My electric bill has just sent me into shock!!

[Amanda]

We moved into the flat on the 28th August, and I kept with my supplier I had at the old house - Swalec - for gas and leckie.

I've just had the bill from them! It is for 18th September (when they switched companies) to 21st November. It is £132!!!!!!!!!!!!! For 2 months!!!!

It's definitely right because the meters are outside so they are not even estimates, they are real readings. I already pay £50 per month direct debit and thought that was extortionate, but I'm going to have to up it to £65!

I know we use the washer and dryer much more since Charlie was born. Also with being in a flat, we can't havng washing out at all so have to use the dryer all the time. But we're not doing anything else different. I expected it to fall with going from a 3 bed house to a 2 bed flat.

Is anyone else's so high since having LO????

 

[Emmylou]

We don't have bubbas clothes to wash yet, but our apartment is all electric - so annoying - its only until we find a house - our bill atm is £60 a month and there is only 2 of us, but I don't get a gas bill so I don't suppose its too bad when I think what gas & elec might be combined. Think its going to be a lot more now we have to have the heaters on though

Ask your elec company if you are on the best tariff.....do you get economy 7? If so try to do as many washed as you can overnight, I put a wash on before I go to bed....then hang it up on airers in the morning.

Also, try www.uswitch.com to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere - is easy to work out of you have a bill in front of you with meter details on etc. I did this and got a cheque for £15 for switching company - and my bill is slightly cheaper (only by a few quid but it all helps).

 

[Urchin]

Our bill went up loads after having Brody too.

I put it down to me generally being in the house more...more kettles boiling, more TV, more washing machine and tumble drier.

Still, that does sound like a lot though Tankett.

I'm looking into moving to "Southern Electric" My friend is with them and you get Argos vouchers, she claims hers at Xmas and gets about £200 worth! What a big help for Xmas pressies!!

 

[tracyM]

don't worry, it's not too bad. This is mine from January


After 10 mths battling with them, yesterday they reduced it to £1462 which has to be paid by Monday

 

[Urchin]

How the HELL did that happen?

 

[lauramumof2]

Didnt you say your flat was set up for an old person? Is the heating set strange. I know our heating is set up so that you cant heat up the hot water up without the heating being on. We got an electrician to check it and he said that this used to happen if the house was being rewired at the time for old people.

Certainly though ours as went up. I pay 75 a month d/d for ours so goodness knows what its going to be like in the new house with more rooms to heat.

 

[sarah113]

my bills aint too bad, im with british gas for both, my last electric bill was £68 and my gas was £82 and i use the washing machine 2-3 times a day and the tumble dryer

 

[tracyM]

We moved here in Sept 2002, until July 2006 we had two suppliers arguing over us - they both wanted paying for the same leccy so I refused to pay either. When they finally sorted it out in January, they charged me 4 years worth at current prices - not at the prices at the time we used the leccy. I refused to pay it. I've been writing to nPower since then, demanding a full breakdown of all our usage, and the price calculating at the right rates - but British Gas read the meters for 2 years and won't give the readings to them. So this week, they've cancelled everything except what they have details of.

Sorry for hijacking Tankett

 

[Amanda]

OMG Tracy!!! I feel a bit better now!

I am on economy 7, but with the flat being so small, even with all the doors shut, I can't have the washer or dryer on overnight as it's too much noise. The dishwasher goes on overnight as that's quiet, but that's about it.

The heating is Gas, and I'veo nly had it on twice for 10 mins a time as the flat is soooo hot! So I suppose I mght save something there.

Urchin -I forgot about the Argos vouchers! That would have saved us money if I'd have remembered!!!

 

[x-kirsty-x]

We have pre-payment meters for both gas and electric with npower. £10 worth of electric lasts about a week (even though theres always the tv, dryer, washer etc on all the time) but £10 worth of gas lasts about 3 days.

 

[cloud9]

We had loads of trouble with scottish power after over a year we had not recieved a bill ..Eventually we changed to scottish hydo power and it took 13 bills for them to actually calculate what we owed and sort it out.

Well worth checking on you switch though

 

[Becks&Riley]

im on a ley meter and i pay 96p per day haha
n i leave everything on all the time im naughty lol

 

[Melanie]

Im really lucky. With being an expat we dont pay any bills at all, Richards company pays for everything. I dont even know how much the bills are because they go straight to the company.

That seems like a big bill for just two months Amanda!

 

[PyscoFalcon]

I'm looking into moving to "Southern Electric" My friend is with them and you get Argos vouchers, she claims hers at Xmas and gets about £200 worth! What a big help for Xmas pressies!!

Really? Where and how? We've being with Southern Electric for 2 years now and had no Argos vouchers. Could really use em.

 

[Minime]

In my old house with just me and DD and heating on all the time and 2 computers and the dryer going I used pre pay on leccy and put in £25 a month and my gas for entire year was £290

 

[Xena]

our boiler is broken so we use electric heaters.

we have recently had a token meter fitted, and we use about £30 a week in tokens.
So £120 a month.

It truly sucks.

 

[kirlykird]

I hate bills

 

[jenna]

our last gas bill for 3 months was £350!!! Now we hardly use it at all!

 

[SarahH]

My direct debit for electric is £92 a month!

Why are the essentials so expensive... The cost of toilet roll really bugs me..... it's a whole lot of money just to wipe your bum - but cant live with out it!!


S. xx