Shock, My Gas/elect Bill £6,732.81...

[trt]

Had an e-mail Friday from my energy supplier First Utility, to inform me that my D/D will have to be increased to £170.00 a month, from, £44.00, in March.
They said that during their 6 monthly random checks on customers accounts, they discovered my high usage.

I dont have paper bills, and just give them meter readings now and again, and when I talked to them, they have asked for the latest gas meter reading, which they will have tomorrow.

Below is the e-mail copy of bill I asked for yesterday.


Mr T####, Your Electricity and Gas Statement
Previous balance £6,701.86
Payments received
£44.00
Previous balance
£6,657.86
Total charges this bill £74.95
Electricity £41.48
Gas £33.47
ACCOUNT BALANCE £6,732.81

[EDDIE51]

I tried to get a Smart meter but was told they are not available in my area yet.
The difference between prepay and DD was lowered if not actually eliminated a year or so back. It was judged to be unfair.
I'm with British Gas who guarantee to always equal the lowest quote as long as you are on 'dual fuel' with them.

[EDDIE51]

This is from an employee of British Gas posted on a 'fuel cost' forum.

''British Gas charge the same as a standard credit rate for Elec PP and £32 a year more for gas. From our Prepayment customers about 75% have no debt. Many choose this for their lifestyle to stay in control so you are not alone''
I am an employee of British Gas.The views expressed on this post are mine.

[Jackdaw33]

Life was so much easier in the good old days when all you had to do was pop a shilling in the meter every now and then.

[ALCHEMI]

I'm ever so curious as to what you have had plugged in to get a bill like that! I hope it gave you pleasure . . .

[Mamyalynne]

Good luck sorting this out trt..

Welcome to AB ALCHEMI.

[zebo]

We're on a self-reporting tariff but once a year we get an email to say that someone will be coming to read the meter, at one time the supplier had a legal obligation to read the meter once a year so I can't see how a massive bill could have accrued.

[hc4361]

Eddie, there has been consultations and pressure from various bodies but there is no such regulation in effect. A CAP is coming in to effect this April which means that suppliers will be reined in a bit with their prepayment charges, but they will (usually) be more expensive than direct debit.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

I switch my gas and electricity suppliers often and British Gas has never been the cheapest supplier for me, nor will they match it. If you've been with BG for years, do a comparison check and I bet you will be shocked

[hc4361]

The legal requirement is once every two years now, Zebo.

[EDDIE51]

I am thinking there is a decimal point in the wrong place somewhere trt.
hc4361 I am looking at a new company that claims to be a 'prepay' specialist. Can't remember the name at present , I'll check back.
They do gas tariffs without a standing charge. I turn off the gas completely from May to September as it only does central heating and hot water but I still get the standing charge. In the summer I just set the electric water heater for 1 hour from 5am to 6am, that gives a full tank of hot water that lasts the day, and only uses 'night rate' 1/2 price electricity. I worked out that no standing charge alone will save me £78 a year .
In addition to the £200 winter fuel allowance I get £150 'warmer homes' discount and £15 'Dual fuel' discount so £365 total. That pays a significant part of my entire winter fuel bill . All in all I think I've done very well out of British Gas over the years.

[fiction-factory]

Apologies if this has been covered as I'm joining this thread rather late and have just glanced through it, but the starting point should be to look at your last bill and see if it did indeed show you a balance of £6657.86. If it did then I'd ask why someone didn't increase your DD earlier; and if it wasn't anything like that figure last time then you have all the info you need to show they have made an error

[hc4361]

Eddie, usually companies that have no standing charge have higher unit costs, but it could work out for you. I'm the same - during the summer, immersion heater for 1 hour a day, on off peak electricity, no gas.

[EDDIE51]

^^ This is the company I am looking at with a view to switching from BG. Note that the rates are the same for Prepay/Credit/DD
http://utilita.co.uk/tariffs/
Gas is no standing charge so I don't pay anything at all during the summer when I do not use gas.
They do prepay on smart meters , you get free electricity on a Saturday or Sunday until March 2018 (I think)

[EDDIE51]

^^ Click on get a quote and then on 'Tariff Information'

[Jackdaw33]

I use DD wherever possible. I use to pay my telephone bill quarterly until I noticed a few years ago BT were charging a 'payment processing fee'. In other words they were sending me a bill then charging me £5 for the privilege of paying it. No way!

[trt]

I cant believe the cheek of First Utility, during my conversations with them yesterday, & today.

Will cut it short, as it would take to long to tell everything, but yesterday, after giving them a latest reading, they said they would send a guy to check the meter, as it looks like an error.

Today they phoned back, & wont be sending meter man, & asked me to take another reading + photo, and send in an e-mail, and a daily meter reading for 7 days + final photo.(refused)

I told them not to try and take the increase of D/D of £720.00, in March, and they said, best to cancel it, and to ignore any letters from any credit collecting company's, and not to worry !!!! (its cancelled)

I was half laughing, & half thinking I was being set up by a friend, on a radio prank show, and told them I want him/her up in heavens office, to contact me tomorrow, and will be contacting trading standards, about their service.

Will keep you in touch, for the next episode.........

[chrissa1]

I'm pleased it's sounds like it's sorted, trt. Don't be put out by being asked to take photos to send to them via email.

Last February I noticed the smell of gas at my meter box and noticed that my bills had gone up. After I'd got an emergency gas man to fix it, (they came very quickly btw) I complained to FU and was asked to send pics of the meter readings, too. I did this as it wasn't a bother to me. I got a £42 credit from them.

I would jump over hoops if it meant that I could prove my case to them.

[ladybirder]

trt, keep an eye on your credit rating while this is going on. Seriously.

[Quizproquo]

I would demand their advice to cancel the DD and ignore any letters in writing if I were you.

[trt]

## trt, keep an eye on your credit rating while this is going on. Seriously. ##

I did mention this to them, and they said, dont worry, we will sort it out with them!!!!, like hell they will IMO.

[Smowball]

It absolutely has to be an error! We hav a three storey house plus an office loaded with computers, servers etc and still pay £93 per month for gas AND electric