To think there is something wrong with our gas reading

[ringstrawpot]

Just got our latest gas bill through.
Based on meter readings it says we are using 435kwh/day. Meaning we apparently use almost 160,000kwh every year. This is around £900 a month they want to charge us…

There is something hugely wrong here, right…? British Gas website says about 12,000 a year for a house (smaller than ours but still, not more than 10 times smaller…). What on earth can the issue be? We have just moved back in after tenants: could they have done anything…??

When you moved in did you make sure the meter was read and allocated to the tenants, then read your meter now and contact the company next week and advise them that you dont owe that money

Alternatively ask them to come and check the meter

Did you read it when you moved in?

Have you checked the meter readings are correct? Is it a meter with dials or digits?

This is based on two readings, both submitted by us (we’ve been here a few months). So solely on when we’ve been in the house.

It’s digits. I read it both times. So technically the readings are correct. But they can’t be surely..? That’s like heating a small hotel!!

They are using the right units are they, cubic ft or metres for the calculation

We had something similar with our electric meter when we moved in. It took speaking to a real person who agreed the meter readings were ridiculous - they came out and changed the meter and gave us updated bills after 6 weeks based on the new readings

Take a reading today and tomorrow at roughly the same time - see what you use over a day. May not be representative given weather and Christmas cooking, but daily readings should give you an idea of what's going on.

Your meter (probably) measures cubic meters (it will tell you on the front of the meter), whereas you're billed per kwh. The conversion varies depending on different factors. Very roughly one cubic meter on your gas meter is about 11 kwhs. You understand that, right?

Also check the number on the bill/account matches the number on your meter. Happened to a friend - they switched her meter and didn't update the system so was being charged for what she was actually using, plus an estimate for the meter they had taken out and not updated.

Have you calculated it yourself to see if you get the same a BG, maybe post the readings on here and dates and whether it's ft or m, older gas metres are generally ft

Yes thanks. I understand that…..

The meter is in cubic metres. The bill from our energy company recognises that and converts it to kWh. And then tell me that average daily use.

After Christmas I will check meter numbers and the rest. And then I will call and speak to someone: it’s so high as to clearly be an error.

We have had this recently but not to the same extent. Our gas reading would be at 45kwh in the morning when all we’d had on was 1 hour of hot water. I switched all timers off and now we just put the water and the heating on for an hour when needed. I also did daily meter readings, converting the m3 to kWh to satisfy myself the smart meter was working ok. We are having someone out to check the boiler in the new year but ours is definitely a fault with the timers, I think it was trying to heat the water all day long. Since switching the timers off the gas usage is sensible and the meter is at 0 when I get up so I know there’s not a leak.