Outrageous money spent on gas

[alex2258867]

Hi,

 

Looking for some advice for my colleague.

 

She moved into a new flat in the summer which has a pre-pay meter. Her supplier re-set the meter when she moved in, all good.

 

With the change in the weather, she is currently putting in excess of £60.00 per week on her meter for gas!

 

This is a two bedroom flat which does have high ceilings and is on the seafront, so it is difficult to heat. But as she is at work all day and only uses the heating in the evening, surely this is an outrageous amount of money to be paying?

 

Last night she had to go to bed at 8pm as she just can't afford to be constantly putting money on the meter for gas.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Could the meter be wrong? Is it possible she could be paying for a previous tenants arrears despite them telling her the meter had been re-set?

 

Any advice would be appreciated

 

Many thanks

[comebackjimmy]

Hi

 

Keep a daily log of the meter, recording the starting units the ending units and subtract one from the other to see how many units are being used.

 

This would give you the begginings of an idea of the daily consumption.

 

Once you have this post it up on here and others with more experience may be able to tell you if the consumption seems excessive for a domesitc property at this time of the year.

 

Also, contact the Gas company ask them how much a unit you are being charged. Then work out if the money you are putting in is roughly equal to the number of units being used. That would tell you if the metering is accurate.

 

It might be possible to switch to a cheaper supplier.

 

Here is a couple of tips to reduce consumption that may be useful:

 

1. See if you can stop using one or more of the rooms for the duration of the winter. If so, turn off the radiators in those rooms.

 

2. Get some cardboard and cut it to fit between radiators and external walls. Then cover it in silver foil. This will reflect some of the heat back into the room and stop some of the heat radiating into the external walls.

 

3. Is the building double glazed?

 

If not here is a tip for "temporary double glazing"

 

a. Buy some strips of 1 cm x 2 cm cross section wood and build frames that fit the windows.

 

b. Cover the frames with cling film on both sides.

 

c. Optionally cover the external edges in a foam material to create a better seal.

 

The above will provide an extra layer over your windows and help to warm the rooms.

 

4. Are the radiators working efficiently?

 

They should be full of water but from time to time air gets in. check them and if necessary bleed them. I am not sure if this last tip helps with economy as such but it sure helps with heating and would allow you to turn the thermostat down.

Edited January 14, 2010 by comebackjimmy

[alex2258867]

Thanks for the sound advice comebackjimmy. I will go through the points you raised with her.

 

I will also get her to monitor the meter and post the figures ASAP.

 

Cheers

[Surfer01]

It may be that they added a debt from the previous occupier onto the pre-payment meter. She needs to check whether this has happened. Also double check the meter serial number and confirm that it is the correct meter for the residence. There is also the possibility that the debt should be on another meter and not hers. Very good advice by comebackjimmy.

[alex2258867]

Thanks Surfer1, I agree. There is a strong possibility that she is paying off a debt that does not belong to her.

 

This happened to a friend of mine sometime ago, it was a nightmare to sort out, but she got there in the end.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, very much appreciated.