Help with ridiculous gas and electric bill

[CarrotCakeCrumbs]

I live in a tiny 2 bedroom flat with my partner and 2 children - one 4 year old, one 1 year old. We have gas and electric but only use the gas for heating water really, very rarely use the heating at all. I don't even use the tumble dryer because I am petrified of spending any more on the electric bill. We have 2 electric meters - one of which does not change, I believe it was an economy 7 meter but we don't have economy 7 anymore and the reading never changes. My electric company has sent someone out to check this. I already pay £90 a month (which is already far, far more than anyone else I know in a similar or even larger property pays), but now they want to charge me £215 a month.

This has been an ongoing issue ever since we moved in, I have spoken to them numerous times, I can update my readings on my 2 working meters but the one that does not change does not allow me to update my readings online, and it is next to impossible to actually ring them up to change the readings over the phone (very long waiting times, lines only open from 9-5 mon-fri). So they give me estimated readings on the 2nd meter, plus the standing charge obviously. I cannot afford to be paying £215 a month on a 2 bedroom flat. Clearly speaking to the company isn't working, and when I tried to switch companies apparently the company I am with blocked the switch (which I didnt even think they were allowed to do!). I am so stressed out with this bill that I feel sick every month worrying about them changing my direct debit. I have cancelled this months direct debit because i really cannot afford to pay £215 and haven't been able to get through to them. Clearly I will have to keep trying but has anyone got any ideas on how to fix this? It cannot continue and frankly at this point I just want to move into a different flat because living here just isn't worth the stress.

I don't think this board gets a lot of traffic, you might be better off getting it moved to Property? You can report your post and ask MN to move it

Thank you :)

Hi CarrotCakeCrumbs,

We think this is probably the right place for your thread to be posted, so we're going to give it a bump to get it back into Active Conversations. Hopefully some Mumsnetters will be along soon with some advice for you.

In the meantime, here's a link to our webpage on dealing with financial difficulty which has tips and information on organisations which may be able to provide you with some support in real life.

which supplier are you with?

take daily photos of both meters to record to readings, raise an official complaint about over charging and request they remove the non-consuming meter.

If the meter isn't consuming the most you should be paying is a standing charge.

For the meter which is consuming, it's easy to work out if they are billing you correctly
Reading - reading = x

then * by unit price

Making a complaint to Offgen often gets the company to sort itself out - full in the online form. You could also try the Citizens Advice Bureau for help. But yes, that sort of bill is far too high - have you even had any breakdown of what you've used since you've been there? And who is the supplier?

Hopefully someone else will be along with better ideas than me soon

to cal standing charge

number of days in billing period * standing charge
then add standing charge and cost of elec togather and add 5% vat

Make sure you pay at least what you have used for.

once complaint raised, raise another with the energy ombudsman, they will ask if you have followed your suppliers complaint process. say you have tired loads to resources with no results, and they should pick up the complaint

Generally I find writing a letter gets a better response than endlessly waiting for calls to be answered, repeating your story over and over, etc. I would try writing to ‘contact us’ address on supplier’s website saying what you’ve said here, that you think you are being charged incorrectly, and that you are sticking with £90 DD until they can explain why you have an Economy 7 meter/two meters. Set out the facts and be succinct and I think you’ll get a better response - firms generally strive to respond within 28 days. Good luck.

Do you get one bill? How many meters are listed? Could there be a standing charge on the one you think you aren't using?

Do you submit meter reads every month?

@pinkpantsrock I'm with Spark energy, I will start taking daily photos thank you. I have worked out that I use just under £75 of fuel on average each month based on the readings and my tariff, so the £90 does seem a little too much but I will happily pay that over £215! I will do what you have said.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz yes its just the 1 bill, 3 meters are listed and I do give meter readings for the two working meters every month but my online account wont allow me to update the meter that doesnt change, and so unless I can get through to them by phone each month then it isn't always possible to give a reading for that one. There is a standing charge on all meters I think but it would only be 22p a day so nowhere near enough to account for the huge bill.

As pp said definitely make them come and remove the unused meter

Then change supplier - octopus are great

if you don't get anywhere, switch supplier. Provided your not locked into contract they can't stop you from switching, even if you owe them money or ongoing complaint. They will be in breach of their license conditions if they do.

their reviews are really bad uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.sparkenergy.co.uk

Sorry just wanted to add I seem to recall you have to specifically use the word complaint when dealing with crap like this as it makes them escalate the issue and triggers specific response timescales and so on

[quote CarrotCakeCrumbs]@pinkpantsrock I'm with Spark energy, I will start taking daily photos thank you. I have worked out that I use just under £75 of fuel on average each month based on the readings and my tariff, so the £90 does seem a little too much but I will happily pay that over £215! I will do what you have said.[/quote]
I'm sorry, I can't help you. But that is ridiculous. How on earth can you use that much fuel in a month, based on the usage you described. I have a four bedroom house, washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. I wouldn't describe myself as profligate with fuel, but I'm also not as careful as I could be. And my fuel is £59 per month. Something is very wrong if you are using £75 a month in two bedroom flat.

Don't use Tonik (I've just had an horrendous experience with them, not dissimilar to yours. Took me nine months and the ombudsman to get it sorted). I too can vouch for Octopus, they're fantastic

@Moondust001 I'm not sure why it comes out as that high (unless I am calculating it wrong which is entirely possible, I am embarrassingly bad with numbers) as I say I don't even use the tumble dryer for fear of increasing the bill

The only way they can block you changing (I think) is if you are in arrears. It sounds like you shouldn't be in arrears. I wonder if there were arrears on the flat when you moved in and they have put them against you.

I really think that ofgem may be the best way forward. Even though it is online you should be able to download your bills from them, so you can see if this is something that was there when you moved in or if they are getting it wrong on a monthly basis.

@pinkpantsrock your right those reviews are shocking, I went with Spark because my mum recommended them to me and this is mine and partners first home together after previously living with family. I will definitely be more careful researching whoever I switch too now

Firstly start recording your meter daily and work out how much is being recorded. If it’s vast amounts look for anything to explain it, faulty immersion heater or a cannabis farm...

If the meter reflects expected usage of about £70 a month were your meter readings accurate when you moved in, or did you use a lot more for a period which needs paying off either due to a deliberate use or a fault?

Consider your meter readings from when you moved in, has your consumption since then matched your £70 a month estimate?

Write to your supplier with your meter readings when you moved in, readings now, total amount paid versus what you calculate it should be. If there is no debt to pay back and your usage is as you expect there will be a problem at their end they can sort out once presented with firm evidence.

Absoloutley get them to remove the unused meter.

The standing charge at even 25p per day is the best part of 100 quid in a year. The company I work for pays 50p a day for their stand g charge so it may even be more OP.

turn everything off. Watch the meters. What do they do?

I have a 4bed home. I heat it on low October-March. I use the tumble dryer at least 5 times a week. I don't switch the lights off when I leave the room if I'm at home. I work from home so have the laptop on min 40 hours per week and charge it throughout. My daughter has a fan on overnight every night. We have a gas hob, they use gas to heat the combi. We have hot water available constantly.

We pay £100pcm.

The complaints procedure is detailed HERE. You have to exhaust the energy suppliers internal complaints procedure before complaining to OFGEM (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)

There was a case on LBC’s consumer hour recently ( I’m not 100% sure though? It might have been MONEYBOX or Martin Lewis’s radio show....) where someone had a faulty meter. It had been faulty for 7 years! I think they got the money they paid in excess refunded. Apparently it’s not that unusual.