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What is a normal combined gas and electricity bill uk for 1 person in a 2 bedroom bungalow?

(25 Posts)
Clematisa Thu 26-Oct-17 14:41:00

I was just told that my next monthly gas and electric bill would be £100 more than I am now paying on my usual tarrif... eh really??? Can anyone tell me what is a "normal" bill for them please - my bill used to be less than £90 per month but is now going up to +£175 and I can't see how this can possibly be right? I have a combi boiler and thought that I wasn't using much electricity but maybe not... and if not where can I make savings as I definitely cannot afford the new price hike from Scottish Power.

tanith Thu 26-Oct-17 14:58:00

Doesn't sound right to me have you rung for an explanation?
We have a 2 bed semi although there are 2 of us our monthly amount duel fuel with Scottish Power is £75.

tanith Thu 26-Oct-17 15:00:22

Sorry I just checked and it's actually £69 on their Fixed saver till 2020.

Willow500 Thu 26-Oct-17 15:59:50

That does seem a lot - our bill for a big 4 bedroom house are not much more than that. Have you tried the price comparison sites to find a better deal?

FarNorth Thu 26-Oct-17 16:03:46

Phone to check if it's correct.

I swapped tariff with Scottish Power to a better deal, then got a letter saying the payment would be far more. The letter was wrong and was quickly sorted out on the phone.

Jalima1108 Thu 26-Oct-17 16:27:56

That doesn't sound right unless you have been underpaying for a while and they have to retrieve the back payments.

mumofmadboys Thu 26-Oct-17 16:35:12

We pay £143 a month for a large house although we are are very careful with the heating. I don't think £175 can be right.

mumofmadboys Thu 26-Oct-17 16:35:55

Thus is for gas and electric combined

Jalima1108 Thu 26-Oct-17 16:39:37

Ours is more than that but we need a new boiler which should reduce our gas bills - I hope.

NanaandGrampy Thu 26-Oct-17 17:11:10

Just before we moved our provider told us that by their estimation we would need to increase our DD by £70 a month.

Grampy rung them and asked for an explanation. Mostly it appeared to be all guess work on their part and not taking into account smaller bills in the summer months but applying winter usage throughout the year.

We declined to up our DD and just said if there was a shortfall on any given quarter we’d pay that!

They weren’t thrilled and their was a lot of doom and gloom from them but basically they wanted us in credit as that is to THEIR benefit!

Don’t pay Clematisa , tell them you’ll keep paying what you pay now and pay any additional spend as and when it happens. Better in your bank account than theirs!

watermeadow Sat 28-Oct-17 21:13:27

Ditch Scottish Power and change to one of the small companies. I’ve changed to Bulb who are simple and straightforward, with only one tariff. The multiple tariffs of the big companies are designed to confuse you and ensure that most customers will pay the maximum.
I’m alone in a 2 up 2 down cottage and I pay about £65 per month. I send meter readings every month so my account is always up to date.

Jane10 Sat 28-Oct-17 21:23:17

Scottish power increased our bill by a large percentage. I got fed up with them and switched to EDF. This resulted in a reduction of more than £50 pounds a month. It was a palaver doing the swap. Not as quick as they'd have you believe but an afternoon on the phone and it was done.

Izzywizzy Sat 28-Oct-17 21:38:04

My parents deal ends at the end of November and they have been paying £45 duel fuel for a 2 bed bungalow . Heating is on most of the time now (not at night) as they are late 80s.

My mother uses washing machine about four five times a week but they now have Whiltshire Dinners so not using the oven so much and have a cordless hoover,forgot name , so I wonder if these couple of changes have brought their bill down. The deal is with Sainsbury's which is a branch of British Gas.

So I'm sure you could get a much better deal.

SusieB50 Sat 28-Oct-17 23:12:06

We are with EON on a fixed rate 1 year contract we changed from EDF last year and there was a considerable reduction on our bill . We pay £102 a month for dual fuel DD . We have a 3 bed terraced house 1930's house with a new combi boiler and underfloor heating in the kitchen . The heating is set at 20 C all day 7am - 10pm as DH is quite sedentary . We are reaching the end of the year's contract but have just had an email stating our DD will remain the same for another year's contract .

