[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by Cherie

still alot of money though, I am home all day, 5 bed house (before we moved) PC going, boy on playstation plus all the other stuff and our electric bill at peak is around 110.00 ....what are you guys doing with the leccy

Like I said this month's was £209 of which about £50 was still gas (cooker) so leccy about £160 and we're a tech-heavy family. It's always been high, my combined DD was £160/month way back when gas n leccy were still reasonably priced .

Over winter the gas bill was huge because the boiler is efficiency rated like... H or something...

[Gusto Brunt]

I had an email from Utilita this morning, and they said that June bill was ESTIMATED because their computer system had lost my recent meter reading.

Proved I was right. No fridge, freezer running. Sometimes I am hardly in the property.

I don't watch TV, so no TV running either. I don't even pay a TV licence. And the TV licence people know that and I have signed their 'I don't watch live TV form'.

My bill has to be around £38.00-£40.00. Could be lower. No way is it £58.47.

My advice to the guys on here. Don't just accept what the energy companies tell you what you owe.


I've already paid them £40.00. Let's see what they do next.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Gusto Brunt

I had an email from Utilita this morning, and they said that June bill was ESTIMATED because their computer system had lost my recent meter reading.

Proved I was right. No fridge, freezer running. Sometimes I am hardly in the property.

I don't watch TV, so no TV running either. I don't even pay a TV licence. And the TV licence people know that and I have signed their 'I don't watch live TV form'.

My bill has to be around £38.00-£40.00. Could be lower. No way is it £58.47.

My advice to the guys on here. Don't just accept what the energy companies tell you what you owe.


I've already paid them £40.00. Let's see what they do next.

well well, good for you Gusto for keeping a tight handle on it all, how do you manage without a fridge though especially in summer

[Soldier Boy]

I got a wee letter the other day saying that my gas prices are going down by nearly 1/3 and leccy by about 1/5 from July; think this "more or less" applies to most people because they're changing the cap, but my supplier is reducing an extra 5% for existing customers. Whup tee too!

Standing charge is increasing slightly but that matters less for higher-usage folks.

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by Gusto Brunt

I had an email from Utilita this morning, and they said that June bill was ESTIMATED because their computer system had lost my recent meter reading.

Proved I was right. No fridge, freezer running. Sometimes I am hardly in the property.

I don't watch TV, so no TV running either. I don't even pay a TV licence. And the TV licence people know that and I have signed their 'I don't watch live TV form'.

My bill has to be around £38.00-£40.00. Could be lower. No way is it £58.47.

My advice to the guys on here. Don't just accept what the energy companies tell you what you owe.


I've already paid them £40.00. Let's see what they do next.

Are you a vampire gusto? You have no telly and... No fridge? do you literally just sleep there?

[bitontheslide]

i'm the same as soldier boy. I work from home. I have a fridge and a separate freezer, which I use

I have computers running constantly and loads of electronics, so my base running costs are £150 a month for electricity. Quality of life is an important factor for me, so I use what is required. If that ends up being expensive, then so be it. I think when households are obsessed with reducing costs it has a very negative impact on mental health.

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i'm the same as soldier boy. I work from home. I have a fridge and a separate freezer, which I use

I have computers running constantly and loads of electronics, so my base running costs are £150 a month for electricity. Quality of life is an important factor for me, so I use what is required. If that ends up being expensive, then so be it. I think when households are obsessed with reducing costs it has a very negative impact on mental health.

This is more or less our position; at the start of all the utility prices stuff we went down the "Oh let's reduce what we use" route but quite quickly decided to just carry on as normal and swallow the bills.

Lucky enough to be in a position where we can do that. An extra £300/month over winter obviously wasn't "nothing" but not a massive issue. I'm very aware that a lot of households have little choice but to obsess over it, would have been me 10 years ago, it would have been a very real and constant source of stress.

[Gusto Brunt]

Bill updated DOWN from £58.47 to...

...£42.32.



I'll pay that £2.32 now.

[arista]

[Zizu]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJbFY8E5/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Gusto Brunt]

I have a real coal fire in the house, but the smokeless 'coal' is very expensive to buy.

So yesterday, I was clearing out some old newspapers and letters and put them in a bag. Then I had a thought. I wonder if I made paper logs they'd burn like wood. After all, paper is wood. I'm just reversing the process again.

So I went on YouTube and saw a guy who does just that and he says one log will burn for up to 3 hours.

FREE heating.

