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azam216
Rank 4
January 25, 2024
Solved

My bills have increased this month, am I being billed correctly?

  • January 25, 2024
  • 32 replies
  • 2102 views

i think there might not be anything i can do since the gas per unit prices has increased in jan 2024 as announced before.

 

so OVO take my readings automatically which is correct, however i regularly chekc my account, it was £90 last i checked 2-3 days ago, when i checked yesterday, it has now shot up to £215...talk about having a heart attack lol.

 

my mum is on holiday so im currently in the house by myself in a three bedroom, i only use the heating for 5 hours per day since start of december. il show picture showin december 2023 and then this month:

 

^ left hand side is gas for decemebr, right being january this month.

 

how has it gone up 6x?

my last bill was £160 for gas and elec, now i could potentially pay in the next bill £330-£350

 

can someone help me with this please? is there a way round this at all?

Best answer by azam216

Updated on 05/12/25 by Ben_OVO

 

Hey guys, as I thought...OVO are now saying it's justified, please see their reply below:

 

I know you mentioned that you were worried we may have been accidentally billing you to cubic feet instead of metric units. I have had a metering agent in my team investigate your account and they have confirmed that your meter has never been billed to imperial units before and the billing is accurate.

Your meter is on daily readings however I have noticed that it does skip a few days likely due to signal issues which means that the usage may look larger on some occasions due it accounting for multiple days of usage so when calculating your gas usage please remember to divide the amount used over the missed days as well to reflect your actual usage.

Regarding the high usage compared to your last billing period I have taken a look at your account and can see that from the 10/11/2023 to the 9/12/2023 your gas charges were £139.23 which does fall in line with this month's usage so I would advise taking a look to see if you have any new appliances or if your using your heating more than usual which is to be expected during winter.

To confirm, the meter is being billed accurately to metric units and we have been unable to detect any faults so the increased usage is likely due to a change in your household. For energy savings tips please feel free to consult your online account or check out the below links:

https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/energy-conservation/

https://www.cse.org.uk/

 

^^ wat U guys think?

 

We’ve got some other topics on the Forum which may also be helpful:

 

32 replies

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A
Rank 4
azam216Author
Rank 4
January 29, 2024

Yes ok

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
January 29, 2024

OK so you can see some guesses are too high and some too low.

You had a smart meter reading on 15th Dec and then not until 24th Jan. So the system was trying to guess each day during that period. Sometimes it guessed to low, other times to high.

You typically use around circa £4 to £6 a day in winter. You can see that on the days you have smart meter reading. Typically around 60kWh a day.

OK?

A
Rank 4
azam216Author
Rank 4
January 29, 2024

ok got ya

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
January 29, 2024

So 

Dec 15th smart meter reading was 7851.023

Jan 24th smart meter reading was 8072

8072-7851.023 = 220.977 between those dates 

A quick way to roughly convert that to kWh you multiply by 11

220.977 * 11  = 2430 .747 kWh

So between Dec 15th and Jan 24th you used 2430.747 kWh. This is what you will be billed and pay for over a 40 day period between those smart meter readings.

2430.747/40 = 60.8 kWh a day on average between those dates

So you haven't used any more than normal over the period Dec 15th and Jan 24th when the smart meter readings were not getting to ovo

Everything looks good

OK?

A
Rank 4
azam216Author
Rank 4
January 29, 2024

Thank you for explaining all of that...i am grateful believe me.

 

part of me still feels that they have overcharged me and i could be paying near £300 when the final bill comes in 11 days time. my previous bills were the following:

 

10 dec - 9th jan - £164

10 nov - 9 dec - £220

10 oct - 9 nov - £190

10 sept - 9 oct - £167

1 july - 9 aug - £151

 

i cant recall as to why oct - dec was around £200 which dissapoints me not gonna lie but on average bills are usually around £160 as you can see….even prior to july it was like this or cheaper. something within me is telling me ovo have overcharged me for sure….but it seems like i cant do anything further.

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
January 29, 2024

OK. That is useful.

So one problem is you underpaid 10 dec - 9th jan - £164

You underpaid as there were missing smart meter readings so the system had to guess.

You can clearly see you underpaid as you would have used much more gas in the depths of winter than July when you used £151

So yes your next bill will be higher as you underpaid last month.

OK?

    A
    Rank 4
    azam216Author
    Rank 4
    January 29, 2024

    OK. That is useful.

    So one problem is you underpaid 10 dec - 9th jan - £164

    You underpaid as there were missing smart meter readings so the system had to guess.

    You can clearly see you underpaid as you would have used much more gas in the depths of winter than July when you used £151

    So yes your next bill will be higher as you underpaid last month.

    OK?

    hmmm oh well...i appreciate your explanation and taking out your time, im truly grateful

      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      January 29, 2024

      hmmm oh well...i appreciate your explanation and taking out your time, im truly grateful

      Given the issues with missing smart meter data, I suggest you run this. It should help ovo diagnose if anything is wrong with your meter and if there is anything they can do. It isn't easy for you with so much missing smart meter data.

      https://smart-meter-help.ovoenergy.com/

        C
        Newcomer
        CharlotteT
        Newcomer
        March 10, 2025

        I have turned down my boiler, reduced the time the heating is on, and lowered the temperature and yet my bill keeps going up and up and up!! It doesn't make sense! 

         

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        March 10, 2025

        Hi ​@CharlotteT ,

        This comment is intended for initial triage. You’re seeing this because it looks like you didn’t provide enough details

        We need more details to help us figure this out. Please remember that Forum Volunteers can’t access your account, so you need to help us to help you.

        Things like your meter reading history and what your heating/hot water is would help a ton. Without that kind of info, we’re unable to advise accurately.

        Thanks for understanding

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