Energy Bill is £995.

[Whiskyinajar]

I just don't know what to say. Working two jobs and earning just slightly more than we would get on UC. DH is a carer to our adult autistic son so he gets Carers Allowance.

We are not entitled to UC as I earn too much.

Son gets PIP and UC but a high chunk of that is funding his care needs once a week. We are waiting for a care needs assessment but the likelihood is we will continue to fund a significant amount of it as my son gets enough to pay for it. I've been told its going to take around 12 months for a care assessment and then direct payments to be agreed. I hope that will fund an additional day.

Financially we are on our knees and I know I am not alone. I work with people in a role where I am seeing the daily impact. In many ways we do better as there's only one car and one lot of petrol to buy.

Just shocked.

We are paying £285 a month for energy and they want to increase it to £350 but I just can't, council tax has gone up, rent has gone up

What are people expected to do?

Is it DD? Cancel it and pay for what you use. They will keep grabbing more money from you than needed.

I feel for you, but the only thing I can suggest is you cut down your usage. I appreciate if you're all electric that'd be really hard though.

Is that actual usage? Ours is £400 and I can't say we've been warm all winter and it's on half the time we used to have it on. It's utter shit.

Sympathies. Mine is 1600. That covers from late December to date.

Are you in Scotland? Home energy Scotland can help with some grants to help with energy costs. We qualified due to pip and are getting solar panels funded.

Is the energy company estimating your usage or is that what you have actually used?

I think that's what we have actually used. Has central heating which is not on very often and I guess baths etc which are needed.

Not in Scotland.

Two bed end terrace home in Essex

What time period does that bill cover?

Have you given Meter readings?
How long a time period does that bill cover?

If that is for a quarter then you shouldn't need to increase your dd as summer usage will be lower

If that's a quarterly bill, it will include some of winter so likely to be one of the bigger ones.

But this is the downside of 'paying for what you use', you can't spread the cost of your winter bills across the whole year and pay off any debt by upping your direct debit.

Quarterly billing is also the most expensive way to pay. Either way you 'pay for what you use' so choosing quarterly in arrears over direct debit is the 'cutting your nose off to spite your face' option.

Many people who did this last summer will now be regretting their decision when the reality of winter bills far higher than the direct debit amount hit.

But you should be entitled to extra help due to your son's needs, with a cost of living payment due next week, and don't forget that the money he receives isn't just for his direct needs but also to cover his living costs (food, heating, housing etc) and that of the person caring for him who can't work.

But have a look on Moneysavingexpert.com energy help section to make sure you're getting all the financial help you're entitled to, including extra grants. Also for advice on what to do if you can't pay a bill, and energy efficiency advice to see if you can reduce what you use while keeping as warm as possible. You might also be entitled to other help eg a lower water tariff if you need to do extra washing for example.

Heating water for baths is very expensive. Do you know how much a bath costs and can you shower some of the time instead?

Are you paying by standard credit? It is the most expensive way to pay. The difference between paying by SC and DD is over £200 per annum. Your payment method matters. DD is by far the cheapest. If you pay as you go (prepayment meter) the difference from DD is about £50.

Is that 3 months including cold ones, if so it sounds about right,

I know the prices are the same but some energy companies seem to be less ethical than others in the way they treat customers and payment. We are now with Octopus and they seem pretty good, we have been with other companies in the past who wanted crazily high direct debits and were very dodgy when we refused. Do also look for any help/ protection you can get due to your son. Also look for any energy saving tips such as better loft insulation which you might be able to put in place for next winter.

When you say energy, is this gas and electric included? For thr last quarter?

Our 1st January to date elec is 385, we're in a 5 bedroom in Essex, 4 adults working from home. Last Gas was 600.

We don't use tumble dryer, have 2 fridge freezers and i take at least 3 baths a week to ease body pain, please check and submit meter readings, your bill seems high when generally compared to ours

I think you need to talk units to really compare to other people.

I used about £95 gas / electric in my highest month this winter in a 3 bed terrace but I locked into a contract just before it went haywire. Someone else could be using same amount and be paying £250