Water and Electricity Stupidity! (by sarah)
Grrrr!!!!
Well today I opened a letter from our electricity supplier - I wasnt expecting a bill as we have recently payed one. Unfortunatly two weeks ago we'd had our first meter reading since we had moved in - add this to the fact they hadnt changed us off of economy seven and I cant remember if I posted the letter asking them 🙁 We have a bill for £1000!!!!
This is a magnitude different to previous bills - it incorporates all the extra we havent been paying over the last yr that they didnt know about cos they hadnt read our meter 🙁
The economy seven is a right pain! Al works with computers - we prepear most meals at home - during the day! For those that don't know about economy seven it is a tarfir that changes less at night that standard but almost double! during the day.
This bill would have included all the excess from heating over the winter too. This was exceptionly high becuase a) we have no gas or oil heating and the fire only heats a small patch of down stairs. We only managed to put the thermal curtians, mum made, up towards the end of the winter - plus I didnt unpack synthia the carpet snake draft excluder until spring. Ontop of that we have no double glazing and we have found a couple of 1/2 inch gaps in some of the windows!
We are peed off with the gas people as we have been waiting for the quotes and stuff for over six months now - they came and did the free servey! We still want gas for cooking but we now thinking that oil central heating might well be the way to go!
I am slightly worried over the ecological-ness of our house at the moment 🙁
Still we phoned them up and have arranged to pay this nasty bill a bit every month though the household budget is now completely up the creek 🙁
The other stupidity is the water company - I could strangle them!
Now when the first water bill came it was obviously in Babaras name - I phoned them up and advised them of the change and who we were etc...
Bow I got one more bill and that was it - this was becuase for some reason they started sending our Bills to Babara - wrong address, wrong name. She kept phoning saying she had payed her bills - they look it up on the pooters and yes she has etc... but then another letter arrives and nother - she phones up each time - then one threaterning solicitors - then she noticeses that it our account.
I phone them up and they apologise and say they have taken our account off the 'bad' list and a new bill will be sent.
Then over a month later I'm thinking I've still not got a bill and lo! We go to feed the cats and sitting on top of the post at the Mill is a letter from the water company saying - with the wrong name but our adress - this again was threatening balifs and stuff - I have sne t the cheque off along with a peeved letter. But am still expecting the balifs to flipping kinock! Incompetance!!!!
What is wrong with the srtructures of these companies that this can happen?
ok thats all folks!
Building Maintenance | sarah | 
Thu 13th Jul 2006 4:44 pm
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By becca, Fri 14th Jul 2006 @ 9:37 am
change electricity company....
Go to confused.com and look up under "other products". When you fill in the details for Gas/electric suppliers the last option allows you to sort them by "greeness". There are companies that provide electricity in the UK from 100% renewable sources [wind etc]. Also i highly reccomend going dual fuels - get electricity and gas with the same company [not british gas...way too expensive] as then you end up with a 20% discount or so on your bill.
By Sarah, Fri 14th Jul 2006 @ 9:55 am
We cant have piped gas - which is why we had asked for quotes on fuel tanks etc... The costs go - piped gas cheapest followed by oil, then tank gas - so we are probably going to get an oil tank with a small gas tank for cooking (as that is still cheaper than electricity and I cook better on gas cookers! Remmeber the Sunday lunch in Loc Leven?
But I think our thermal curtians and secondary double glazing which I'm currently disigning should reduce the amount of power consumption for heating. If we could get oil it would be great as we have an emerssion heater for the shower hot water and an elctric filiment shower - ouch on the amps!
Unfortunatly with this bill I dont think there's going to be the money to install the oil just yet - sigh - I had cash flow problems!
By Becca, Fri 14th Jul 2006 @ 2:53 pm
Tell me about it! Its difficult when you own a house. We are getting a tenant (a friend) in at the end of the august which means we have to make the place half decent...and we will loose the large bedroom [aka junk room]. Also means we have to fork out £1500 to redo the radiators and then a further £1000 to reroof the garage before the winter starts.....so much for my nice kitchen then 🙁
By Sarah, Fri 14th Jul 2006 @ 9:20 pm
That sounds painful!
By becca, Sat 15th Jul 2006 @ 10:06 pm
Also Sarah you do know that you can ring up the company whenever you want and give them the meter reading. You don't have to wait till they come round. Also go on a monthly direct debit plan so that you pay £x each month then at the end of the year they will refund you the difference you have overpaid or you settle the remaining balance. We're on one and it makes life so much easier - cos we can buget each month.