Reply to: Your British Gas Gas/Electricity bill how much is it ?

[RichardCranium]

Why has nobody recommend www.uswitch.com yet?

[rippedoffbyspark]

hi all im new to the forums. my names chris im currently with spark energy uk im 28 and a disabled guy. my contract with spark energy started in 11 febuary till 31 march. (my first billing date) they charged me 150 pounds in electricity just for that period. all i have running is a 32 inch hd lcd tv and a freeview box. i cook by microwave 2 mins a nite. i shower twice a week 0hot water left on for 1 hour each time. i dont leave things on standby or have everything running. is that normal ??? yet ive not changed anything and my bills are only 6o pounds for quarter now. would anybody recommend switching. as with the 150 debt they put on account its gettin a bit much. i emailed the ceo of spark energy and they admitted they got the meter readings wrong but now they are backtracking. apparently i used 1000 kwh in that period yet i havent changed anything ive added a pc now and last quarter i only used 500 kwh ?

[RSoles]

Why not wear a jumper instead?

Worst thing is I do.
18" of insulation in the loft.
Window glass is only 2mm thick though.

It's '(Southern) wife at home all day when I'm out' syndrome.

I obviously don't beat her enough.

[Archangel]

Just had my gas bill, for 5 months (oddly) £350
Electricity 3 months £150

So about £120 a month in summer, doubles in winter (victorian detached sieve with no insulation, wife works from home and thinks the 'stat is an accelerator pedal)

[chef]

approx £10 p/month gas, £15 for electric

that's mainly due to the thermostat is set to 20C for gas central heating and I have a server running 24/7.. oh and that Im only home 2 days a month.

Gas/Electric/Water is included in monthly rent in Germany.

[Hawkeye]

Rougly round £600 sometimes less per year. We only have electricity as it is a flat. It is slightly higher as we are on a green option which is described as being generated by hydropower and is not a donation to green research. We feel it is better paying a little extra (calculated at £50 saving) each year as it is environmentally friendly.

[TimberWolf]

Why not wear a jumper instead?

[RSoles]

5-bed detatched Georgian farmhouse (so solid walls and draughty sash windows)

Two offswitch challenged teenagers

Winter quarter Oil heating £600 - £900 (currently fitting a logburner)
electricity £400
Summer quarter Oil heating £0
electricity £300

cue another Yorkshiremen sketch......

[eliquant]

A strange thing was that going online and viewing my Electricity bill history (with British Gas of course), I submitted a previous meter reading and they TOTALLY ignored it and replaced it with their own estimate, the ignored reading is logged on the online history though.

strange.

[Sysman]

British Gas increased my DD from £12/month to £28/month then £32/month.

They now owe me rather a lot of money...

They did similar with my brother and when he made enquiries they promised a cheque "next year". He demanded (and got) a cheque pronto.

[Bumfluff]

Sounds like your paying alot. I thought I was paying a lot a few months ago so started looking into it found I was on the worst tariff possible and I couldnt of been paying more for my gas and elec if I had tried. Unfortantly there is so many different tariffs its hard to work out the best deal but its worth spending the time as different tariffs suits different levels of usage, most have a different split between the number of units that need to be used before you go into the cheaper secondary units. In the end I also got an online account with my gas / elec provider I can switch tariffs online when I want etc

[SantaClaus]

Eliquant, switch off your 63 inch plasma, that'll save a bit. Plasma uses more power than LCD or the newer LEDs.

Also, check that your first bill has the meter reading you would have given when when you moved in, otherwise you could be paying the previous occupant's bills.

My gas and electric is in excess of £1000 a year. Got a direct debit, dual-fuel arrangement with npower.

You need to look at the cost of additional units when switching providers and not the first 800 units or so. Its the additional units you want to get cheapest.

I'm thinking of changing all the 50 watt halogen bulbs in my kitchen and bathroom (19 in total) to MR16 LED equivalents. They only use 4 watts each, but cost around £15 - £25 for each bulb. Will be a huge saving for me if I can find LED bulbs bright enough, as during winter my kitchen lights are on for 8 hours a day.

[BolshieBastard]

My previous dual fuel bill was £909 although because nPower went to single billing, it was for more than a quarter.

My last dual fuel bill was £400 odd. I hate single billing and am looking to move to another supplier who do two bills instead of one.

I currently pay by cheque and am considering DD to save more money.

EDIT; forgot to add that's for a 4 bed detached with teenagers who dont turn off the ******* lights!

[ctdctd]

Single miserable old git here. 2 bed pre war detached with little insulation.
Tight fisted so things not usually left on standby and 50% of bulbs are energy savers. Keep an eye on tariffs and switch suppliers when a cheaper one comes along. Combi boiler.

Gas £35 per month, leccy £20.

So yes, you are being shafted.

[tim123]

2 people
2 bed house (Gas CH)
3 PC turned on 95% of time
1-2 TV's on 4/5 hours per night

Average combined bill per quarter:
Summer: £200
Winter: £320

So yeah, would say you are overpaying

Though, one thing that might be jacking up your bill, you keeping the hot water tank hot all day long?

Where did he say he did this?

He said he has a combi boiler. He gets instant hot water from his gas boiler.

My usage is pretty much the same as his (though I wish I could turn the CH off in Feb!) and my bills for the past 12 moths have totalled.

Leccy 300 pounds
Gas 260 pounds

tim