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

[floridapalmtree]

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?

I do wonder how Covid has affected the 'meter reading' business exactly, and we had our old supplier telling us they would be in touch to check the safety of the gas meter soon but no mention of the electric and I had to chase them for the gas meter check as I was irrationally scared it would blow up.

I'm a bit baffled that no meter readings have been submitted in two years Have you not been asked to by supplier? I get regular emails prompting me to send meter readings.

@40thanniversayfastapproacning

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.

This simply isn't true - not in the way you've stated.

DH and I inherited our house when his granny died. Probate dragged on and on for almost two years, it turned out nobody had informed the supplier of her death and electricity was being used by the builders we had in to renovate. By the time we moved in officially and got around to switching the power to our own account, it was quite the mess to unpick.

I queried the whole back bill thing with them (basically chancing my arm to get some written off!) and was told that it only applies if the supplier is at fault, e.g. they have not sent a single bill, even an estimated one.

Because we hadn't sent in any meter readings (thinking that my FIL had notified them long before), we had never been at the house when someone came to read the meter, and because the supplier had still been sending quarterly estimated bills, we weren't eligible to have anything written off at all.

Have you ever changed supplier OP?

@40thanniversayfastapproacning

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.

It's not as straightforward as that, as otherwise everyone would refuse to give meter readings and just not pay their bills.

It is a strange business. I am sure in years time, people will look back and query how it worked.

"So you had a dial in your house"

"Yes"

And that dial measured how much electricity you were using?

Yes

And every few months, you would get a bill from the company saying that they think you have used this much so please pay it?

Yes - but sometimes they predicted what you would use for the whole year and then you would give them the same amount of money each month to pay your year bill.

But how did they know how much you used?

We had to tell them?

And they believed you?

Well sometimes, someone would come round, knock on the door and look at the meter and then tell the company what you were using.

That sounds so old. Have you got any more stories?

Well, let me tell you about how we paid to watch TV

I've checked friends meter now, the difference is slightly more than OPs :( Friend has been saving for years to get some much needed work done in her house (New carpets and floors, replacing her front door and a couple of windows, repairing some dodgy electrics and plumbing) She has just over £10k saved for this which was just enough to cover it and has been getting quotes excited for it to start. She's devastated that is going to be swallowed up straight away by gas and electric costs. It will take her years to save it again.

Cant help but feel sorry for her.

I believe the 12 month rule on back-billing only applies if you haven't received a bill at all. Op has been receiving estimates but not taken the opportunity to correct the reading. Best thing I can suggest is to speak to the supplier and ask for the outstanding balance to be paid over the next couple of years at least since it's been at least that long since an actual reading was done. I think the supplier is only obliged to do an actual reading every 3 years and since some meters are indoors, Covid may have relaxed that rule a little.

Cant help but feel sorry for her.

It is sad for her but if you live a 'head in the sand' kind of life these are the things that can happen. She knew the meter wasn't being read so what was she expecting to happen?

Honestly, I don't think she realised the estimate was that far out.

Would it benefit her to try and do a deal? Offer a lump sum now? She doesn't have a massive income so if they want her to pay by instalments she could only manage about £100-150 a month currently (and that's before all the energy price rises).

I thought if she offered £5k they might take that as a settlement? Then she's still got some money so she can do some of the improvements, and it's more likely she'll be able to keep up with future payments. I know from experience a couple of relatives who've done that kind of a deal on loads and things, but don't really know the ins and outs, I don't want to give my poor friend false hope though.

@j89vsd

I've checked friends meter now, the difference is slightly more than OPs :( Friend has been saving for years to get some much needed work done in her house (New carpets and floors, replacing her front door and a couple of windows, repairing some dodgy electrics and plumbing) She has just over £10k saved for this which was just enough to cover it and has been getting quotes excited for it to start. She's devastated that is going to be swallowed up straight away by gas and electric costs. It will take her years to save it again.

Cant help but feel sorry for her.

But you’ve said up thread that your friend has heating on all the time and air con in the Summertime. Then she’s ignored the fact her bills have been estimated for years.

Basically she’s not been paying for what she uses.

I’m sorry but we all have to pay and give readings or have smart meters.

It’s just all caught up with her and why should she not have to pay for what she’s used especially since she’s obviously extravagant with heating and aircon.

