£760 per month for energy!

[Veuvelily]

Dear God
It was £323.
There are 2 people living in this house

People. Energy companies estimate your NEW TARIFF by your previous monthy usage averaged over the past 12 months and the size of your home (eg: number of bedrooms)
Don't get in a tizz. It's an algorithm worked out by their software, not some hater who wants to bankrupt you.
They can ONLY bill you for what you use but if you FAIL to give monthly or quarterly readings, it's your own fault if energy companies estimate your bills.
The answer is in your own hands.
Learn how to calculate your own bills. It takes 5 minutes a month. Isn't that worth preventing a heart attack?
If you fail to take simple measures then it's YOUR OWN FAULT.
If I, an old lady, can do it then I'm perfectly sure the rest of you can.

@Nave
What are your prices, standing charge and kWh) and your usage? You can work it out yourself as the details are on your bills.
I fail to understand how people get worked up about it when it's your usage that puts your bill up. Yes, prices go up on April 1st but your usage will broadly reflect the same as it was last April.

How are these bills so expensive? Mine is £80pm!

@Waxonwaxoff0

How are these bills so expensive? Mine is £80pm!

You’re on a fixed deal?

To the people whose bills have massively gone up do you give monthly meter readings?

@Waxonwaxoff0

How are these bills so expensive? Mine is £80pm!

For gas and electric? Must be on a cheap fixed deal still

@HelloSpringIveMissedYou

To the people whose bills have massively gone up do you give monthly meter readings?

Yep!

@LoisLane66

People. Energy companies estimate your NEW TARIFF by your previous monthy usage averaged over the past 12 months and the size of your home (eg: number of bedrooms) Don't get in a tizz. It's an algorithm worked out by their software, not some hater who wants to bankrupt you. They can ONLY bill you for what you use but if you FAIL to give monthly or quarterly readings, it's your own fault if energy companies estimate your bills. The answer is in your own hands. Learn how to calculate your own bills. It takes 5 minutes a month. Isn't that worth preventing a heart attack? If you fail to take simple measures then it's YOUR OWN FAULT. If I, an old lady, can do it then I'm perfectly sure the rest of you can.

How do they know what size home you live in? Is there a national datbase that they use? I haven't changed supplier for a while but as far as I can see they base the monthly dd on past usage a,d alter it if needs be when I submit my readings. How/why do they factor in the size of my house?

I live in a 2 bed flat and my last gas bill Jan- Feb 32 days was £15.47 and electricity 15.71.
I live in a wealthy area. My new gas rates will be 27.22 standing charge and 7.28p pkWh. which will work out at £20.11 per month on a Standard Variable tariff until Oct. It's a whole amount DD which means they only take the cost of the energy I use as long as I give regular readings. Otherwise they take £20.11 or more if I use more.

Mine is £61, not on a fix. It's because you wash at 40 instead of 30, @dementedpixie

@ ATFPAF
When you look for quotes UF you have ever looked for a quote online, then you have to answer questions, one of which asks you how many bedrooms you have.
Energy companies and others also have access to data which we don't have, such as average salaries in your area or average energy usage gleaned from surveys from all sorts of 3rd party companies. If you don't give them facts, they will estimate and they can see your address on Google maps and even I could find out loads of data about you if I knew your address.
They can find out more than you think.

*IF not UF.

@Waxonwaxoff0

How are these bills so expensive? Mine is £80pm!

Yes, mine was £62 on variable, gas and electric, two people in a three bed. Now £109 on a fix above the April cap, would have been under £100 on the April variable.

Where did I say I have no idea what tariff I'm on? I know exactly what tariff I'm on. I've taken readings and submitted them. On my calculations (using the current tariff and meter readings) it should be c£200pm for both, the ombudsman also did a calculation and electric only came to just over £600pa on my old tariff (they don't have details of the new one but it's c50% more which the ombudsman said would add £28pm to my bill - they only looked at electric

@VanGoghsDog

I was reading the thing that you posted about the Ombusdman where they said that they didn't know your tariff.

So you know your tariff, you know your usage and you think it's £200 per month based on that and they think it's £466 a month.

And they haven't told you on any bill what they think your predicted usage is in KWH but have told you what they think it will cost - but I guess with no calculation.

And they have said that they won't let you decrease your direct debit because they don't want you to get into debt - even though it's double what you think it will be.

What tariff rates are you on and what do you think your usage is in KWH?

Is it a fixed tariff and if so, when does it expire - or is it the variable rate which is the price cap rates?

You should have already been informed of your new tariff.
EDF told it's customers 2 months ago.

@dementedpixie yes, gas and electric.

@Nave

Mine has gone up from £140 a month to £287. One bedroom flat - just me. Octopus.

