Help , problem with britsh gas...

[dransy]

Hi all , right for about 7 -10 months we have been in credit with our gas and elecy , i took a meter reading today as where moving out next month.

Anyway our last bill is about 2 weeks old says we are in credit on our gas by 264 quid , *great*

Our elecy in credit by 171 quid *great *

I ring up and gave readings and they are now saying we owe 180quid gas and 30 quid for elecy!!

And that we should be paying 77 quid a month for gas!!

Now me and the missus both work full time so its not like anything is used during the day PLUS its fucking summer all we use gas on is hot water on a night and the hobs to cook!

How can the fuckers say we are in credit by so much then say we owe 200 +quid in total for both!

wankers!

Is there anything at all i can do here?

thanks
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Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[teech]

Unfortunately it looks as if you have been stung by a long string of estimated readings. Now they have the real one it looks as though you have been underpaying for a fair few months in retrospect.

This happened to me, we had gone months with estimated bills, only to find out that the cost of our consuption was about 30% higher than we thought. I now submit an online reading every month or so and it's now bang on accurate.

They are still theiving, overcharging bastards, but I think this time you may have been stung by circumstance.
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In everyday life good people do good things, bad people do bad things. It takes religion to make a good person do bad things.

[dransy]

So do i just have to pay up? .

And now should i do readings like once a month or something?

I cant believe they are saying we are using 77 pound of gas a month though no way is that possible /
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Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles

[WildGoose]

Chances are you just have to pay up, read the meter and do some sums. Most of the info for working it out is on the back of the bill, but may require some conversions etc.

You need to check your tariff to find out if you are using that much gas a month, and its complicated to work out, because so many units are at a standard rate, and so many might be at a discounted rate, then there is service/standing charges and rentals and all sorts of other crap, its designed to be baffling so they can shaft you as efficiently as possible.

Most utility companies will bribe you to pay by direct debit by offering you a discount, they will estimate your usage and fix an amount per month to pay, they will get this wrong then 10 months down the line they will read the meter and hit you with a bill for the deficit.

Paying a bill based on estimated meter readings is the same.

Make sure you know how to read your meter, and also have a key to access the meter cupboard (its amazing how many people don't). When they send you a bill, check the meter and ring them back with the correct reading, they will then adjust and send you out a correct bill, then pay the correct bill.

The more you check the meter yourself, the more you will get a feel for what uses the most gas/electric etc and the more familiar you will become with the operation of the meter.

Just look at the frequency of threads that pop out about people getting a shafting by these companies because they trust the estimates or pay by direct debit.

Quarterly billing, paying for what you use is the only sensible way to do it if you want stability in your outgoing finances.

In my area the savings to be gained from switching suppliers might add up to maybe £50 a year at best, i.e. not worth a toss. Worth checking, but there is no way to get cheap gas/electric unless you are stealing it.

They are all a rip off, and they will all get you in the end.

Even so called modern biomass energy supplies are a complete rip off unless you have your own source of fuel and can process it to the required specifications. I.e. you are a tree surgeon.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[WildGoose]

Quarterly Monthly Average
Electric (25.7.07-27.10.07) £30.61
Gas (3.7.07-3.11.07) £23.47
Electric (28.10.07-21.1.08) £38.88
Gas (4.11.07-21.1.08) £38.37
Electric (22.1.08-28.4.08) £50.20
Gas (22.1.08.28.4.08) £45.20
Electric (29.4.09-21.7.08) £30.73
Gas (29.4.09-21.7.08) £20.14
Electric (22.7.08-17.11.08) £39.78
Gas (22.7.08-17.11.08) £31.59
Electric (18.11.08-21.1.09) £81.78
Gas (18.11.08-21.1.09) £74.16
Electric (22.1.09-28.5.09) £68.20
Gas (22.1.09-28.5.09) £50.92

Here is a selection of my overly anal records of gas/elec since mid 07, the first column is what the bill was the second gives a rough guide to a monthly average.

The bill periods are in-consistent because I never pay up when they ask for it at an inconvenient time, it waits until the end of the next convenient month.

So you see, a £70 quid a month bill is quite possible during the colder months. This is also a very small house.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[s44678]

How much were you paying before on DD for you two? Definitely sounds like you were underpaying.

Essentially, if you've used that energy, you have to pay for it. But you don't have to pay it all at once.

The figure they are quoting now (80 a month for gas) is your usage plus the debt spread over the shortest time they thing they can get away with. Probably 3-6 months. The when that's paid off, they'll leave your direct debit at the higher amount so they can earn interest on what you overpay them. So, just ring them and tell them to bollocks and you want to spread it over a year. That's only an extra 10 quid a month.

If it's any consolation, we were paying £86 a month for gas and elec. 2 people in a 2 bed terrace house only in evenings and weekends.

[Phoenix]

When you go on direct debit they estimate and average which means when you want to read the meter and close the account you often get stung, the same if you have a long string of estimated readings. I supply an actual reading every time a bill is issued if the guy hasn't been to do it, i'd rather pay it now than have to pay a crazy bill the following quarter.

