When to step in to help with managing bills (and is this too much for an elderly persons energy bill?)

[LynetteScavo]

My DM (late 80s) was showing me her bank statement and I noticed the energy direct debit was £140pm. She lives alone in a large (3 bed) well insulated bungalow and I encourage her to have the heating on for 18 hours a day for about 7 months of the year - I get an email alert if her heating drops below 18'C.

Would you ask to look at her energy bill to see if it could be reduced by changing tariff, or is that being a bit rude and intrusive and taking away independence? She can easily afford to pay it, but I'm always looking at how to save money for myself and it seemed like a lot for one person.

Does she need the heating on at night, and has she turned down the radiators in the rooms she’s not using? And do you know if she’s in credit?

Given the recent price cap increase and fixes available it would be sensible to have a conversation about it.
Do you have an open relationship regarding financial matters, that would definitely make it easier.

£140 for a large 3-bed doesn't sound huge to me, assuming that's for both gas and electricity. We have a similar sized house and pay £250 per month. We'll be running more electrics than your mother (extra fridge, computer equipment) but we don't use the heating very much and certainly not 18 hours a day. Energy costs are HUGE now.

Also, have you checked her actual energy balance with the provider? Is her £140 roughly covering the energy she uses? Is it too little and she's building up a debt? Is it too much and she's sitting on £1000 of credit in her energy account?

140 doesn't sound that bad to me.

Honestly, if she can afford it, aside from checking she’s on the right tarrif I’d leave her be. My mum is 85 and will not scrimp on heating, if she’s cold it’s going on, although she has a huge fluffy dressing gown that she loves to get out too.

I think it would be ok to offer to look into it for your DM, these energy companies can bamboozle the most competent people with their jargon and tariffs. Also much of what they want people to do is now online so if your DM is not comfortable with that then she could be at a disadvantage. Something that really makes me angry is how older people are being discriminated against by everyone forcing them to do things online when some do not have the means to do this.

Id say that’s on the high side but not “OMG HOW MUCH?” high. I’d worry that telling her it’s too much will make her worry and / or stint on the heating.

for what you decribe 140 pm actually sounds cheap. I would be worried about having to pay a larger sum at some point.

do you take meter readings? start by doing that every month and go from there.

£140 doesn't sound that much. It depends how much she is actually using though. Is she in credit or debit on her energy account?

Sounds like a good price if it's gas and electricity - mine is around that but the heating is never on that much!

FWIW DH went through all his DMs bills with her to see how she could save money. She was paying far more for insurances, phones, utilities etc because she just couldn't deal with the stress of researching and switching. She managed to save hundreds a month.

I don't think £140 is a lot at all if she is running the heating quite a lot. Standing charges alone are a lot now, tbh if its a big 3 bed i think 140 is if anything on the low side.

My elderly DM lives in a two bed, well insulated house. She has her heating set at around 20c all day and occasionally will turn it up to 21/22c if she's sitting watching tv. She pays £120 per month for both gas and electricity.

My MIL has a 2 bedroom flat and pays £153 pm but this is not covering her usage. She is on the lowest tariff we can find and has had her heating on set to 20 (or a bit higher at times) during the day all summer

But it's not for "one person" - it's for a 3 bed house!

Ours is £150pm for a 4 bed modern house and we have the heating on 2 hours a day. Like others I'd be worried that £140pm was too little for someone who's got the heating on a lot, not too much!

Does your mum have a smart meter or, if not, does she send her energy supplier regular meter readings?

I think that the bill seems low for a large 3-bedroom bungalow with the heating on for 18 hours a day for 7 months of the year. The direct debit seems reasonable for the summer months but low for the winter months.

I also think it seems low for that size of house with heating on almost all day.

She has a smart meter, but I'm going to double check it. I'll try to send in readings. We pay £195 for four three bed semi, DH works from home, my DC are obsessed with having every light in the house on and we use the tumble dryer and dishwasher a lot! so o though DMs would be about half as she doesn't use much electricity.

DM seems to have the heating off in the bedrooms she doesn't use.

I've tried to raise the subject. With her today and she's refusing to engage about, so I'll leave it for now, as there are other priorities.

Before DF's accident, so some time last year, he was moaning about having no mobile signal at home, despite living in a suburb of a large city. I asked if he wanted me to find him a better deal and he was initially not that bothered, but when I showed him how much he could save, I switched him with his blessing. His mobile bills went from £18.70 to £3.50 per month and he actually had a signal. I then moved his broadband and phone too so he got better deals. I kept batshit sister informed as she was visiting when the phone moved over. I asked if she could help him swap the SIM card - you'd have thought I was asking her to perform complex surgery. Apparently she "needed to ask her husband to help". It's a bloody iPhone FFS and there are a gazillion tutorials on YouTube. But no, the "oracle" that is dickhead BIL had to pronounce on it.

As a result of the switches, DF saved something like £350 per year. Vodafone had a lot to answer for.

Is that just for gas? It doesn't sound like that much to me if she has the heating on a lot. I'm not sure she needs it on over night really. Could you get her an electric blanket to heat her & not the house?

It sounds cheap- I pay 330 on a 4 bed semi fir dual fuel - but my H works from home so heating is on a fair bit

18 hours of heat, 7 months of the year at 18 degrees plus… check that the smart meter is working and the correct amount is being charged per month. It sounds way too low.

I took on all my mum’s banking and bills following her stroke earlier this year.
I changed her tariff and set her payments to a regular amount - her bills were high.
I had her energy set at a £260 pm payment and they’ve just asked her to increase it to cover her. She has her heating set at 25! ( low of 23!) She complains of being cold all the time 🙄
£140 sounds very cheap to me 🤔
I renegotiated all of her other bills - she hasn’t got a clue anymore 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think that sounds very low.for what you describe as a large bungalow (insulation can only do so much). Has it been set on actual energy usage?

As she lives on her own does she need to heat the whole house? If the aim is to reduce bills then it might be better to get a heater(s) and just heat the room that she is in.