Totally stressed out

I got my gas and electric bill this morning and it was five to six times more than I expected it to be and that it usually is. I called the company and it turned out that their meter reader, when he came, had misread the first two numbers on the gas meter. She tried to change the reading but was unable to, though she did say it would be changed later today at some point and I should get a new bill in ten to fourteen days. I had other things, important things, which I needed to sort out this week but now this has happened I can't think about anything else. I have heard such terrible things about people who have massive bills, have phoned to query them, have been told things will be sorted, and then things are not sorted and they end up with months of hassle. This reinforces how alone I am with everything and I honestly feel completely overwhelmed and unable to manage. It will be such a relief when this life is over.

I'm sorry that you had to experience such a worrying shock this morning. Energy companies are hiking up their prices all the time and becoming increasingly exaggerated with their estimates in a bid to snatch more money from their customers. It feels like they're deliberately turning what should be a simple, straight forward process into a nightmarish gamble on whether the cost of the bill is horrific or manageable. Talk about unfairly playing with people's emotions.

I'm the same when it comes to opening my energy bills (and BT are getting just as bad) in that despite sticking to a standard amount of usage, or less as I've been in hospital for so long, the cost seems to fluctuate as much as £50 for no real reason. For a while I was convinced a neighbour was wired into my electricity as the bill was huge, then I saw that they had grossly over estimated my usage (how convenient for them) to get me to pay more.

But hey, you've called them up and told them of the error. That call has been logged and recorded to your benefit, I'm sure they'll send out the new amended bill soon enough. I know when I did the same it only took three or four days and the price was far more sensible. Even if they don't (and I'm only saying this as a huge if) you can request another, correct, meter reading before you're willing to accept any sort of charge. These companies are used to being at fault (yet sadly just accept it rather than try not to make them in the first place) so please don't worry about it.

You've done the best thing by calling them immediately so it can be sorted out sooner. I know it's worrying but you've been proactive about fixing it. Just give it a few days and all will be ok, I promise.

Thank you for your supportive reply.
The bill is for over £1,100 for the last quarter alone, and as such it is more than I pay in a year. Normally I would expect it to be from £150 to £200 for the past quarter. The electric part of the bill was correct, it is the gas charge that is wrong. The woman seemed to realise this as I realise now, because she only asked meto do a gas reading and not an electric reading. I still feel really scared though and almost suicidal over it as it is coming on top of many other things. I hope that my experience is like yours and that the new bill comes soon and is at the level is usually would be.

Tiina63 said:

Thank you for your supportive reply.
The bill is for over £1,100 for the last quarter alone, and as such it is more than I pay in a year. Normally I would expect it to be from £150 to £200 for the past quarter. The electric part of the bill was correct, it is the gas charge that is wrong. The woman seemed to realise this as I realise now, because she only asked meto do a gas reading and not an electric reading. I still feel really scared though and almost suicidal over it as it is coming on top of many other things. I hope that my experience is like yours and that the new bill comes soon and is at the level is usually would be.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry this has happened to you. Just try to keep calm and wait for the new bill to arrive in 10 to 14 days. Try not to worry. It's an obvious mistake that they already know about.

We have a place in our city called citizens advice. It's free. My Mam has used it several times over the years. They sort problems out for you. If you don't get the new bill then maybe you could go and see them. Good luck !

Tiina63 said:

The bill is for over £1,100 for the last quarter alone, and as such it is more than I pay in a year. Normally I would expect it to be from £150 to £200 for the past quarter.

Click to expand...

Sadly that would make sense if the chap misread the first two numbers on the metre as these would indicate a huge difference. At least the company can see the difference, £200 to £1,100 is a huge leap that doesn't fit in with your past usage and is obviously an abnormality. Sadly, they don't correct these mistakes until customers point them out first.

That said, you still don't need the hassle on top of everything else so I'm going to offer my help. If this new bill isn't sorted soon, let me know and I'm more than happy to call and speak to them on your behalf if it would make things easier for you. I've had to deal with this a lot in the past so I really don't mind at all.

Tiina63 said:

I got my gas and electric bill this morning and it was five to six times more than I expected it to be and that it usually is. I called the company and it turned out that their meter reader, when he came, had misread the first two numbers on the gas meter. She tried to change the reading but was unable to, though she did say it would be changed later today at some point and I should get a new bill in ten to fourteen days. I had other things, important things, which I needed to sort out this week but now this has happened I can't think about anything else. I have heard such terrible things about people who have massive bills, have phoned to query them, have been told things will be sorted, and then things are not sorted and they end up with months of hassle. This reinforces how alone I am with everything and I honestly feel completely overwhelmed and unable to manage. It will be such a relief when this life is over.

