Hello,

I'm sure there are several threads about electricity/bills etc, but I thought a specific thread for West One residents would be useful due to the high number of people living there, all with the same boiler/heaters/appliances as standard.

The reason for my post is because my bills from nPower seem to be obscene! I would love to know how they compare to other residents, and would really really love to know what I can do about it!

October 09 - December 09: £650
January 10 - March 10: £760

I'm living in a 2 bedroom apartment in West One, myself and my friend, both students, both careful with electricity usage!

Could everyone living in West One (or similar) post their typical usage, quarterly bill price, and any other relevant information, and share advice on how to reduce bills, and ensure all appliances are set up for most economic use etc?

Massive thanks to any help and advice in advance.
Peace.

i think NPower are ripping people off, I dont live in W1, I live in a 1 bed flat in nether edge, i have 3 electric wall panel heaters, electric oven etc and water heater, I am out at work all day and my last bill for 3 months was over £600!! they advise the meter reading is correct but i dont belive that I should be paying this amount of money for a 1 bed flat - ive switched to eon in the meantime and they have quoted me a price of £14 per week - i have not got £600 to pay this bill and i am also in a real mess - dunno what to do also

Thanks for your response.

It sounds like you are in a similar situation to me; my apartment has electric wall heaters, electric boiler, cooker etc. but both myself and my flatmate are out all day every day, and very rarely even switch the heaters on at the wall.

Like you said, I simply do not have the money to pay the bill, and anticipate nPower won't be very forthcoming with any explanation or advice.

Does anyone have any recommendation as to how myself and others should tackle this scenario - where we are being billed for what seems like a disproportionate amount to our usage - is it possible to demand the meter is checked for faults, or to demand the wiring etc. is checked?

Again, thanks in advance for any replies/advice.
Peace.

NPower told me the meter reading was correct and that i have 28 days to pay my bill or they will start proceedings to cut it off - its ridiculous in my last flat with gas and electric i didnt pay £600 for the whole year!!!

i spent £35 a week on gas ,and £20 - on electric via a pre pay token meter for a 2 bed semi this winter...now its warmer and lighter its dropped to £25 and £15 repectivley..

I am with e-bico for gas and electric there price was excellent value for money but recently like most companies there price have increased but not decreased

british gas smartmeter for the win.

Have you left the water heater switched permanently on?

Look at your meter to make sure the reading on the bill is in line with the reading on the meters.

Switch everything off so the meter stops. That way you'll satisfy yourself that it is actually measuring just your own stuff.

Your bills are shocking. The gas+elec for my detached house came to about £900 for the whole year including this harsh winter.

Also - the utility companies have a habit of getting you to pay by direct debit then charging a stupidly high monthly amount so you build up a huge credit with them (which they get the interest on). Over winter you're obviously using more energy, so normally you build up a small credit balance over summer then spend it in winter, ending the winter around about zero. If you've got a huge balance then tell them to (a) stop taking direct debits til it's zero and (b) reduce the payments after that to a level you agree is about right for your usage.

I'm in a 15 year old property, (a 2 bed house) which doesn't have carpeting, (so IMO it's a bit draughty) and my usage is about 15/16 quid a week for the winter quarter (jan-march) it's about £200 for the whole quarter.

If you've got properties above,and below you and either side, then you shouldn't be needing to use so much, to keep your house warm...

Electric Storage heaters are definitely dearer to use than central heating and/ or a gas fire, though I haven't used my gas fire this winter, despite how cold it is.

I have my heating running in the background, 24/7, with my thermostat set to a constant of 15/16, and, if it gets a bit chilly, I knock it up[ to about 20/25 till it warms up[.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I can see just how obscene my bills are compared to people paying just £200 per quarter - this is only a small apartment with 2 users who are out more than in!

The boiler use seems to be a lose/lose situation for me - the handbook tells me to keep the boiler on for greater efficiency, others tell me to switch it off and only turn it on when it is needed. One quarter I followed the advice in the handbook (£760 bill) and another I followed the advice of other people (£650 bill)!

Not sure if this suggests that it is something else costing a fortune, or if it just shows that the boiler is incredibly expensive eitherway?

Is there any chance that something is just fundamentally wired up wrong, or that the meter is broken?

I get paranoid if I have the heating on for a few hours a day over the cost. My last bill from the 29th Jan to the 31st March was £139. I remember the day when it was £45 a quarter in a 2 bed new house we had. Is £139 a lot?

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I can see just how obscene my bills are compared to people paying just £200 per quarter - this is only a small apartment with 2 users who are out more than in!

The boiler use seems to be a lose/lose situation for me - the handbook tells me to keep the boiler on for greater efficiency, others tell me to switch it off and only turn it on when it is needed. One quarter I followed the advice in the handbook (£760 bill) and another I followed the advice of other people (£650 bill)!

Not sure if this suggests that it is something else costing a fortune, or if it just shows that the boiler is incredibly expensive eitherway?

Is there any chance that something is just fundamentally wired up wrong, or that the meter is broken?

There was a thing on watchdog about meters being wrong and people ended up getting back thousands.

Hello,

I'm sure there are several threads about electricity/bills etc, but I thought a specific thread for West One residents would be useful due to the high number of people living there, all with the same boiler/heaters/appliances as standard.

The reason for my post is because my bills from nPower seem to be obscene! I would love to know how they compare to other residents, and would really really love to know what I can do about it!

October 09 - December 09: £650
January 10 - March 10: £760

I'm living in a 2 bedroom apartment in West One, myself and my friend, both students, both careful with electricity usage!

Could everyone living in West One (or similar) post their typical usage, quarterly bill price, and any other relevant information, and share advice on how to reduce bills, and ensure all appliances are set up for most economic use etc?

Massive thanks to any help and advice in advance.
Peace.

I thought mine was high!

I'm in a 2 bedroom apartment, but there is just me living there. I pay by direct debit £50 a month for electricity although I think its a little high.

I know the heaters are quite bad for costs. Do you have them turned on at the mains all the time and have the timers on? I just turn them off and on at the mains as needed.

There is something definitely wrong, are you sure you aren't growing a cannabis factory?

That's an extortionate amount!

My gas bill for the whole year is about £650 and the heating was on permanently from November til January.

Deffo look to switch to another provider. In the meantime, nPower must have some dispute process. Have you tried MoneySupermarket - they have a forum on there where you can get advise as to what to do next.

The one thing I like about the british gas system is the meter and the fact you can at any point put your readings into the website and get a predicted bill

It's genious! And you can get £100 back from quidco for doing it :)

Does anyone know if...

a) You can switch provider in West One, or are you stuck with nPower?
b) Does nPower have a minimum contract length?
c) What's involved in switching? I've just been on money supermarket and found that instead of paying £600 a year I could be paying £300 with other providers