£760 per month for energy!

[Veuvelily]

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

@BarbaraofSeville I'm a child of the 80s! Now the immersion heater is coming back to me !
Quick google has told me that combis don't need turning off - had combis all adult life .
Emergency averted !

Before the rise ours was about £90 for 2 adults in a 4 bed house, now it's about £160.

We were quoted £711 . 3 bed house , family of 4 .

I keep seeing posts like this (on here and other forums) and people generally comment by saying things like “crazy consumption” etc. but, without context it’s difficult to say whether it is due to upcoming energy increases, coming off fixed tariffs, outstanding balances or genuinely high consumption.

We have a relatively small 2 bed house (yes it’s old and can do with better insulation and stuff).
We have paid between £150-£200 per month for all electricity and gas over last 12 months. Previously we we in a fixed tariff and paid £155 dd per month. That ran out a while back and was overlooked.

So, we are on standard tariff - around £175 per month average (dd ups and downs as consumption adjusted).
We have just been informed that as of April this is likely to be around £650 per month. Same usage, same supplier, same tariff.

I don’t think there is any debt that is being included in that. Though will admit 3/4 bills are usually estimated.

Just a rant really. But please don’t criticise people with high bills and assume they are energy wasters.

Were you moved to this energy supplier because your previous one folded?

Could this actually be the bill for the time since you've been with them?

I had a bill that was four times what I expected and it was labelled as one months charge but it was in fact the bill from mid October when I was moved to Shell until end of January.

Wow! We've a 5 bed house and 3 people, one of which works from home permanently, and our combined is £180 a month. What have you got running to rack that up??!

@LeggyLinda But if what you pay currently accurately reflects your usage then there is no way that £650 figure you've been given is remotely correct for a standard variable tariff. So something has gone wrong somewhere, either at your end of theirs.

Oh FFS! How can ANYONE have an energy bill of nearly TEN THOUSAND POUNDS A YEAR, especially with only 2 people? Are you powering Blackpool illuminations @Veuvelily ???

I am genuinely struggling to believe some of these stories tbh.

Just a rant really. But please don’t criticise people with high bills and assume they are energy wasters.

of course there are many factors that come into it. But when your own energy bills are a fraction of what people are posting (we're currently paying £80 a month for 4 of us; we were forcibly moved to this when our old energy supplier shut down so it's certainly not a good deal) it's hard to explain the huge difference away on an older house/higher tarifs etc. It's always worth people looking at what they are spending where and how they can save.

@RedskyThisNight

Just a rant really. But please don’t criticise people with high bills and assume they are energy wasters.

of course there are many factors that come into it. But when your own energy bills are a fraction of what people are posting (we're currently paying £80 a month for 4 of us; we were forcibly moved to this when our old energy supplier shut down so it's certainly not a good deal) it's hard to explain the huge difference away on an older house/higher tarifs etc. It's always worth people looking at what they are spending where and how they can save.

Exactly this. ^ These amounts are fucking ludicrous and obviously wrong. It's either...

a) There is a massive mistake by the energy company.

b) The posts is powering themselves and the 5 or 6 houses surrounding them.

c) The poster is lying.

Coz no WAY does a couple in an ordinary home, have a ten THOUSAND pounds a year energy bill. Come OFF it.

Sorry,

b)The POSTER is powering themselves and the 5 or 6 houses surrounding them.

some people have high consumption through no fault of their own. We have 2 children with complex needs who cant maintain their body temp.
Both use lots of electrical equipment and we have 2 lifts permenantly on . We have feeding pumps, Bipap machines, suction machines etc etc . And the washer and dryer are never off due to incontinence issues.
We pay over 300 a month now and expect that to rise to well.over 400 next month and probably more like 500 next winter . In fact our fixed rate offer was 749 back in Dec. and I couldn't believe my eyes when I got the letter. I declined their kind offer !
I.dont know what people in our situation are supposed to do tbh .

[quote Hugasauras]@LeggyLinda But if what you pay currently accurately reflects your usage then there is no way that £650 figure you've been given is remotely correct for a standard variable tariff. So something has gone wrong somewhere, either at your end of theirs. [/quote]
I know.
It seems completely wrong to me. But initial enquiries seem that it’s correct.
It’s either a mistake of provider, or we have somehow built up a debt in the last 9 months. But our consumption (as far as I’m aware) has not changed in years

Mine was £87.
Predicted £325

I already shop in aldi and do everything recommended to cut back.

