Gas bill and estimated annual usage - £7,000

[Gas]

Hi - we have just had £7k taken from our bank account for gas. It is an estimate. We are on holiday so it has cleaned the account out for spending. Normally it is about £1600 for the year.

Checked online our estimated use for the year ahead is 500,000 kWh. This works out about £90,000 on our variable tariff. Does this look like a mistake to you or will bills go up that much? Cannot pay it obviously. It is a large house with 5 bedrooms, though we do not waste heat. Bit shocked this can happen actually.

Was it taken by direct debit?
You can contact the bank and get it recalled under the direct debit guarantee as you weren't advised about it in advance

What company was it? Sounds like a (big!) error

For comparison we are in a 4 bed detached house in Scotland with 2 adults and 2 teens and our annual usage is estimated at 5845kwh electricity and 13862kwh gas.

Lol, from £1600 to £90,000????? Of course its wrong!

I did read that in some cases average bills could be £3,000 a month. So I was not sure. They seem to have worked it out. Can't get through on the phone althought they say until 6pm on Saturdays. Message just ends and cuts out.
Glad you think it is a mistake.

Where on earth did you read average bills could be £3000 a month??? £3000 a year more likely.

A year. 3000 a year.

What was your actual usage last year?

No average bill is £3k a month!! £3k is (a lot!) more than we have coming in every month.

Average use for gas is 12000 kwh a year. 500k kwh is...

I am well surprised peoppe still don't know these basics when ahit is hitting the fan

Of course they won't be £3k a month!
What have you been reading?

Don’t bother with trying to chase the energy company, go straight to your bank and get the DD debit recalled, and then report the energy company to the ombardsman. This is disgusting that they can do this, and I have heard of many cases of this happening lately on ‘estimated use’ with many people going overdrawn or being left with no money for food.

Obviously this is a serious issue but i'm smiling at your Tory MP's grasp on the cost of gas

You don't really think it could be £3k a month do you? You must be on a 7 figure salary

That is absolutely insane.

You need to find out your actual usage.

Do you only pay your bill once a year??

We've got a chilly 5 bed and our predicted gas use is around the 25,000 kWh. Your figure is 20 times ours which cannot be right.

Unless your home is Buckingham Palace )and grounds) I would guess a mistake has been made.

Ask your bank to recall the dd

My gas is actual usage last year 31000 kwh usage for a large house, 5 people. I'm not convinced it's right. They want me to pay £100 to have the meter tested, I'm very tempted. 500000 kwh is insane though, that's a small estate.

It astounds me that in the midst of the cost of living crisis people have such a slim grasp on the cost of things. Even if you can easily afford £3000 a month for gas, surely no one seriously believes that’s what it costs.

Of course not on a 7 figure salary. We do have a lot of outgoings, eg just paid July tax bill for £39k, mortgage has gone up about 1k a month since the start of the year. I did read avg bill will rise £350 a month but also say another article where a couple had paid £2500 the previous month. I am not sure where I got the £3k from now.
Got through to gas supplier finally. It is an actual reading. Previous estimated readings were for the last 8 years!! The meter is in the garden and overgrown so that is why it was never read. The dry weather this year meant all the vegetation died so it was accessible.

They can't back bill you for more than a year. Have you not been providing correct.readings for 8 years?

Either way it is not going to be correct. You'll have a hefty bill to pay, but it won't be anywhere near £90k.

You have never read your gas meter or provided readings? And no-one from the company have ever been to read it in the last 8 years?

Are they not bound by back billing rules? Anyway, they can't take a direct debit without telling you in advance how much it is

Are you seriously saying that you use 62,000kwh on top of your normal usage a year? That's 500k/8. That is about 5x the average use on TOP of your normal use?
Am I getting it right?

They send a man to do the reading, but they only sometimes turn up then because its in a difficult spot and overgrown they say its too dark and go. One guy said its too dangerous. so exactly - all bills DH says are estimated.
DH says they estimated 500,000 kwh to scare us into having a smart meter, so he is chill.
I guess the £8k plus the usual £1600 is OK for a year or two. then prices might come down.

@dementedpixie Yes it went straight from the account. No text or anything. We are on holiday so obviously post has been piling up at home.

Why can't you make the meter easier to access?
What sort of wilderness are you living in?