Reply to: Electricity bill

[Gonzo]

Moved into a flat a few months ago and received bill for the qtr which seemed very high. There's just me n the missus & it's small 1 bed flat. We're not there during the day and use very little electricty, a few lights and the TV. Bill was £380 for the quarter & the energy company is EDF - does that seem excessively high?

Never trust EDF. Always take a reading when you move in and out, and always supply correct readings when they send you an estimate. If you don't stay on top of the bills you can get seriously stung.

After two years of correcting their estimated bills at my current flat they realised that the night meter had stopped working. Which ended up saving me some money They sent someone to change it.

Did the person changing the meter record the readings on the old meter and the new meter?

No.

So when the next bill came through I was billed for the difference between the reading on the replacement meter (it had been used before so had some serious numbers on it) and the faulty one.

Just as well I had a record of everything.

And while we are on the subject my wife and her friends were seriously stung before she moved in with me when she was living in a shared house. Of course they had never even looked at the meter the whole time that they were living in that house, so when they got an actual bill it was very expsenive.

[Bagpuss]

We have the opposite problem - their estimates are lower than actual usage so I'm hoping we can save a bit of energy before they discover we owe them a ton of money!

That's waht happened to me, I'd have rather spread it out a bit

[oraclesmith]

It may well be that the OP's electric bill is based on the previous occupants usage, which could have been quite high in the winter on storage heaters. They've probably totted up last years usage and divided it by four. Or they could be trying it on....


We have the opposite problem - their estimates are lower than actual usage so I'm hoping we can save a bit of energy before they discover we owe them a ton of money!

[Old Greg]

Similar thing happened to me, turned out they had been estimating my bills for almost 2 years, it was the first bill based on an actual reading.

This is an increasingy common and deliberate strategy.

a) They get money early and keep the interest
b) They decrease the risk of non-payment
c) They probably have some devious way of keeping the surplus in some situations.

[Bagpuss]

Moved into a flat a few months ago and received bill for the qtr which seemed very high. There's just me n the missus & it's small 1 bed flat. We're not there during the day and use very little electricty, a few lights and the TV. Bill was £380 for the quarter & the energy company is EDF - does that seem excessively high?

Similar thing happened to me, turned out they had been estimating my bills for almost 2 years, it was the first bill based on an actual reading.

[BrilloPad]

I now pay about £70/month. Disadvantage of having air conditioning...

[XTC]

I just go bill from EDF as well and it was alot more than usual, I found why though. Went up into loft on Friday and found the frigging light in the loft was on, last time someone had been up there was the sparky and that was 9 weeks ago, so I've had my lights on in the loft for 24/7 for 9 weeks, what a waste unless I'd had some plants under them

That would be illegal. Just ask Gordo.

[Ivor1]

I just go bill from EDF as well and it was alot more than usual, I found why though. Went up into loft on Friday and found the frigging light in the loft was on, last time someone had been up there was the sparky and that was 9 weeks ago, so I've had my lights on in the loft for 24/7 for 9 weeks, what a waste unless I'd had some plants under them

[XTC]

I think we know a bit too much about his lifestyle

[Old Greg]

I suggest you work out your powder consumption

I think we know a bit too much about his lifestyle

[Paddy]

I suggest you work out your powder consumption on a spread sheet and calculate the estimated total. Eg. 100 watt lightbulb for 10 hours = 1 kw hr or 1 unit.

My friend in London has an even worse problem. Some telephone sales git switched him to another supplier without authority. Now he get two bill from two suppliers for the same supply.

[realityhack]

The leccy bill for our 2 bed flat is around £85 a quarter - but our cooking and heating is gas fired.

[lilelvis2000]

A while back I switched suppliers. The original company neglected to take a final meter reading and sent us an estimated bill - which I felt was high anyway. I sent them a letter indicating that its not possible for me to pay an estimated final reading and that they should have a meter reading for the end date and could they re-calculate the bill.

That was months ago and I haven't heard a thing. We were in debt to them about £180 and they haven't asked for it since.

The wife then promptly spent our 'bonus' on new shoes.

[XTC]

Agree - £100 a quarter is about right, unless you've got any hydroponics going, you naughty man.

[Old Greg]

Have got storage heaters, but they haven't been on since march. Phoned them up a while ago and they said meter was faulty, replaced it and then are re-billing us for the same amount. They have a pretty bad rep. just wanted an idea of what most other folk were paying.

Agree - £100 a quarter is about right, unless you've got any hydroponics going, you naughty man.