Huge gas bill, advice needed

[Jet888]

Hi all
Need some advice and comparison please.
Moved into 4 bed house, got direct debit set up with octopus energy for £80 per month. Got latest bill, based on a smart meter reading of £250!
Now I know it's winter but that seems insane! Apparently the gas usage was over 3000 kw (or whatever the correct unit is!)
So, my question is any ideas why it could be this insanely high? We have heating on 2 hours in morning and 3 hours in evening. Oven is electric. We had new boiler fitted this month so I thought ot would be more energy efficient, any ideas if it could be due to problem with new boiler and if so what the problem could be, based on people's past experience and expertise?
Could it be a smart meter problem? Or does 5 hours of heating a day for a month really cost around £170??

He said best to have valves on radiators on 6 (max) then set thermostat lower as they'll heat quicker than turn off boiler quicker

that is bollocks.

The Thermostatic radiator valves will be open, until the room reaches target temperature, when they will close.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths/

3rd Feb reading 5245 for gas. On sat 6th Feb was 5271 for gas.
That money saving expert site was interesting thankyou. Seems even the rxpertsc

Sorry, even the experts can't agree on whether more energy saving /cost efficient to leave heating on all day or not!

It's threads like these that make me feel grateful for the £30 I pay a month for gas and electric.

@Jet888 I’ve just had a look at my bill for last month and I used 1419kwh of gas which cost £36.40 so I don’t understand how you could have used 3000 kwh and it cost £170. Octopus are very competitive (I used to be with them myself) so their tariff wouldn’t be that vastly different to the one I’m now on.

By your figures, you used roughly twice the gas I did (which could well be the case - I have gas heating and shower but electric oven) but paid five times as much so it doesn’t sound like the consumption is wrong (I only have my heating on in my 3 bed house for 2-3 hours a day) but there’s definitely something not right if your figures are correct.

Last month I used 2350kwh of gas (17th Dec - 15 Jan) and that cost £89.20 - also with Octopus

@MuttsNutts yes, that is what's confusing me. It's a smart meter, so not me actually submitting the meter readings but, as you say if I used double your usage I should be paying around 80 quid...

Does your bill also include electricity?
I used 553kwh electricity for the same period which cost £88.25 so last month my energy costs were around £160. I'm in Scotland and it has been cold.

£80 doesn't sound like a high enough payment so I imagine they are getting you up to date with the amount of energy you have actually used. You should increase your monthly payment - its easy to change it yourself online

They will be catching you up to the energy you used. If you look at your account online it will tell you exactly how much you used and how much it costs.

@dementedpixie I really can't work out why I'm being charged so much for gas then...I joined octopus as a new customer when I moved house before Xmas so I should be on a good tariff...I seem to be being charged alot higher than expected... I'm going to test the meter tomorrow to check ot works properly then call octopus again and ask if they've put me on a high tariff for some reason

Look at your account online. You will see your usage and your tariff. Is it gas and electric?

Gives all info online in your account details

Exactly 🤔

Without going through your bills I’m not sure what the problem could be but from what you’ve said it doesn’t sound like your gas consumption is too high, just what you’re paying for it.

Does your electric seem right?

I'd say no matter what you are doing, unless it be leaving the heating on all day and night all month, this usage of gas is too high.

The smart meter may be wrong- they seem to have a lot of problems.

I shall never have one!

If you are only paying £80 total for gas/electric then it's not enough so i imagine they are asking for a higher payment to stop you going into debit by too much.

Have you looked at your online account? All the info is there

You need to provide more info or we can't help

I'm with Octopus. Large 3 bedroomed house in the North of England. Family of 5, heating on day and night, lots of electric usage.

My last bill was £120 for a month. Yours is definitely too high. Sounds like a not-so-smart meter problem.

Hello, sorry I am reading all the posts and taking info in and will try and update tomorrow after going through my bill. I really appreciate all the info and help. At the minute, my 6 month old isn't choosing to play ball and seems to think it's an ideal time to play and make shrieking noises rather than going to sleep!

the amount charged (for winter) seems reasonable, but it looks like there is a carried-forward balance.

What date did you take on your home? Was the start balance £0? Did you immediately start making monthly payments?

As electricity is much more expensive than gas, try to use gas for all heating and hot water. A tumble-drier or a fan heater are the two most costly things in my house. Cost of lighting or extractor fan is negligible.

I just remembered - when I moved in Octopus made a mistake and carried over the previous occupant's account to mine. It was rectified and refunded. Did you manually take opening meter readings? I don't trust smart meters!

OK here is all the info from my bill.

Gas
Energy used 3692.0kwh @ 2.79p/kwh
Total charge £103.01 from 3rd jan to 2nd feb

Gas meter readings
4912 on 3rd Jan (actual)
5091.5 on 17th jan (smart)
5245.3 on 3rd Feb (smart)

Electricity
789.5kwh @ 15.25p/ kwh from 3rd jan to 2nd Feb
Total charge = £120.40

Paid scottish power bill until 2nd jan then took over with octopus energy from 3rd. The closing reading from Scottish Power and opening reading for octopus were the same as I took actual meter readings.

Your original post said you used over 3000 units of gas, but the bill says 300 ? It dosnt look exceptionally high to me for the time of year. Maybe your new house just uses more energy that the old one to get it to the same temperature your used to ?