electric woes :(

[Gem & Leland]

well after my recent gas bill going up from 25 to 49 a month , southern electric have topped this by a milestone ! today i recieved a letter saying that my monthly direct debit is going up from 50 a month to 137 A MONTH !!!!!! which i can not afford as ive yet to find a job . and remember we only live in a very very small 2 bed maisonette !

would u tell me who your with , what size house etc ? need to try and find another supplier today

 

[charlie84]

Bloody hell thats a bit much hun

We live in a large two bed flat and we have recently switched to Eon for electricity and now pay £46 a month where as before we were with n power and paying nearer £60 a month.

Gas currently is costing me a fortune about £60 a month but getting that changed too soon.

 

[Tadpole]

Hiya,

I live in a 2-bed flat with no gas and am with Atlantic Electric. We use around £60/£65 (including heating as we have night storage heaters) but are paying a bit more to build up a credit.

 

[charlie84]

Just wanted to add that my Gas only fires my central heating.
Everything else is electric (oven, hot water etc etc)

 

[Gem & Leland]

Phoned them and got it down to 106 a month , apprently cos our last bill in april was estimated we owe them 322 ! thats also cos of 2 price increases in april and aug too so the predicted monthly usuage is 80 a month plus 26 a month to pay off the 322 thats still loads but he went back 2 years for out daily usage and worked it out that way . so upset tbh i dont know where were gonna find the extra money just to pay gas and electric ! an extra 80 a month is not extactly nothing !!! on a plus side , the guy in the phone for once was very understanding and helpfull ! makes a change !

 

[aramintalovegrove]

It might be worth giving them a call back and ask if they have a trust fund to help out with the debt. Most service companies have such a thing, its like a charity dontaion to wipe your debt, you usually have to apply on a long application form and give them a sob story but its well worth it.

If they dont have a trust fund many suppliers do and will encompass other debts too so if you have other debts to other services and dont get any joy there, ask your water or gas service if they do.

crappy price hikes my gas is now £115 but we live in a big old house and heat it on full blast, having a new boiler on monday to cut costs hopefully

 

[Babylicious]

have you tried u switch?

we pay £71 for both for a 3 bed house

 

[Becky]

We're with Scottish Power, have a 3 bed semi and pay £82 a month for both gas and electric at the moment. It seems shocking to me that anyone could charge upwards of £100 just for gas!

 

[fran_23]

I would ask them for a pre payment meter Gem i am with southern electric and also have a two bed maisonette, southeren are ridiculous they just make up bills i swear to god they tried to charge me £800 for 1 quarter when its just me and Hayden i disputed it and they sent someone round who cut me off as i didnt have at least £400 to give them and they wouldnt accept that the bill was in dispute..i phoned up asked for a manager and threatened to go to the papers and everything as they had illegally cut me off with a small child living in the house! well someone came round to put it back on 1st thing next morning and i had prepayment meters put in..i hardly ever put more than £20 a month on my electric and less on my gas as i have an electric oven!! they will take the p*ss if you let them...put your foot down!!

 

[Gem & Leland]

i rent tho fran so dont think i can do that

 

[charlie84]

Hi Gem you can have them if your rent, maybe just run it by the Landlord/Letting Agency. However i must say we were well and truly ripped off with our prepayment meters and they are not the best thing to have as they tend not to offer you the good rates you get by paying DD.

I dont know if you already do it, but maybe be more aware of what appliances you have on. When we had an electric meter we took note of what we were spending and then really tried hard with turning everything off by the plug when it wasnt in use etc etc and we noticed a great difference.

 

[fran_23]

i rent tho fran so dont think i can do that

I rent too..its fine, your landlord would prefer you payed the electric and gas so they dont care!!

 

[keli]

It might be worth giving them a call back and ask if they have a trust fund to help out with the debt. Most service companies have such a thing, its like a charity dontaion to wipe your debt, you usually have to apply on a long application form and give them a sob story but its well worth it.

I got a very large water bill over £800 i rang them up and told them there was no way i could pay it in my position, pregnant on mat leave, single, so they popped me thru to someone and they agreed to match whatever i paid in i set up a DD and pay £40 a mth and so do they crying helped

 

[lauramumof2]

My direct debit for gas and electricity should be £140 ish a month but because we changed supplier they have estimed our bill at being £80 a month. Im screwed once they take a meter reading but by the time they do I will be a bit better off financially so the wee white lie suits me just now. Its just crippling these charges.

My house is a 3 bedroom up and downstairs, very high ceilings.

 

[Nicola g]

We have the LPG gas and live in a detached 3 bed bungalow and it costs us £59 a month.