I don’t think this is so hard to believe. Do you have more than one electric rad? My MIL has electric radiators and her bill is £600-£700 a month, for just her, being very careful. Electric is so expensive for heating etc.

@j89vsd

I've checked friends meter now, the difference is slightly more than OPs :( Friend has been saving for years to get some much needed work done in her house (New carpets and floors, replacing her front door and a couple of windows, repairing some dodgy electrics and plumbing) She has just over £10k saved for this which was just enough to cover it and has been getting quotes excited for it to start. She's devastated that is going to be swallowed up straight away by gas and electric costs. It will take her years to save it again.

Cant help but feel sorry for her.

Why hasn't she been giving meter readings and paying her bills?

I would bite the bullet and get the bill but ask if you can pay say £1000 towards the bill then ask to pay it alongside your current usage over 2 or 3 years or what ever the longest amount of time that they will give you. Explain the circumstances about mil being elderly and feeling the cold and hopefully it will be more manageable

Same advice goes for j89vsd’s friend

@j89vsd

Honestly, I don't think she realised the estimate was that far out.

Would it benefit her to try and do a deal? Offer a lump sum now? She doesn't have a massive income so if they want her to pay by instalments she could only manage about £100-150 a month currently (and that's before all the energy price rises).

I thought if she offered £5k they might take that as a settlement? Then she's still got some money so she can do some of the improvements, and it's more likely she'll be able to keep up with future payments. I know from experience a couple of relatives who've done that kind of a deal on loads and things, but don't really know the ins and outs, I don't want to give my poor friend false hope though.

Well she will have to contact them and see what they say.

But I’m sorry I still find it incredible that someone who has had underfloor heating on constantly in Winter and aircon in Summer thinks they should be allowed to settle half the bill so that they can spend the rest on home improvements etc!

I’m sure many of us would also prefer not to have to pay our full energy bills and then have money to spend on our homes instead.

I know this sounds harsh but what did your friend expect was happening with her extravagant energy usage?

Op and anyone else on standard tariff make sure you do a meter reading on 31st March so your account is up to date before the increase comes in.

Yes she has ignored it, but she said as she pays £600 a quarter for gas and elec she believed that was about right. My own bills are only a third of that - I thought her bills would be way out if she paid a similar amount to me (knowing she uses more heating etc), but now knowing how much she pays anyway I can see why she thought it was fine. Although obviously she should have checked herself.

I think all she can do is contact her supplier and see what they say.

If we hadn’t got a smart metre I dread to think how much the bill would be.
In my last house we only ever paid estimated bills. The metre was in a dark cupboard that needed clearing. No one ever came round to ask about metre readings.

As it was we ended up with a huge rebate as I had always paid similar amount to the monthly amount we had been charged by British Gas and Shell Energy when they came and did the metre reading either didn’t charge as much or we hadn’t used the amount we thought we had.

If I'd not checked for her and this came to light after she'd spent the money on sorting out her house she wouldn't have been able to pay it in one go anyway.

I get she's been naive, I'm just trying to help her, and I know what a hard time she's had in recent years for various reasons.

@j89vsd

Yes she has ignored it, but she said as she pays £600 a quarter for gas and elec she believed that was about right. My own bills are only a third of that - I thought her bills would be way out if she paid a similar amount to me (knowing she uses more heating etc), but now knowing how much she pays anyway I can see why she thought it was fine. Although obviously she should have checked herself.

I think all she can do is contact her supplier and see what they say.

But that’s way way under for her usage. We pay about that and heating on once a day in the evening and only on for an hour in morning if bitterly cold.

Heating won’t go on until tonight at about 8pm for two hours or so.

Underfloor heating also only ever on in kitchen if very cold in evening for an hour or so maximum.

Cant help but feel sorry for her. but she's only saved that much because she hasn't been paying her way.

You need to ring them and ask when the last actual reading was taken. But you've been over using for years it sounds and it's now built up. They'll let you pay it in installments but you need to sort it by the end of the month.

I think by law they have to have an actual meter reading at least every two years. Can you ask them when was the last time they had one?

At least I know my gas is up to date and correct. We’ve lived here 15 years and think we’ve only had someone in once or twice to read the meter in all that time.

I assume your MIL has died? If so then maybe you wouldn't be liable for the bill when she had it?