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why are my gas and electric bills so high?

25 replies

yentil · 18/03/2008 14:25

Just been told that I have to pay 90 quid a month for gas from british gas. i live in london in a 3 bed maisonette. this seems extortionate. there are only three of us at home. who should i switch to?

any recommendations?

OP posts:
FioFio · 18/03/2008 14:26

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lilyloo · 18/03/2008 14:26

i with n power ours just gone up by 20.00 a month, same with electric.

dustyeastar · 18/03/2008 14:26

Have a look on Martin lewis's website moneysavingexpert.com

Cadbury · 18/03/2008 14:27

go through u switch. we moved to atlantic which has helped but everywhere is going up now.

janinlondon · 18/03/2008 14:45

Has your usage gone up, or just your bills? it sounds about right to me....

FioFio · 18/03/2008 15:46

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ScoobyDoo · 18/03/2008 15:48

We are with southern electric they also supply our gas, we are in a 2 bed house & pay £60 a month for both.

Desiderata · 18/03/2008 15:49

Yes, go on to USwitch. All you have to do is key in your current meter readings for both gas and electricity.

Atlantic are coming in at the cheapest so far. USwitch do all the work for you, and your supplier will change within six weeks.

I change every time my bills go up. So for me, in a two bed maisonette, I am now looking at £47 per month for both utilities, as opposed to £67 I was paying to NPower.

ScoobyDoo · 18/03/2008 15:50

Can you change as much as you like? do you get charged or anything?

mumfor1standfinaltime · 18/03/2008 15:50

Mine has doubled in last 3 years. We live in a 2 bed modern terrace with 3 of us and pay £73 a month for gas and electric.
I make sure I turn everything off at night at the plug (including tv, sky box etc) I don't leave anything on standby, unplug phone charges as they still use power even though they aren't plugged into a phone. I have bought draught excluders for all doors in the house and put up thick curtains on my front/back doors! I will try anything not to give those pirates my money!

FioFio · 18/03/2008 15:51

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noddyholder · 18/03/2008 15:57

Our bills have always been paid by direct debit until we moved into a temporary rental in september and there is a key meter for gas and electric and so I can see what we use and pay as we go and it is extortionate and has been increasing over the months!It is a 2 bed victorian terrace basement flat and I am putting about 150 for gas and 80 for electric every month I think its inflation not you!

abidabidoo · 18/03/2008 15:58

Is your boiler new - we moved to a house with a consensing boiler about five years old when we moved. Had it replaced last year (when it was about 7/8 yrs old). Apparently the first consending boilers weren't designed that well, and ours was incredibly furred (well calcite=y type stuff) up inside in the heat exchanger so couldn't cool down, and that was using extra gas (and extra elec as well I think) can you tell I didn;t really understand at the time!

Anyway since new boiler - bills down.

Divastrop · 18/03/2008 16:12

i am in a 4 bedroom,3 storey house and we pay about £100 just for electric.i dont know how much the gas is as they still havent sent me a bill.im with npower.

noddyholder-when we moved in here we had card meters and it was costing £30-£35 a week for electric and about £25 a week for gas.preypayment meters take the p**s.british gas said they would have to do a credit check before they fitted normal meters,so i switched to npower.

Twinkie1 · 18/03/2008 16:15

Got our gas billlast week £480 for the quarter!

I am being careful now about when I actually put it on!

Desiderata · 18/03/2008 16:18

No, Scoobs. There's no charge, and you can change as often as you like. It literally takes two minutes and you don't have to do a thing.

NPower currently owe me about £75, so I'll be expecting a nice little cheque back from then in about six weeks, when it switches to Atlantic.

When Atlantic put the prices up, I'll change again. If everybody did it, the bastards might not feel so smug!

ScoobyDoo · 18/03/2008 16:35

Right am just waiting for my gas to be taken over to southern electric its due soon within the next week as it was with british gas & no way was i staying with them!

Have typed all details in & it says atlantic is cheapest for us!

CrackerOfNuts · 18/03/2008 16:36

My brother has just had a bill for £475 for 75 days worth of electric from Npower. He is disputing it, but they are being arses and saying it is reaosnable.

CrackerOfNuts · 18/03/2008 16:36

Oh and he lives in a 2 bed flat, which is empty all day, although they do use electric storage heaters.

If the bill is right, they are going to have to move.

CrackerOfNuts · 18/03/2008 16:37

My gas isn't too bad. I have a 4 bed semi and my gas is on a card meter, which I put about £10 a week on.

lizziemun · 18/03/2008 17:44

Because gas and electric has gone by 18% this year. On top of what it when up last year.

Our electric is £132 per month, gas is £36.00 per month.

We have a 4 bed detached house. But mainly because dh works in IT so he has lots of computer equipment on all the time.

I was listening to a dicussion last week after the budget, and they were saying that the everage wage has gone up £40 per month but the cost of living has gone up by £148 per month.

MrsPuddleduck · 18/03/2008 17:50

Don't get me on this one.

We have just changed supplier only to receive final bills from Npower of £370 for the gas and £930 for the electricity .

I am disputing the latter on the basis that they have completely mismanaged our account by not advising us to increase the direct debit

nannyL · 18/03/2008 19:41

i have a 3 bed house

i pay £24 / month for gas AND elec

(used to be £19 so still a significant % rise)

but then im hardly here and rarely have heating on for more than 1 hour per day.

I also eat at work so im sure that helps

and my boiler heats up more than enough water to kep me going for 24 hours in 35 mins!

meglet · 18/03/2008 19:46

we're in a 3 bed terrace and pay £75 a month for gas (central heating) and electric from scottish power. We do use the tumble dryer and dishwasher a lot though. And I like a warm house so it's entirely my own fault.

mumfor1standfinaltime · 20/03/2008 14:11

Gobsmacked at nannyL's post! Sounds like my gas/elec bill from around 1997, when I was at work full time and had no children!

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