Anyone not able to pay your gas/elec

[Mydogatemypurse]

Exactly that. I literally dont have the funds to pay what they are asking. Ive tightened my belt, used food banks yet im racking up arrears by the day. They are saying they are going to fit pre payment meters that the money will go off the debt. But i don't know how as its already over £1000. Surely im not the only one in this postion. What will the companies do if so many like me end up like this. Im getting proper anxiety over the next increase.

Also- please do use your smart meter to figure out what's using a lot of energy. The other day there was a house using an extortionate amount, when a smart meter was fitted, it became clear that the massive kitchen that had tons of non- energy saving spotlights was using a couple of £ an hour 😱

www.thesun.co.uk/money/18988707/exact-date-apply-cash-energy-bill/
This from sun good too - doesn't sound right to me either, that bill is very high usage.

My non smart meter readings have totally different numbers. So Ive sent them off too.
The guy in Eon is trying to help bless. Something is clearly wrong.

Omg the halogen lights! Poor woman. I only have a normal light bulb in the kitchen. The only excessive use I can think of is my laptop charger. Its a brand new work laptop tho. Kids charge their i pad/kindles maybe once a day??

Ive got a large freezer???

Never let them set up a direct debit with a random monthly amount...

Always make sure you give them a monthly meter reading and then pay the correct bill based on that reading/your actual use, not what the company thinks you should be paying so they can give their shareholders and CEO an even bigger bonus.

It seems like a lot of these companies have been using the crisis to set up high direct debits to make maximum profit.

Frankly we should all be lobbying our MP for urgent action on this and vote for a new government when the general election comes that will bring utilities back into public ownership.

If you have debts mounting up, there are charities that can help you look at your financial situation and agree a repayment plan with your various creditors.

256!. Is it a big house?

No average terrace house. Double glazed. Newish roof.
E on are looking into the meters. Im definitely going to follow everyones advice re DD switching stuff off to measure. Im giving up now im too hot. At least I dont need heating on ha! Ive put a smart app on my phone to look at usage too.

We've got tonnes of gadgets - hoovers, robo hoovers, tumble and washer most days, still not getting anything like your usage. Good luck, hope you can find some savings!

Same, were mid terrace too and not as careful as we should be, we rarely go over £1.50 a day. Something is wrong with your meter I think OP.

This my Electricity and Gas usage over the last week, then also the whole year since I moved into my house 10 months ago. My daughter is home all the time and so worked from home all winter. We tumble dry too.
I’m with Utilita pre pay as it was in the house when I moved in.

You’re lucky you’re not prepayment. I just don’t have the funds to top up mine, and it’s getting worse. My electric is currently £90 a month gas £40 with British Gas

Going against the grain I don’t think that’s actually that high. We are a family of 4- mostly 3 as dd is away at university most of the time, in a 3 bed semi and our energy bill is £270 monthly - that’s from smart meter / manual readings (only just switched to smart meters). We are with octopus. We rarely use the dryer, switch everything off, try and use as little of anything as we can. I think it’s just hideously expensive at the moment, and that’s summer! I am dreading the winter. We just won’t be able to put the heating on at all.

Just wanted to post because everyone saying how high your bill is etc may actually be wrong and it’s better to be prepared. We pay for our actual use and it’s about what you are paying.

Our electricity use is really high too and I just can't work out what's doing it. How are people managing to work out that it's (eg) the halogen lights which are doing it?
I can see the little graph that shows costs throughout the day but don't know how to link to particular appliances?

With us we can tell what’s making the smart meter spike up when we switch things on - so for example we turn the kettle on and it leaps up so we know the kettle uses xxxx amount etc. So probably like that. But the thing is we can’t use anything any less than we do! Well I mean we could drink water and not use the kettle but I mean in terms of lights / washing etc we already use the bare minimum, I don’t even turn the lights on in the kitchen for example unless I literally can’t see!

Thank you!
I've just compared usage from last year to this year, and our usage hasn't changed at all...I was thinking maybe there was some big new money sucking appliance I hadn't taken into account. But no, it's just same usage, massive increase on costs.
So like you and OP, I'm stuck wondering how else to reduce usage.

Update! Today I had un updated bill using the 'actual' meter readings not the smart ones which seems to be wrong.... £700 taken off my bill!

What I have noticed is my daily standing charges are really expensive (53p for elec and 32p for gas!) Which could be why my bills are high despite me tightening my belt. Apparently I cant move tarrif right now! 😕

I'm glad to hear that.

What the hell is the point of the smart meter then?

Yes it's standing charges that have mainly gone up so there's barely anything we can do to keep costs down really. They are complete bastards the lot of them.

Good for you Anyway

Ah tjays fantastic OP, glad youve got a resolution!. Those daily standing charges are high, im with Octopus and pay 41p and 27p.....still a ridiculous amount.

That's a relief. I know you still have a balance to pay, but £700 is a big difference.

Thank you I feel so relieved. I wasnt able to see the wood for the trees there so everyone's help was really appreciated. Paying monthly now everytime I get a reading. E on have given me an app to put on my phone which is really helpful too. Hopefully i get ontop of it before the next increase. 🙏