That's extortionate. Ours is £130pm for a 4 bed with underfloor heating (currently still fixed) so you were already being robbed

@cakeorwine

Where did I say I have no idea what tariff I'm on? I know exactly what tariff I'm on. I've taken readings and submitted them. On my calculations (using the current tariff and meter readings) it should be c£200pm for both, the ombudsman also did a calculation and electric only came to just over £600pa on my old tariff (they don't have details of the new one but it's c50% more which the ombudsman said would add £28pm to my bill - they only looked at electric

@VanGoghsDog

I was reading the thing that you posted about the Ombusdman where they said that they didn't know your tariff.

So you know your tariff, you know your usage and you think it's £200 per month based on that and they think it's £466 a month.

And they haven't told you on any bill what they think your predicted usage is in KWH but have told you what they think it will cost - but I guess with no calculation.

And they have said that they won't let you decrease your direct debit because they don't want you to get into debt - even though it's double what you think it will be.

What tariff rates are you on and what do you think your usage is in KWH?

Is it a fixed tariff and if so, when does it expire - or is it the variable rate which is the price cap rates?

I was on a fix that ran out last year, which is when I started looking at it to try to move to a better rate, which is when the problems with the meter were revealed. I made Eon aware of the problem, in Sept, then when they didn't address it I contacted the ombudsman in Dec, they settled the issue this week - so until now I have not been able to make any headway in sorting out the rates (the ombudsman was not supposed to be dealing with the billing or rates, only the meter issue).

So, at the end of Feb I was on standard rate, and moved to a new Eon fix which is slightly higher than their April rate, but will cover me post the Oct rate and I decided it would probably be worth it (paid a bit more in March as a result until the April rates came in anyway). The bills all say 'good news, you are on the cheapest tariff'.

These are the rates and readings. I admit I don't really understand the gas, but I have used the calculation they have put on the bill in my spreadsheet.
I have used one month's data Jan-Feb and extrapolated from that.

The issue is very clearly that Eon, having updated my meter info, are not properly logging the readings against the right dates. But the ombudsman (with zero evidence) has said they have done them against the right dates so I have nowhere else to go with that.

I've found the estimated annual usage on the bills, in photo. It's very clear that the electricity is the issue, jumping up by 6.5x in Feb (they sorted the meter late Dec) - how they came to that conclusion is anyone's guess.

Eon say they won't change my DD. I mean, I know it will come out in the wash but it irks me they are so useless.

@VanGoghsDog

Your usage looks similar to ours - obviously gas will go down over the next couple of months but it looks similar.

I guess if they won't change the DD - then just do what you are doing and submit very regular readings. Electricity use won't vary massively during the year if electricity is not used for heating.

As I said, we have been able to pay on receipt of bill via Direct Debit. In theory, it shouldn't cost them anything as they get the money from me and there's no paperwork for them. We end up with no one owing each other money.

I do know in the past that I have been able to adjust my DD - I guess that depends on the company.

In future, take a photo of the meter reading both gas and electricity. Then there can be no quibble about dates.

@LoisLane66

In future, take a photo of the meter reading both gas and electricity. Then there can be no quibble about dates.

I do. There are no "quibbles" as far as I'm concerned. Eon wasn't logging them against the right meter, then ignored me when I raised it - they had been estimating for two years while I had merrily been sending in my readings. So they have now apparently put it right, but the fact my estimated usage has jumped by 6.5x shows they cannot possibly have logged them historically against the right dates, doesn't it?

I sent them all the dated photos. I have asked them to relook at it but again they just ignore emails. I first asked last week. Seven more weeks and I'm off to the ombudsman again. I'm not letting them off the hook.

[quote cakeorwine]@VanGoghsDog

Your usage looks similar to ours - obviously gas will go down over the next couple of months but it looks similar.

I guess if they won't change the DD - then just do what you are doing and submit very regular readings. Electricity use won't vary massively during the year if electricity is not used for heating.

As I said, we have been able to pay on receipt of bill via Direct Debit. In theory, it shouldn't cost them anything as they get the money from me and there's no paperwork for them. We end up with no one owing each other money.

I do know in the past that I have been able to adjust my DD - I guess that depends on the company.[/quote]
I might ask them to keep me on the fix and allow me to pay on bills as their estimates are clearly nonsense now.

Ours was already high at £300 a month for 4 of us and now it’s £440 combined which I thought was quite high! I suppose it depends what you are using. we’ve got fish tanks, 2 ponds, tumble dryer, heated bathroom floor , 2 fridge freezers etc etc so I know we’re heavy users.

@Waxonwaxoff0

How are these bills so expensive? Mine is £80pm!

Baffling ain't it?!

@lindyloo57

3 bedroom house, two of us we pay £96 a month at the moment, how is your bill over £300

This. ^ Like you - and some others here - I am just not understanding some of the bills people are getting. Most people I know (in real life,) have a new gas-and-electric combined bill, of less than £160 a month. (It was around £80 to £110 before.)

Only on the internet (particularly on here) am I seeing people claiming their joint energy bill is going up to £600-£700+ a month. WTAF?