Am I being overcharged on electricity?

[Mumofgirls92]

Looking for some advice as I’m not too clued up when it comes to energy bills. I moved into a property on 11th March 2022 and took meter reads upon arrival. Set this all up with the existing energy supplier to the property and initially received an almost £800 first bill. I queried this and provided meter reads from move in up until the date in questions - they admitted that their original opening readings were too high and adjusted the bill accordingly, it came to something like £169 for both gas and electric. Coming to this months bill I have received a bill for almost £500 and the provider are stating this is based on my readings for one month!!! How is this possible? It states I’ve used almost 1000kwh on electric alone from 11th May-11th June which for a 3 bed house I find ridiculous based on previous usage - surely something is wrong here? I can see that they have used my meter readings from the date I moved in at the end of April so clearly that is wrong. Below are the readings I have from move in until now:

Opening meter readings on 11th March were: gas: 9542 elec: 75562

31st March: Gas: 9572 elec: 75692

25th April:
Gas: 9613 elec: 76153

31st May: Gas: 9629 elec: 76554

13th June: Gas: 9633 elec: 76669

23rd June: Gas: 9633 elec: 76744

if you’ve read this far then thank you! Any advice is appreciated

Have you submitted monthly readings, where does the 11th may ro 11th june show up, is it on their monthly bill.

Can you post a pic of your bill with their readings without identifying yourself, is it estimated

What period of time does the £169 relate to?
What is the time period for the £500 bill?
Do the meter readings on the bill correspond to the readings you have submitted?

Wrong thread @Pixiedust80 ?

This is a breakdown of the bill from this month. They have said it’s based on actual readings but I just can’t understand how I would have used so much, I haven’t done a single thing differently? If I am wrong then fair enough but something just seems off to me?!

I’m also confused as they’ve said to me my reading on 28th April was 75562 (this was in fact my move in reading on 11th March). The reading I took on 25th April was 76153 so clearly something is wrong there?!

Those bills look like they are largely going on inaccurate estimates. Can you take a reading today? Are those readings in your first post ones you've taken yourself or estimates from the company?

Your estimated and actual readings are way off, it might be because you submit a reading 2 weeks after their estimates. I would call them and ask them to take an actual reading of both meters and in future submit your own readings around 9th od the month. We have this too with sse and has to submit weekly photographs, they have put it as a dispute which will take 6 weeks to resolve. They may also be basing their estimates on the previous occupiers if they never submitted a reading.

The readings in my first post are taken by me. I can see my usage is still on the higher side but I just can’t understand how the bill for this month is almost £500. I have raised a complaint with their team as I don’t think it’s being looked into properly. Thanks for your reply.

If you look at it since you moved in to your last reading in June you have used:
Electricity: 1107 kWh @ 26.0476p/kWh = £288.34 + standing charge 94 days @ 46.2095p/d = £43.43. Total £331.77
Gas: 91 units/ 2911 kWh @ 6.9238p/kWh = £201.55 + standing charge 94 days @ 25.9143p/d = £24.35. Total £255.90
That's a total of £587.67 since you moved in - you say you've paid c£169, so you owe them around £418 if you haven't made any other payments. Did you only make one payment?
They have used estimated figures for June, but they are pretty close (or exact in the case of the gas reading) to your readings.

Thanks @DomingoinLittleOakley so would that mean the previous two bills were incorrect so they are increasing this months bill to make up for that? It’s confused me as to how this would happen when I provided accurate readings before I paid the last two bills.

It does seem like they've cocked up putting your first reading in, but if they are using the reading (or their estimate) for the 12th of the month I would make sure you give them a reading on that date each month. My maths may be a little out, as I forgot to add on VAT.

If you've made 2 payments rather than one you should deduct that and see how close you are to what they are saying you owe. Is it a definitive "you owe us this much for what you have used", or is it one of those where they try and even out the DD over the year so you don't get a massive shock in the winter months?

@DomingoinLittleOakley your explanation was very helpful, I think it makes sense! As long as I don’t get a bill like that monthly It’s not so bad! I’m thinking I can balance it out and work to get the account in credit ready for the winter months. Thanks again for your help!