Click to expand...

Well, life is a much bigger thing than paying electricity bills. So first of all, please dont say about getting life over.

I am not an eexpert at solving situations, but when I am going through bad days, I wait for the days to pass.


Remember a really important thing: "Whether your days are good or bad, they will change eventually" read it once more.


The best thing you can do is to wait for 14 days. And a scientific fact, the more you try to ignore it, the more you think about it.

So set aside everything, sit, and think so much about it until you are satisfied. BUT, PROMISE yourself not to think about it again. What if you do not manage other things and they become worse??? And then you would have more problems. So work on what is possible right now. Good Luck.

Thank you for your help.
Lost Drifter-thank you for offering to call the company on my behalf. I might take you up on this if the new bill is as bad as this one. As you say, at least the company can see that this present bill doesn't fit with my past usage. I've been with them for over ten years which helps as they have a long record to look back over.
Triple Bogey- thank you for your support too. I will go to the CAB if things don't get sorted out.

Dear Tiina, I agree with you that these practical things are the worst, especially when it's a lot of money and when one has to deal with faceless companies who want to s** people over. Just keep calling them every day or two days or if there is a real life office maybe ask for some sort of document stating that they changed the bill they charged you, so that you don't have to spend two weeks with the anxiety waiting for the new bill?
So sorry you have to deal with this too... Stupid energy company.
It sounds like you managed the situation pretty well, in spite of your feelings, and you can do it again tomorrow (and hopefully solve the situation once and for all).

When the new bill comes you can tell yourself: "I am the boss"...

Hey tina I would also like to offer to help and phone up if needs be.

They are muppets. I've been there and it's proper frustrating when they send random letters with different bill amounts that seem like they were generated by a chaos machine on acid but they never actually DO anything. However that includes doing stuff like stopping your power etc I didn't pay for like 3 months (didnt actually try to sort it out for 2 to be fair cos I'm lazy haha) and they never stopped my gas/ leccy and my bill did eventually get sorted.

If you get frustrated put in a complaint - with most companies there's a management/ complaint handling group your issues get escalated to if you do that and they usually have more powers to sort things out.

Like drifter said it sounds like they're misread your meter so wouldn't worry 10x sounds like a miscalculation, even if for some freaky reason it was correct there's grant schemes you can apply to to get it paid anyway so don't worry.

Thank you to all of you who have replied.
Thank you Benj for offering to call them for me as well. One thing I hate about being on my own is having no one to do this sort of thing for me ever and it means a lot to me to feel that there are people I can turn to.
Peaches-I called the company earlier this morning to ask how much the new bill will be and the figure is what I was expecting. They also said that the new bill has been sent out. After the call ended I went into the hall and found a new bill from them. I thought it would be the amended bill and was glad it had come. On opening it, though, I found it was again for over a thousand pounds and that it had been sent out on Tuesday, the day I called them. I called them back again and was told to ignore it and that the proper bill would be here early next week. It is all so stressful.

Tiina63 said:

Thank you to all of you who have replied.
Thank you Benj for offering to call them for me as well. One thing I hate about being on my own is having no one to do this sort of thing for me ever and it means a lot to me to feel that there are people I can turn to.
Peaches-I called the company earlier this morning to ask how much the new bill will be and the figure is what I was expecting. They also said that the new bill has been sent out. After the call ended I went into the hall and found a new bill from them. I thought it would be the amended bill and was glad it had come. On opening it, though, I found it was again for over a thousand pounds and that it had been sent out on Tuesday, the day I called them. I called them back again and was told to ignore it and that the proper bill would be here early next week. It is all so stressful.

Click to expand...

It sounds a major pain in the arse and total incompetence from them.
There mistake. Next time when somebody comes to read your meter, tell them to bring their glasses !

When you are alone, finances are the most stressful thing.

If you cant pay your rent you are homeless and if you cant pay your bills you get bad credit.

If you have bad credit as a single person you are up the creek.

I totally get it.

Stork-Error-I find too that finances are the most stressful thing about being alone. Knowing that I alone am responsible for every bill that arrives means that I am very careful financially and when something like this happens, it throws me completely.
TB-I might mention the glasses next time.