Gas and electricity bills really can be crazy, about 5 years ago (when bills were even lower) I lived by myself in a flat using economy 7 storage heating and a gas cooker working full time so not at home that often and in 6 months I had to pay up for nearly £600 in bills, I think there was something wrong with the meter personally as my next flat had the same setup except elecitric cooker and was nothing like it, unfortunately Npower (don't ever use them) couldn't be arsed to liase with the metering authority and sort out an inspection, the flat got sold on by the owners and nothing ever happened except I got raped on bills. And economy 7 is the most unecomonical form of heating....

[iooi]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Utility companies have little to go off except the estimated readings. Sure they can try to get the real readings but not enough people bother to return customers own readings or be in when a reader comes round. Sure they could pay to have the meter moved outside, but even if acceptable to the customer that is a large expense that is totally wasted when the customer moves to another supplier a few weeks later.

It is pretty easy for consumption to creep up, and energy prices have gone through the roof over the last 5 years or so.

You will have to pay for what you have used. Only long term solution is to make sure you give a reading each time they bill you.

Direct debit is cheaper and if you keep the readings up to date then you shouldn't land up in hideous debt or credit.

If anyone finds their electric bills are hideously high then get hold of a current cost meter (immediate consumption meter that clips onto the meter tails) and check what is actually using power. My fathers place had high bills and it turned out to be due to some incorrectly wired storage heaters (they were on at peak prices rather than just overnight).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[JayA]

Sounds like a catch up bill after estimated reads.... however...

Check you are being billed by the correct type of meter:
4 dial - Imperial - usually has .00 decimal points
5 dial - Metric - usually has .000 decimal points

If you have a metric and they are billing on imperial this will make a huge difference to your bill . ..much lower

Make sure you take readings on the day you move out or they will estimate your final bill.

And dont contact the call center to arrange a payment plan if the bill is correct. They will only usually offer you up to 6 months. Call the Customer Relations department straight off saying you are unhappy with your catch up bill and you believe they should have done a direct debit review on your account at least once a year to prevent this happening. You will probably get a much longer period to pay this off and more than likely a wee goodwill payment for your troubles
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Kawasaki Z750:~Sold / Kawasaki ZX-6R 07:~Sold / Aprilia Tuono 1000 R 08: / Triumph Tiger 1050

[2E]

key/card meters are the way forward..

sure you 'pay' more as they deduct money off it like 1p every hour or something but you control how much moneys on the electric and gas and top it up when you need to..


I moved into my 1 bedroom flat in May, found a letter for the previous tenant from NPower, rung them up assuming they covered my electric and actually they were covering my gas but switched over my electric to them... which is a shame as EON customer service was extremely helpful when i had problems with money on the key (the previous tenant left the meter in debt by running it to the emergency £5 and never topping up)

The gas meter originally was a quaterly one, the electric was a prepayment key meter, swapped the gas over to the card type... nice new meter fitted NICE! then they simply charged the card which the amount of gas we had used since moving in.. (something like £30) i didnt feel like arguing it so they took £3 every week for 10 weeks off the card.. worked quite well.

My mum has a 7 bed house and at one time was being charged £120 for electric and another £100 for Gas, she switched to pre-payment and has practically HALVED her bill... Well worth doing IMO as these energy suppliers will stab you..

No final bills, no shit, just put money on the card/key when you want to, SORTED.


Got to say though, its the same really with alot of 'necessary' things... insurance, ALL SORTS OF TAX!!!, bills, and even repair jobs (home repairs, car/bike repairs etc)...

To be fair, i think its ironic when people preach about money management as well... i had a woman phone me earlier from some random debt consolidation company who was blabbing on about how better to manage my money..

I just said plainly ''ere, love; why dont you call number 10 downing street and give them the lecture on money management.. if it wasnt for them i wouldn't be having money problems!!'
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Bringing Classic Bikes Back Into Fashion
Rides: 1980 Honda CX500

[Fortuna]

When our bill was high it was actually the meter itself that was faulty.

[Kickstart]

[D O G]

Used to work in customer services for Northern Electric and Gas several years ago now, and this situation is common.

You have been billed on estimated readings as other people have said.

TBF, it says so on the bill, you really should've checked that the reads were accurate and provided your own, which you can probably do over the net now.

You will have to pay, after all you have used it.

As for the £77per month, that will be worked out to cover the actual usage, and recoup your shortfall.

Best way to pay for gas and elec is quarterly in arrears, and provide your own readings if estimates are used. That way you know what you have been used, and don't pay any money out before you have to.

You have learned a life lesson.

[2E]

Just for you dransy... something you can wear with shame

https://rlv.zcache.com/shafted_by_the_man_sticker-p217113071198863147tdcj_210.jpg
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Bringing Classic Bikes Back Into Fashion
Rides: 1980 Honda CX500

[iooi]

[Kickstart]

[iooi]

[Kickstart]