you can manage to get through and arrange a payment plan.

j89vsd · 12/03/2022 15:03

@chesirecat99 she hasn't refused anyone entry as far as I know, possibly they've sent someone out just doing the usual readings pre Covid but at a time when she wasn't home - if a card was left asking her to submit a reading I think she would probably have just ignored it 🙈. She says no actual appointments have been made with her.

She pays her bills online just based on the estimate. Not clear why they've never read the gas meter as that is external though.

cakeorwine · 12/03/2022 15:07

Martin Lewis gives a lot of good advice, but he was hugely wrong about this. The energy companies, tempting people (with artificially low offers to switch,) and Martins' advice, and virtual INSISTENCE that people switch energy companies, (and shaking his head in dismay at people on his show who said they haven't done it,) has forced a lot of people into debt

@MurmuratingStarling

Not sure if I agree with this.

I regularly switched. Fixed for 1 - 2 years and had good deals. Because I knew my usage, I was able to work out what I was spending.

The only way someone could get into debt was not paying enough to cover their energy bills. Companies did offer good low fixes and I definitely saved money being on those fixes compared to the more expensive deals being offered by the bigger companies.

However, the company I was with collapsed - so I am now on the price cap.

If people switched and built up a debt because they weren't monitoring their usage and thought their DD was enough to cover their costs, then I think they should bear some responsibility.

People should have at least an understanding of what their unit costs are and how much they use. And how to ensure that their provider knows how much they are using.

cuno · 12/03/2022 15:07

It's surely common sense to submit regular meter readings. Submit an accurate bill now and sort out a payment plan, if you leave it you will likely end up paying a lot more.

oakleaffy · 12/03/2022 15:07

£10,000?

Has your electricity been tapped by a gang running a weed farm?

~That is a phenomenal bill.

SoManyTshirts · 12/03/2022 15:09

@SamphiretheStickerist

Read it again. That sounds as though you are including the numbers after the decimal point, or in the red zone.
This.
DuchessofAnkh22 · 12/03/2022 15:10

@floridapalmtree

I can't see when we had a last actual reading because the online account only shows the past 2 years and don't have any paper bills anymore.

The last estimated reading was 14 January 2022.

Husband has not read meter just paid the estimated bills.

MIL has been with us for over 3 years but is not with us anymore.

Why the heck haven't one of you read the meter in all this time? We don't read ours regularly be make sure we do it once or twice a year.

BTW, having an immersion on for long periods will cost you thousands...

cakeorwine · 12/03/2022 15:12

[quote SNUG2022]**@AuditAngel and op, we are the same. Energy company went bust, transferred to British Gas. It was upped to £180 per month. Now they want £700 per month, about £8K for the year. We had a smart meter fitted a few months back and have always submitted readings. We think it must be based on the 3 winter lockdown months last year. What the hell is going on?? Just a normal family in a 4 bed. Not large.[/quote]
I would ask them how they estimate that?

I've decided to pay mine by direct debit but the whole bill is paid every month by DD. So it's the same rate as the price cap, but no one ends up owing each other money.

Especially with who knows what's going to be happening over the next year with energy.

User9805637 · 12/03/2022 15:14

It's not just your DHs responsibility to read the meter, you can read it also OP and check the bills. If we have had an estimated bill in the past we just submit an actual reading to update the bill properly.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 12/03/2022 15:14

Husband has not read meter just paid the estimated bills.

But it's not just his responsibility.

Why haven't either you done a meter reading and submitted it in all that time?

AngelinaFibres · 12/03/2022 15:17

@EvilPea

You are supposed to submit your own readings.We haven't had anyone here to read our meter for years

Ours send someone if you don’t submit them

We don't get actual people anymore but we do get bombarded with emails and texts asking for our correct reading. Takes 2 minutes. Smile
Keepitonthedownlow · 12/03/2022 15:20

You should make sure your reading is taken on 31st March before the rate increase kicks in (unless you're on a fixed rate which extends beyond that, but still).

cuppycakey · 12/03/2022 15:21

So are you saying your MIL was heating a room with multiple electric heaters for three years? Aside from summer I imagine?

And in that time you never bothered to read the meter and see how it stacked up against your estimated reads? Confused

In that case you would be better off to get the up to date reading submitted now - definitely before end of the month when prices rise. The supplier will probably agree to come out and test the meter, but it's not inconceivable you have been underpaying for many years.

40thanniversayfastapproacning · 12/03/2022 15:22

There is indeed a limit on how far back they can charge you. They cannot charge for anything over 12 months ago so you may be able to write off some of this. The issue will be working out how much was used over 12 months ago.