Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Electric bill problem, I think I owe £15k :o

407 replies

electricbills · 05/04/2022 10:56

This is not a begging thread before anyone piles on. But I am in a flap over discovering the above.

I've had some health issues, plus building works at home which combined together meant I've not been able to read my meter for a few years as it's in an awkward spot. I can't remember the last time either I gave a reading or anyone came out.

I can now access the meter and with all the stuff about electric prices rising I thought I should start with a clean slate. I couldn't access any of the previous readings online but submitted my figure of 31460.

I've since had a bill (obviously generated before my reading) and according to this my last estimate was 52440. I can't access any bills or readings online further back than 12 months and I don't get paper bills haven't for years.

So by my rough calculations based on kwh of I think 21p, I owe about 15k. My usual bills are about £300-400 per quarter. I feel sick.

I can just about pay it if I completely empty my savings and sell some stuff. But it's such a huge amount of money. I couldn't pay it in one go.

What do I do now?

OP posts:
ZaraD · 06/04/2022 18:17

I think you are owed money, as your actual reading is a lot less than their estimate! Speak to them as we were given an estimate bill and they said we owed them money when actually they owed us money! They threatened us too

Bebethany · 06/04/2022 18:25

@ electricbills..take a deep breath and write down what you have paid, you say in your first post £300/400 per quarter then in another post you say £300/400 per month? They company would have sent E-receipts to your payment, cross check them with debits from your bank.

dementedmummy · 06/04/2022 18:32

If i have understood correctly:
The electric company issued a bill based on an estimated reading.
You took and submitted a reading after the bill was issued but before you recieved it.
You are now scared that you owe the difference between your reading and their estimate
If this is the case, you do not owe anything and are more likely to be owed a refund by them and a reduced direct debit going forward.
Take photos of your readings on your phone as evidence of when they were taken.

Marmite17 · 06/04/2022 18:36

Agree with above posts. It is normal to be worried about rising bills but in your case, they owe you money

Silvers11 · 06/04/2022 18:41

Not sure what the panic is, so take a deep breath and try to calm yourself. You have sent them a reading which is an ACTUAL reading. This reading is much much lower than what your electricity company are estimating. From what you say, they have been sending you estimated bills for several years and you HAVE been paying them based on those estimated readings? If that is correct, then they will owe you money. No question at all

(They would have upped the amount that you needed to pay if you hadn't been meeting your estimated costs)

Jeannie88 · 06/04/2022 18:42

If you ring them they will be able to explain it. If you have been paying bills this must be a mistake and hopefully they will owe you money, which mine did give back no problem. We imagine the worst when we don't know what's going on so best of luck x

toxic44 · 06/04/2022 18:44

Contact the supplier and ask for a bill that uses the reading you gave. You can ask to pay by instalment if you are in arrears. You can ask for a refund if you are in credit.
If the supplier drags it out, you can tell them you will take the issue to the Ombudsman. If this happens the supplier is liable to be fined by Ombudsman, whether they are right or wrong. I was almost two years fighting for a refund until I said the O-word and then got over £800 repaid. Good luck. Get a correct bill first.

Lorzest · 06/04/2022 19:12

@electricbills this is just my experience but my energy meter ran out of digits once. It didn’t ‘loop’ it just stopped. The energy company said they would offer me an estimate of energy consumption as they could read the meter. I was nervous but they came back with a perfectly reasonable number which I paid and they replaced the meter. Hope you get this sorted and it goes in your favour

Lorzest · 06/04/2022 19:13

Sorry typo - they ‘couldn’t’ read the meter so they estimated. So, point is the meter didn’t loop

Cervinia · 06/04/2022 19:13

Lovely OP, please don’t panic.

I live in a four bed semi, I’m very keen to keep my meter readings up to date and access my meters outside every month. I (until 1st April) don’t skip on my usage, the boiler goes on when I’m cold, the washing gets dried in the dryer, I set the lights to go on when not home etc.

I pay £150 a month for both and have accumulated a 700 credit, so I think it’s highly unlikely you owe anything.

I really hope you are due a big fat credit and can request a refund. Moving forwards, get those meter readings entered every month.

Even though I enter mine regularly they do get randomly checked periodically by either the supplier or the network owner, maybe every year or two? So it’s even more unlikely you have had any actual readings for years.

winterchills · 06/04/2022 19:15

I can't imagine they would let you have got that much in arrears surely!

compkeen · 06/04/2022 19:16

I have the same problem . I found that the electricity company charged me an estimated sum for about 14 months upto £10,000 for the property which is not lived in . I provided them with a reading . They then worked out a bill not from the previous reading , but piled on more money on the estimated sum. What disturbed me was that they divided the charges on 4 monthly intervals . Every 4 months they doubled the charges per unit. I understood that the charges are going up from the 1st of April but they took the liberty of doubling it on the
1st of January 2022.
When I rung several times to query the bill, they left me hanging on the phone and passed the matter on to the solicitors.

