someone please help us we have received a bill of €728

Gwendeane

My bill was a massive €728 euro for 67 days, we even brought in an electrician as we thought something was wrong but he confirmed all was fine when I rang  your services I was told that yes the bill was expensive because we used a lot of units which we were already aware of as we read the bill. We used your appliance app and it says for 3 storage heathers the cost should be €253.09 per bill and 2760 units, our bill says we used over 5700 units at night over 67 days. There has to be something wrong somewhere. Anyone else could help us understand why it was so high we would appreciate it as we are now considering moving to an other house as there is no way we can afford this everytime.

Thank you

EI: Una

Hi Gwen,

Was previous bill(s) based on reading or estimate? If under-estimated, this bill is making up the difference.

Have you compared the meter reading on this bill to the figure on the meter?

If you turn everything off via the trip-switch, and then the meter disk/light is still rotating/flashing after 10 minutes, it could indicate a malfunction with the meter.

Where is the meter located? What type of premises is it (house, apartment, flat in old house)?

Regards,
Una

Gwendeane

Hi Una,

The previous bill was a reading.

We have compared the bill and the meter and the figures match

The meter is located outside on a side wall of the house
The house a detached house build in 2000

We will try to turn everything off via the trip-switch and see if the meter disk/light is still rotating/flashing after 10 minutes

Thank you
Gwen

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Gwendeane,

As the previous bill was based on an estimate, there is a good chance that reading was underestimated. In addition to the expected seasonal increases in usage (when it's colder and darker, usage tends to be proportionately higher), this would account for the sudden jump in the size of your bill.

For customers who are hit with large bills (particularly after a series of consecutive estimates) we understand it may be difficult to pay all at once. We can arrange a payment plan if this is the case. You may also find the following section of our website useful, which provides you with advice/interactive tools to help reduce your bills (I can see you already use the Appliance Calculator):

Reduce My Costs

Gwendeane wrote:

We will try to turn everything off via the trip-switch and see if the meter disk/light is still rotating/flashing after 10 minutes

This is always a good thing to check; if the meter disc is still rotating (or the dial flashing, if it is digital) after this time, there may be a fault with the internal wiring. An independent electrical contractor would be needed to inspect the wiring if this is the case (see Finding Electrical Contractors). The chances of there being a fault with the actual meter itself are very low; in the majority of cases, if there is anything wrong, the fault is internal - either with the wiring or with specific appliances.

You mentioned storage heaters, so I'm assuming you're on a Nightsaver tariff? It's also worth checking to see if your timeswitch is set to the right time; if it isn't, there is a chance the storage heaters may be using electricity at the higher day rate (though usually storage heaters are 'synced' to the timeswitch to prevent this from happening).

Hope this helps. If you need further assistance please feel free to send us your account details by PM (using this link).

Thanks,

David