So I am gonna make some paper logs. Stay warm.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Gusto Brunt

I have a real coal fire in the house, but the smokeless 'coal' is very expensive to buy.

So yesterday, I was clearing out some old newspapers and letters and put them in a bag. Then I had a thought. I wonder if I made paper logs they'd burn like wood. After all, paper is wood. I'm just reversing the process again.

So I went on YouTube and saw a guy who does just that and he says one log will burn for up to 3 hours.

FREE heating.

So I am gonna make some paper logs. Stay warm.

Yes there is a Metal Compressor
You wet the NewsPapers
pack them in
Crunch it down

Remove the brick
Leave it to Dry

It then burns slow in a Fire.

[arista]

Compressed Paper Bricks or Logs

[arista]

BBC News Text:
[Lead focuses on mounting anger at
green power firm Drax - which has been accused
of exploiting an energy subsidy loophole
to avoid paying £639m back to cash-strapped
households.]

[Gusto Brunt]

I'm with Utilita and I just want to mention here what they're like when it comes to me paying the monthly bill.

They'll send an email and a text to say the bill is out and ready to pay. They've told me I can pay within two weeks of receiving the bill but that does not stop them emailing me every day saying I haven't paid my bill yet. They do this one day after getting the bill.

And I always pay it within a week anyway so I don't know what's with all the panic. .

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by Gusto Brunt

I'm with Utilita and I just want to mention here what they're like when it comes to me paying the monthly bill.

They'll send an email and a text to say the bill is out and ready to pay. They've told me I can pay within two weeks of receiving the bill but that does not stop them emailing me every day saying I haven't paid my bill yet. They do this one day after getting the bill.

And I always pay it within a week anyway so I don't know what's with all the panic. .

They are largely toothless if you don't have a smart meter, so long as your balance is zero every few months all you'll get is letters and calls.

[Gusto Brunt]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

They are largely toothless if you don't have a smart meter, so long as your balance is zero every few months all you'll get is letters and calls.

They wanted me to get a smart meter, and I gave in. They set a time and date and I was in when the meter man came.

Problem was he didn't have the smart meter with him. A complete waste of my time.

Good job I don't have direct debit either. THAT has a very bad reputation for taking too much money.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Gusto Brunt

They wanted me to get a smart meter, and I gave in. They set a time and date and I was in when the meter man came.

Problem was he didn't have the smart meter with him. A complete waste of my time.

Good job I don't have direct debit either. THAT has a very bad reputation for taking too much money.

I am with British Gas
They wanted me to have Smart Meters

I said NO
100% NO.

As I am using very little gas


I use Electric Plug In Radiators
in any zone, we need to keep warm.(Not with British Gas)


It has saved us Thousands of Pounds.

Electric Shower
no Poxy Gas needed

[Vanessa]

They want to install a smart meter in my house. There's no way I'll let this happen.
I'm happy with the one I have. I can manage it very well.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

They want to install a smart meter in my house. There's no way I'll let this happen.
I'm happy with the one I have. I can manage it very well.

You are Most Wise Vanessa

[Zizu]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

They want to install a smart meter in my house. There's no way I'll let this happen.
I'm happy with the one I have. I can manage it very well.

Yes we have fought against it on three occasions thus far


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[bitontheslide]

i like smart meters, i have cut my bill dramatically by monitoring my usage

[Soldier Boy]

My issue with smart meters is that with some, they can cut you off remotely. Press a button and literally kill your power supply.

There used to be myths that power companies had this mystical power all along and could selectively "cut people off" - in truth they had to send an electrician to literally cut your supply. With smart metres myth became reality... Someone can click a mouse in London and your house anywhere in the UK goes dark. No fanx.

I have no issues paying my bills but I'm not naive enough to assume I'll definitely never be in a crisis situation... I don't want them having the power to cut me off entirely if the **** hits the fan for a few months.

[smudgie]

We have had a smart meter since we moved to the bungalow.
Never took much notice until the energy crisis.
Hubby and I play guess the amount at bedtime.
It’s quite easy to work out how much the heating costs an hour etc.
Roughly £1 an hour. £12 a day approx.

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by smudgie

We have had a smart meter since we moved to the bungalow.
Never took much notice until the energy crisis.
Hubby and I play guess the amount at bedtime.
It’s quite easy to work out how much the heating costs an hour etc.
Roughly £1 an hour. £12 a day approx.

I feel I have more control with a normal meter. I'm worried they could cut me off with a smart meter.