Big Npower bill

[1petshortofazoo]

I have just got my Npower bill for 6mths it is £950, £622 for electric and £327 for gas. I Pay £30 electric and £50 for gas a month and nearly had a heart attack when I saw it!!! I have just rang them and they said well thats what it is sorry.
I really cant afford to pay the £190 a month they are asking for.
I am quite consious about electic etc and we are out at work all day so I dont know how it is soo much any ideas??

Jodie

I have just dug out the 1st thing they sent me it has the reading I gave them on 5th jan and then an estimate on 31st jan that according to that I used £35 which sounds ok for 1mth

£35 for a month sounds very low, sorry. esp in the middle of winter.

is that for both gas and elec?

just elec gas was £81

you have no idea on what that estimate was based on. the person in the premises before you could have been a v. low user and prices have been rising quite a bit since then. Plus, this is the middle of winter when consumption is highest.

read your meters now. subtract the actual usage from the first reading from the actual reading from today. Divide by the nos of months between the two actual readings. Jan - July (since its early aug) sounds like 7 months.

That gives your your average monthly consumption.

If prices haven't risen since you can look at what they charge per kwh (for leccy) and i forget what the units are called for gas.

Multiply the monthly avg by the Kwh and that will tell you your actual average monthly bill for leccy.

REally, if that is too much maths for you. simply ring up and give them your current readings. The computer systems should do all the number crunching for them an you in a blink.

After reading all your paperwork if you think it's much too high and need help call energywatch. they have a website, I temped for them ages ago. think it's .co.uk.
You'll have to send all your bills, letters, notes of any phone calls but they can out extra pressure on and perhaps help.

It does sound high to me and I'd think twice before paying anything. Call and call again and get them to call you back immediately. I don't have their number, but they will do this if not a local charge phone number!!

Loads of good advice here.
Turning everything off standby bar the fridge/freezer has really helped our bills, I know it has. Bloody pain in the ass though!!!

Hope you get it sorted. ours has gone through roof. Am using microwave and tumbler far far less!

add them together then, and that's you usage for mostof the year's months. I only turned my heating at the end of may. like i said my first quater and second were almost identical.

Yuo say you'pay, 30 elec, and 50 gas a month, do you mean you had a direct debit sorted out?

The January 31st estimate is completely irrelevant. If you confirm the accuracy of the opening reading on 5th January and the readings now the difference is what you have actually used. Unless the meters are faulty the bill is correct I'm afraid. Presumably you have already paid £560 of this bill anyway so you should be able to spread the difference to make it up over the next 6 months(ie add £67 to what you should be paying to cover average usage of about £130 per month which would make around £200) or perhaps 12 (giving you a figure of around £165). Does seem pretty high though. It is always hard when you move somewhere new and you may not have found the most efficient settings to use yet, have you had the boiler serviced for example as they can reset the thermostat and check its set up, for example.

although now may not be the best time to switch use the website moneysavingexpert to find out the cheapest place for you - use your readings as you have them to hand.

eon is good for me and if you register online you can track your consumption. our bills have increased and i can see that it is partly because we have used much more - so now having a turn it off campaign!!

as long as you are in arrears you cannot change supplier.

meters rarely break down/are faulty, I am afraid. they are one thing which are still built to last.

yes that is true. what i meant was : look at the website to see if you are paying a good price, cut usage, track usage if poss (doesn't cost anything to do that!)
and don't increase to £190 - it isn't compulsorary.
what do you actually OWE on the bill? The change in monthly amount doesn't always align with that.

could OP afford to pay off all/some of the arrears and then continue on the monthly contribution? Paying by DD gives you a discount as it is ocnvenient for them but might it be better for you to pay the bill in full and then set the amount you can afford into a savings account and paying the bill from that each quarter?

Infact looking at it again the gas account should be ok anyway(assuming you've made 7x£50 payments), it is the electricity one which is an issue and has been underpaid by about £60 per month (£90 usage but only £30 paid). Might be worth looking into any appliances which could be draining by being left on standby, even an outdoor or garage light perhaps.

we have just stopped having a light in the landing on all night (have done this for 10 years!) and i'm being anal about turning everything off at the wall at bedtime!

It may not be compulsory but it is still a debt and not increasing the monthly payments, or paying the balance up now, would just make the situation worse long term.

sorry, i was saying increasing the monthly payment isnt necessary IF you can prove it is too high OR you can pay the necessary extra some other way.

i do recommend looking at why they are asking for the increase - i have often queried it, got it reduced and STILL got something back from them six months later when i have 'lost' the interest that could be earning me

i used to be a debt adviser and that is what we advised, stick the monthly amount in savings for each utility and pay it when the bill comes in (but you have to be very strict with yourself)

rather you had the interest than the utility company