Ouch gas bill

Glaucus · 09-03-2009, 19:12

Hey guys just got my gas bill through and almost had a heart attack. I've checked the first and ongoing meter readings and they are fine. It's for £180 on top of my direct debits, That works out as 33kWh a day. This sounds high. It's a 1 bed flat, only shower, don't use heating often and when I do it's only for a few hours in the evening. Except 2 or 3 weeks when we had the snow and it was freezing. In contrast to the electricity that was within £2 of what I budgeted for.

Does that sound high and how much do you guys use..

Knipples · 09-03-2009, 19:16

The gas bill here for the house I live in (with 4 other people) for the quarter was £840 quid.

My landlady nearly had a heart attack too. Flip knows whats going on.

LeperousDust · 09-03-2009, 19:20

We paid £400 for our recent quarter if memory serves me correct. 5 of us living here. My "frugal" (can think of other words right now) flatmate still went mental and said we have to save money. Until i had a massive go at him and reminded him last year i told him/us we should switch to a fixed bill since prices are going to rise mentally. Fast forward and our bill has surprisingly risen about 1/3 since thats the amount the price of gas has risen

I've told him i won't be using any more or less electricity or gas, and next time i ask them to do something how about we actually seriously listen to me!

Apathy in our flat is monumental!

Jonny69 · 09-03-2009, 19:20

What's the total amount for the year?

Zirax · 09-03-2009, 19:20

How much? More happy about mine now, I was grumpy about £160 for the quarter over the cold months.

Are you double glazed? Loft topped up etc.

Mark · 09-03-2009, 19:20

Gas prices have gone up, and it's been the coldest winter for at least a decade. That will have pushed prices way up. Having said that, I'm in a two-bed flat and I'm now paying £77/month (averaged over the year) for my combined energy use, and I'm sure that two-thirds of that is down to the four PCs that are on 24/7.

AcidHell2, get your boiler checked, especially if it's old. If the boiler looks over 5-10 years old, you may find the boiler is scaled up, and if it is, heating limescale is horrendously inefficient. If it's really old, it might have a continuous pilot light, which is even worse.

Glaucus · 09-03-2009, 19:23

yeah double glazed, not sure about loft as it's a rented place. but I don't have heating on much at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny69

What's the total amount for the year?

I work it out to be around 12000kWh a year. Or has gas really gone up that much in the last 18-24months. As my last place was included. but didn't pay anywhere near this amount on the house before that.

Glaucus · 09-03-2009, 19:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark

Gas prices have gone up, and it's been the coldest winter for at least a decade. That will have pushed prices way up. Having said that, I'm in a two-bed flat and I'm now paying £77/month (averaged over the year) for my combined energy use, and I'm sure that two-thirds of that is down to the four PCs that are on 24/7.

If I've worked it out right it's £27 a month for electricity and I thought it would be around £25 so spot on.

Gas I thought would be around £20 but this is averaging out at around £75-80 a month.

Do any of these gas comparison sights just let you type in Kwh instead of selecting who your gas supplier etc is.

Npower took almost 2months to switch over and British gas only charged me ~45 for almost 2 months worth.

Mark · 09-03-2009, 20:35

uSwitch does, I think. Haven't tried any others.

Even so, that's the sort of gas bill I'd expect from a house with children or elderly occupants, not a single-bed flat.

First thing to do - right now - is to re-calculate your gas bill yourself. Here's a guide...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/consum...ters_pic.shtml

Make absolutely sure that if you have a metric meter, you're being charged metric rates. If you've recently switched suppliers, this can go wrong and you'll get dumped with a huge bill if it does.

Glaucus · 09-03-2009, 20:46

Yep that all checks out.
Which leaves 2 possibilities?
either that's what I've used or I have a small leak?

09-03-2009, 19:12	#1
Glaucus Absinthe Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,855	Ouch gas bill Hey guys just got my gas bill through and almost had a heart attack. I've checked the first and ongoing meter readings and they are fine. It's for £180 on top of my direct debits, That works out as 33kWh a day. This sounds high. It's a 1 bed flat, only shower, don't use heating often and when I do it's only for a few hours in the evening. Except 2 or 3 weeks when we had the snow and it was freezing. In contrast to the electricity that was within £2 of what I budgeted for. Does that sound high and how much do you guys use.. __________________ Last edited by Glaucus; 09-03-2009 at 20:56.

09-03-2009, 19:20	#3
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	We paid £400 for our recent quarter if memory serves me correct. 5 of us living here. My "frugal" (can think of other words right now) flatmate still went mental and said we have to save money. Until i had a massive go at him and reminded him last year i told him/us we should switch to a fixed bill since prices are going to rise mentally. Fast forward and our bill has surprisingly risen about 1/3 since thats the amount the price of gas has risen I've told him i won't be using any more or less electricity or gas, and next time i ask them to do something how about we actually seriously listen to me! Apathy in our flat is monumental! __________________

09-03-2009, 19:20	#4
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	What's the total amount for the year? __________________

09-03-2009, 19:20	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Gas prices have gone up, and it's been the coldest winter for at least a decade. That will have pushed prices way up. Having said that, I'm in a two-bed flat and I'm now paying £77/month (averaged over the year) for my combined energy use, and I'm sure that two-thirds of that is down to the four PCs that are on 24/7. AcidHell2, get your boiler checked, especially if it's old. If the boiler looks over 5-10 years old, you may find the boiler is scaled up, and if it is, heating limescale is horrendously inefficient. If it's really old, it might have a continuous pilot light, which is even worse. Last edited by Mark; 09-03-2009 at 19:23.

09-03-2009, 20:46	#10
Glaucus Absinthe Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,855	Yep that all checks out. Which leaves 2 possibilities? either that's what I've used or I have a small leak? __________________

09-03-2009, 19:16	#2
Knipples nipples lol (o)(o) Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Brissle!!! Posts: 4,947	The gas bill here for the house I live in (with 4 other people) for the quarter was £840 quid. My landlady nearly had a heart attack too. Flip knows whats going on.

09-03-2009, 19:20	#5
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	How much? More happy about mine now, I was grumpy about £160 for the quarter over the cold months. Are you double glazed? Loft topped up etc.

09-03-2009, 20:35	#9
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	uSwitch does, I think. Haven't tried any others. Even so, that's the sort of gas bill I'd expect from a house with children or elderly occupants, not a single-bed flat. First thing to do - right now - is to re-calculate your gas bill yourself. Here's a guide... http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/consum...ters_pic.shtml Make absolutely sure that if you have a metric meter, you're being charged metric rates. If you've recently switched suppliers, this can go wrong and you'll get dumped with a huge bill if it does.