@flapjackfairy

some people have high consumption through no fault of their own. We have 2 children with complex needs who cant maintain their body temp. Both use lots of electrical equipment and we have 2 lifts permenantly on . We have feeding pumps, Bipap machines, suction machines etc etc . And the washer and dryer are never off due to incontinence issues. We pay over 300 a month now and expect that to rise to well.over 400 next month and probably more like 500 next winter . In fact our fixed rate offer was 749 back in Dec. and I couldn't believe my eyes when I got the letter. I declined their kind offer ! I.dont know what people in our situation are supposed to do tbh .

And that's totally understandable (my own DD has limited mobility so have increased fuel costs as we have to drive her places other children would walk to). And must be very difficult.

But when your "average" family in a normal sized house is incurring costs way higher than the "average" this can't all be explained away.

Nope. Something clearly wrong with that.

@LeggyLinda that sounds very high. We are in a 2 bedroom Victorian house so sounds similar to your place. Our fix has just ended which was £47 (a green tariff so wasn’t even the cheapest one out there) and now we’re on £61. Have you been taking meter readings? Because it sounds like they have been overcharging you for ages!

The important thing is not direct debit amount but knowing your actual usage in khW, as that's what you can then use to work out costs.

For example, I know that we use ~4500 khW of electricity a year and 14,000 of gas, so I can easily work out what my monthly costs are from the tariff. We have a smart meter now but before that I have meter readings monthly - if you're relying on estimated readings then that's bad news as chances are they don't accurately reflect your usage and you are either underpaying or overpaying.

If you want to know if a direct debit is accurate for your usage, look at the numbers on your bill that tell you how much you use and then use the tariff figures to work it out.

@Legalconundrums

OP, things that generate heat are the most likely culprits. Underfloor heating, fish tanks, vivariums. Hairdryers, old electric ovens, kettles, straighteners, etc. Also, older tellies use a lot, I upgraded my old Plasma to an LED and its made a difference. Old appliances, fridges and freezers will also use much more than newer.

Take daily readings and see what you are using in Kw'hrs. My average daily usage over the past 6mo is 9.6kw's a day which is below average for house type and occupancy

I worked out my average for electricity at 5kw a day.

[quote deadlanguage]@LeggyLinda that sounds very high. We are in a 2 bedroom Victorian house so sounds similar to your place. Our fix has just ended which was £47 (a green tariff so wasn’t even the cheapest one out there) and now we’re on £61. Have you been taking meter readings? Because it sounds like they have been overcharging you for ages![/quote]
Haven’t been taking meter readings regularly (a little scared to actually) and too busy. But they are read by a guy every so often. If anything I thought we we under paying. I will have to find the time to double check. Thanks

I wonder why there are so many differences.

We were paying £79 pm and now quoted £325 pm.

Are people mixing up coming off fixed rates prices without realising standard rates increase again next month? Or are we being ripped off?

I don’t think we use excessive amounts - it’s only a small flat.

@Caz1960

I wonder why there are so many differences.

We were paying £79 pm and now quoted £325 pm.

Are people mixing up coming off fixed rates prices without realising standard rates increase again next month? Or are we being ripped off?

I don’t think we use excessive amounts - it’s only a small flat.

Is your quote for a fixed rate or for the standard variable rate when it increased in April?

I live with 5 other people in a drafty 4 storey Victorian house. Our gas and electric is £250/month in winter, much less in summer.

There is something horrifically wrong if you're spending £760/month for two people.

@LeggyLinda you're either in debit and that large payment is to try and pay that off or that is a fixed rate quote.

Your bills should show your annual usage in kWh and you can use thise figures to work out how much you should use/pay

@Allhallowseve

By the way I didn't know you were supposed to turn your hot water off

That's a bit of a red herring.

Combi gas boilers heat water as you use it, so nothing to switch off.

Immersion, electric water tank heaters, should really be on a timer. But, they do have thermostats inside so only heat when the water has cooled below the temp, so shouldn't be that bad.
I stayed at my sister's in Nov and her oil boiler failed so I had to put the immersion on for hot water and I kept an eye on her smart meter panel thing and it wasn't too bad, she says it hasn't made any difference to her bills.

Things to check:

1. has the thermostat broken inside the tank?
2. is the temp of the therm set too high? If you need to add loads of cold water to make a bath/shower tolerable, turn the hot water down - why heat it to 90deg only to have to cool it down again with a load of cold water?

Washing machines, by the way, are cold fill and heat the water themselves, so the cooler you wash, the less energy you use. Although, even four hour eco washes use less energy than a thirty min quick wash (though I've started doing a cold wash now).