Anya Sat 28-Oct-17 23:18:42

Watermeadow I’ve just switched from Scottish Power ( after finding they put me on a ‘standard tarrif’ which was more expensive) to Bulb.

I have to agree they make everything very simple and straightforward and send you an email each month so you know exactly where you stand.

M0nica Sun 29-Oct-17 19:13:17

We live in a large 4 bedroom, 500 year old listed house, so not the most energy efficient. Our energy bills average out at £100 a month, with two people and gas central heating. We pay bills quarterly so do not have a monthly payment.

Lazigirl Sun 29-Oct-17 19:44:11

That sounds quite cheap MOnica. We have a 9 year old smallish 4 bed well insulated house and pay EDF £68 a month. Fuel use does depend on how well insulated your house is and age of appliances, but £175 seems excessive unless paying off previous under payments. I am a bit obssesive and read our meters every week, but have found that as we are not on Standard tariff switching will only save a couple of pounds a year if that. It is still very difficult for consumers to compare all the multiple tariffs and I agree they are designed to confuse.

M0nica Sun 29-Oct-17 20:09:11

We have insulated the property as well as we can and designed and manage our heating system to be as economical as possible.

Teacheranne Sun 29-Oct-17 23:00:40

I live alone in a 1950s bungalow, originally two bed but there is now a third bedroom in the loft. I had a new combi boiler fitted last year and my insulation is good. I have been told that bungalows are more expensive to heat that two story houses as they tend to have a larger roof. I changed from EON to Sainsburys (part of BG) when my boiler was new and my monthly bill was adjusted after two quarters. I am currently paying £68 a month but when the tariff ends next month, my payments will go up slightly on a new tariff.
I have my heating set at 20 degrees from 6am to 11pm and adjust the thermostat if I go out or if I want it warmer at night. I refuse to be cold and as I have had problems with damp and mould when the old boiler was not working properly, I try to keep my house at an even temperature.

Charleygirl Mon 30-Oct-17 08:57:17

I live in a well insulated 1988 build. I do have solar power so if there is reasonable sunshine I do not pay for hot water. My combined bill each month is £49 with Octopus but I do not think that I am paying them enough. I also think that this machine, my electric oven and TV run away with the money. I have to read my meters monthly for the company. I switched from EDF because each month they were changing my direct debit either up or down and it was becoming a palaver.

It was exceptionally easy and quick to change from EDF to Octopus. The easiest yet and I am a serial mover.

Teetime Mon 30-Oct-17 09:20:00

We have a modern 4 bed detached so quite energy efficient and pay £80 a month for gas and electricity with Octopus having just changed from SEE. I have the heating on 20 degrees all day and a bit more in the evening (my condition makes me very cold).

Maggiemaybe Mon 30-Oct-17 10:17:16

Our payment is £80 per month with First Utility, which is about 40% less than we were paying British Gas three years ago. We're never asked for more - we're in credit now but that will pan out over the Winter. We've a three storey Victorian end terrace, probably not the most energy efficient, and we don't stint on heating, tumble drying etc. We do have a spanking new combo boiler though.

Morgana Mon 30-Oct-17 14:32:30

D.S. reckons his bill is 30% less with new windows and boiler! Think I shall have to shop around. ..

Lazigirl Mon 30-Oct-17 17:10:30

Teetime your bill seems very reasonable as you say have heating on at 20 degrees all day and more during the evening. We just put ours on as we need and don't even have it on a timer. Friends have said that it is more cost efficient to leave heating on constantly on a regulated temperature, and it obviously works for you. I have only tried it once when we went away in the winter but the usage was more than when we were at home shock

Jalima1108 Mon 30-Oct-17 17:18:56

I have come to the conclusion that what is normal for one person is not normal for another!

Unless our electric meter is connected to the street lights as well.