Gas bill!

OMG, I got our first gas bill today.  199 pounds!!  This was for the period from the beginning of November to the end of January.  Is this normal?  Or within the realm of semi-reasonable?  

I am going to call British Gas and see if I can sign up for the plan where they estimate your gas usage and spread the payments equally over a 12 month period.  I did that in MN so as to avoid $200-$300 per month gas bills in the winter.  Much easier to budget $80 per month, each month, IMO.

Another utility question.  How often is water usage billed?  I haven't gotten anything from whoever does our water billing yet (been here since Nov.), but someone came to read the water meter the other week.  What do water bills tend to run per month?

Thanks,
Stephanie

I pay my gas by direct debit @ £20 per month, all year long, even in the summer when we arent using the heat.  This way we never get a huge shocker bill in the winter.

Water:  check  your council tax.  Our water use is included in our council tax here, so we get no water bill ever.  But when we lived in England, we paid Thames Water £19 per month all year long on direct debit (otherwise we were billed approx £180 every 6 months).

Thanks for the info Badger.  I am setting up the direct debit with British Gas this week.  Guess I should have thought of that a few months ago, but I didn't realize that utilities billed on a quarterly cycle, instead of monthly like in the US.

I think we might be served by Thames Water.  I checked the Guildford Borough stuff we have, and only refuse & recycle collection is listed as being covered by the borough.  I'll call Thames Water this next week and find out if we are served by them, and set up some sort of monthly billing.

The surprises just keep coming!  At least I've got our long distance calls figured out -- less than 15 pounds a month with Onel.Tel.  Even over Christmas/New Years.

Stephanie

OMG, I got our first gas bill today.  199 pounds!!  ....

Is the closing reading a real one, or an estimate?  (Estimates are marked with an "E").

If it is an estimate go to your gas meter, take your own reading and then phone the Gas supplier up (assuming that the real reading is less) and they will send you a revised bill.

It is normal for gas suppliers to waaaay over estimate how much gas people use.  I was once told by a gas supplier's representative that "typical" usage for my house (2 beds, 750 sqft) was £440 per year!  My actual uasage was about a quarter of that!

It is normal for gas suppliers to waaaay over estimate how much gas people use.  I was once told by a gas supplier's representative that "typical" usage for my house (2 beds, 750 sqft) was £440 per year!   My actual uasage was about a quarter of that!

Mr. Val is SO right about this.  Check carefully. Your consumer protection laws here are not as robust as in much of North America.

Also, you need to look into comparing rates from your gas suppliers.  You will find a labrynth of various utility companies.  Gas companies that supply electricity.  Water companies that supply gas, etc.   I will have to search, but somewhere there is an URL which will help you compare rates.  We chopped over 80 quid a year off our gas bill just by changing suppliers.

This is the sort of tedious chore that really isn't very exciting compared to learning Chinese or learning to give directions to a Paris taxi driver, but it is a very necessary chore.  

And besides, when it's cold and grey, you have time to sit at home in the evenings and study your utility rates!  

Yep, we're the same.  We get the bill, hubby reads the meter himself and phones them up to get a more accurate bill....for electricity as well.

Such fun!  

£199 for three months is definitely not normal.

An average user will spend £240 per year, whilst a heavy user will spend £300 per year.

Gas is actually reasonably good value here, thanks to there being a competitive market with lots of companies bidding for your custom.

Definitely check out the rates offered by alternative suppliers.  You can probably get the best deal by getting the same company to provide your gas, electricity and phone calls.

How and when you pay can also make a difference to your bill.  If you pay by direct debit you will often get a cheaper rate than if you pay on a three monthly billing cycle.


One other thing that you might not realise, if you are (both) from the US, is that British heating systems are designed so that they can be set to work for two periods during the day.  

If you are out at work all day you might, for example, have the heating set to work from 5am to 8.30am and from 4pm to 10pm, so that the house is warm when you wake up and warm when you get home from work, but otherwise the heating isn't working.

There is also typically an "override" button that allows you to turn the heating on/off without changing the programing.  And most modern systems have seven day programming so you can allow for a different timing pattern at weekends.

Also, IMHO, Americans seem to have their heating set 5º or more warmer than many people do in the UK.