�1000 utility bill

[crisgal]

i kid you not - �400+ electric and �500+ gas bills.
how can they get away with charging so much?

[ELVIS68]

per year?

[CheekyChops]

Yeah, it is difficult to comment without knowing what period the bills were over and what size house you live in (a stately home or a bedsit?)

[crisgal]

no that's for the quarter.
we live in a 3 bed detached bungalow.
it's 3 times more than the same period last year!

[pastafreak]

Yikes...that is huge......it means that you are spending around �5 per day on gas...and �4 for electric.
And they say charges are coming down.....it would seem not.

[buildersmate]

It isn't a question of 'getting away with it'.

Its a simple question of checking how many Units you used and comparing it to last year. The system works on a pay by usage basis - not some random number.

[crisgal]

well going off this we must have used three times as much, but we don't do anything differently. We don't have any more appliances than we had last year. So they must be charging more!

[factor-fiction]

We can't really help until you do some checks yourself.

Check the latest meter eadings used and see if they are right. If the readings are actual readings or very good estimates then the bills are correct.

If the readings are estimates and they have overestimated the current reading then ring them with a corrected actual reading.

What has probably happened is that you have been underpaying for the last few quarters- either because they previously underestimated your usage or because you were payinga fixed monthly direct debit that was based on old, lower prices.

Do you pay bills quarterly or by fixed monthly direct debit?

[barry1010]

There were two highly publicised huge price increases last year, and one small reduction which nowhere near brought the prices down to last year's level.
It is a fact that gas and electricity are much more expensive than this time last year.

[crisgal]

they are the actual readings :(

we pay by direct debit

[wired]

Still doesn't sound right though, you may be able to check online how much you're using- some company's do a graph that you can check. 3 years ago we had a bill from British gas for over �500 we'd been away and knew it should be quite low, so complained, they apologised reviewed the bill and sent one for �54 followed by another for �37, we settled for the �37 and changed our provider.

[crisgal]

that's very helpful wired. I'm going to do that. x

[sahida]

pls let us know as to how u get on as am in the same position. THANX

[crisgal]

i will do. it's my daughter's birthday over the easter weekend and we've got family coming so i haven't had chance yet. I'll contact them on tuesday x