Geezabreak82 · 06/04/2022 19:20

@electricbills

The bill I've had is based on another estimated reading, not the figures I gave, although the bill is dated today I imagine it was processed last week so hadn't factored in my payment.

That bill is for about £450, the starting estimate on that was the 52440 and the other figure was also estimated, 5something (sorry I'm on my phone and can't easily tab between screens to check the other figure on the estimated bill.

I will get one of those keys though for the gas meter. None of our neighbours have external meters so can't ask them but will look on ebay now. I stupidly thought they weren't available to the general public Blush

I’ve not read all the replies but I have read all your posts. It sounds to me like the energy supplier has been significantly over estimating your usage for years so you now have significant credit. When you submitted a meter reading that was significantly different to what they expected they will have assumed you misread the meter and will have adjusted the figure. This has happened to me in the past, although in my case it was because the meter had been replaced and they forgot to update on their system so whenever a reading was submitted it was wildly different to what they expected so they adjusted every bill based on an estimate. You need to call them and get them out to do a meter reading asap to get your account back in good order and potentially withdraw some of that credit.
LadyDanburysCane · 06/04/2022 19:20

however just over £100 pm is cheap for a 4 bed - I pay more and live in a tiny 2 bed flat

I was paying £110 pm for my four bed (gas & electric) I’ve just increased it to £150 to ensure I don’t go into debt. We have a smart meter so I know my current bills are correct. I’m with EDF.

Mumof32017 · 06/04/2022 19:21

Don’t you dare pay anything! You’ve given actual readings, looks like they’ve been screwing you for a long time and actually they are the ones that owe you!!!

Hathertonhariden · 06/04/2022 19:22

OP - some energy companies will consistently charge you more than they should and wait for you to challenge it. If your reading is that far below their estimates then they have been doing very nicely out of it for some time. They will probably reduce your quarterly payment now you're aware of it. Make sure they pay you what they owe you as they will drag this out unless you keep reminding them.

onedogatoddlerandababy · 06/04/2022 19:23

Ok op I’ve not read the full thread, just your posts.
My advice is to speak to your supplier, but to make sure you take monthly readings for next few months and this will allow both you and supplier to see if the estimates have been wildly high or wildly low. It will also show if your meter is faulty and has stopped clocking - it’s a big difference between that estimate and the actual reading if your circs/usage hasn’t massively altered. If you can take another reading asap and see if it’s moved on that’d be helpful.

They won’t expect you to pay in full immediately, and you can ask for proof of when they sent meter readers to your home to show that they’ve attempted to bill you accurately. If not they should backbill your account to the last actual reading.

ThistleTits · 06/04/2022 19:28

@electricbills

I've paid estimated bills for ages, I can't remember how long - the ones over the last year were all £300-400 per month, I can't go back any further than that online.
Even if it is that you owe thousands. They will allow you to pay it up. I owed 8k + at one point, been paying it off for over ten years. I don't think you owe them though. They owe you.
Ickiness · 06/04/2022 19:30

My brain is hurting with this!
Your read is LOWER than the estimated read
Therefore , IGNORE the bill and wait for an updated bill to be produced from your read !
If your read was higher they would increase your bill, if it’s lower they will adjust and decrease it

I don’t understand how you think you owe them money ???!!!!!

evian76 · 06/04/2022 19:30

They can put you on a plan, I’ve done it before for a shocking bill, good luck, and I hope it turns out that your calculations are wrong!

Jonny1265 · 06/04/2022 19:31

@edwinbear

If you're paying £300-£400 pm, unless you live in a castle, I reckon you could have quite a nice windfall coming your way OP Smile
Mines an average 4 bed and I'm paying £390
ReadyToMoveIt · 06/04/2022 19:34

@Jonny1265 I pay £330 for a bog standard 4 bed… sadly no palace!

SarahJane83 · 06/04/2022 19:39

If you’ve been paying your bills regularly since you lived in the property then there’s no way you owe £15k love. Regardless if you haven’t submitted a meter reading in years, you are making regular payments so it’s just not possible to owe that kind of money. You might not owe anything at all. Give them a ring for peace of mind though.

liferiddle66 · 06/04/2022 19:40

Don't compare last year's usage in £££s as prices have gone up by over 50% now. How long have you been with your provider and are you sure your opening meter readings are correct? the difference in your reading and the estimate (providing there is no more than 3 months difference between them) would suggest to me that you might have had incorrect opening reads, which happens quite a lot. I used to work for an energy company ;)

liferiddle66 · 06/04/2022 19:42

And if you have a smart meter, make sure you are reading it correctly - providing kWh reading and not kvh for example. Youtube has great how-to read smart meter tutorials

Swipe left for the next trending thread