Hints and Tips on single parenting finances!

[Bambiboo]

Happy to be of service!! I really like them and for the money they are great!

Hope you and your little man are doing well xx

[upsydaisy]

I thought I'd drag this thread back onto the front page.
I've got myself into a horrible mess with my electricity bills  .  I had been paying on average £250 ish a quarter.  Then yesterday a bill arrived for £1,900  .  On top of a new quarterly bill for £500  .  After a lengthy phone call it transpires yes that is what I owe and yes I do have to pay it, although they can spread it over a year.  This will mean not being able to pay my mortgage for a year (fortunately the mortgage is flexible so I can just pay the interest).  I just feel sick about it all  .  We are already living off next to nothing and now we're freezing because I'm too scared to use the fan heater.  I live in a small 2 bed terrace with gas central heating.  I only use the fan heater when it is (like now!) freezing.  It's all my own fault  .  The meter hadn't been read for nearly 3 years.   I have a huge storage unit under the stairs that I can't move on my own to access the meter and I was never in when they tried to read it.  I just feel really stupid  .  I can't afford to only work 3 days a week but the option to work 4 is no longer available  .  If I'd known about this in August I could have taken the 4 day option.  Could anyone in a similar sized house let me know what they pay for electricity?  I really haven't got a clue if I'm being diddled.  The option to change suppliers isn't there because I presume I'd have to pay the debt in one go, which I can't ! it's way more than I'm earning a month  
Upsy - totally sick of having no money 

[cem]

Upsy     What a horrible fright to get a bill like that.      I can't really offer you any advice on paying it, but am really shocked by how much you're paying anyway.  I live in a 3 bed house and pay £48 p/mth DD.  That's also been based on when I was on maternity leave, so lights, TV, PC etc have been on a lot more.  Your £250 p/qtr sounds high anyway, so the fact that that's not enough is shocking.  I wonder if it's worth you getting a consumption meter, so you can see just where your usage is?


Good luck with finding a solution


C x

[Damelottie]

OMG Upsy - Huge huge  . Jeeze, wish I could help out  . Its at times like these, some parents that can throw cash would be fabulously helpful  . What a dreadful thing to happen - I'm not suprised it made you feel ill. I think it did me just reading about it..................... I live in a mid terrace victorian (bit chilly!!) 2 bedroomed house. I pay approx £70 a month for both gas and electricity, but I'm expecting it to go up 
 
 
 
 

[indekiwi]

Upsy,


I have a three bedroom cottage and use NPower.  Monthly payments are £39 - less than half what you've been paying to date on a quarterly basis.  I also have gas central heating.  I work from home, my house sounds on the face of things to be bigger, and there are three of us living here not two, so I would have thought my power usage was more than yours.  My meter is read regularly so I am very confident that I am not overdue a very large bill myself, though occasionally the supplier adjusts the monthly payment up or down by a few pounds on the basis of recent past usage.  Based on the foregoing, I really think it might pay you to look into your own circumstances a bit further.  Moreover, even if it's correct, I think you could still change supplier and continue to work off the debt over a year - speak to your local CAB, as I'm sure they could help you come to such an arrangement. 

Chin up hun, sounds like you might not need to panic just yet.   


A-Mx

[suitcase of dreams]

oh upsy, big 
that seems very high to me, I was paying £35 per month for gas and £17 per month for electricity in a 2 bed flat with gas central heating, so about £200 per quarter but I was pretty much always in credit so I don't think I was actually using that much...but it's about on par with cem so that would seem realistic
 
I know you've had a lengthy call with them but are you quite quite sure that's what you owe? It just seems ridiculously high to me and I would def try to double check and insist on more of an explanation as to how they have let the debt build up so much
and if this is just for electricity (and not gas as well) then there's clearly an error somewhere - there is no way you could have spent that much on electricity surely?

I would also consider taking out a loan to clear the bill in one go so you can switch to a cheaper provider (even better if family could loan you so you didn't need to pay them interest..) - there simply must be a cheaper alternative - try uswitch or similar comparison website
 
hope you get it sorted, life is tough enough without all these additional money worries we have
 
Suitcase
x
 
 
 
 

[some1]

Oh Upsy    what a shock!  It does sound like something isn't quite right there though.  It's a very big bill just for electricity.  Have you had your meter changed since it was last read?  I once received a £5000 (!!) elec bill because they'd changed my meters but not updated their records!  I live in a 2 bed end terrace (and am at home every day) and my elec is £32 pm, gas £44 pm. 
 
If your bill does turn out to be correct, have a look at the Money Saving Expert site for some ideas on how to manage paying it off.  I think your provider should be allowing you longer than a year to pay off a sum that big.
 
Some1
 
xx

[some1]

Upsy - have a look at this http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/43/413.html - it is the billing code for energy providers - you will be able to check if your provider has followed the code - in certain circumstances they can only backdate a bill for 12 months max
 
and have a look at this http://www.homeheathelpline.org.uk/how-we-can-help/ it is a helpline for anyone worried about paying an energy bill - they may be able to help you with finding a manageable way to make repayments
 
and just found this post on MSE with some helpful points -
 
It is normal for a Utility company to allow you to pay off the arrears over the same period as the debit balance built up -

Don't forget that, if there has been a price rise in that time, you should be billed for some units at the pre-increase price

Given the above points, many companies will reduce the outstanding balance by a sizeable amount(20%-25%?) for a cash payment to clear the arrears; so worth negotiating! The managers in the accounts centre have a fair amount of discretion.

Good luck
 
Some1
 
xx

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[Fraggles]

Upsy hope you can sort something out.

Does anyone know how to work out how much help a single parent gets for baby childcare pl. trying to figure out if i am better doing more or fewer hours at work.

x

[midnightaction]

Upsy- That really is a ridiculous bill, I can't believe you could of used that much electricity even if you had everything in your house turned on all the time. I live in an old and very cold 2 bed bungalow, it takes a lot to heat this place up and by monthly costs are £31 for electricity and £40 for gas and I use alot of electricity as I have quite a bit of technology in my house.

Fraggles- Go to this site and have a mess about with the calculator, putting in different figures and hours of work and it should give you an idea of what sort of hours works out best for you. http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

Sarah x x

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