Energy meter stuck

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Sweeper

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Been paying 118 quid a month DD for gas and electricity in a 2 bedroom flat (which I have recently decided is a lot, having googled the national averages).

On the back of that, I have just been down to check the electricity meter and the reading is still showing the same reading that they took on their last "actual" reading back in June 2013 - in other words, it looks like in reading the meter 18 months ago the engineer has broken it and it hasn't been ticking over. They have been billing me on estimated usage since then. They are sending an engineer out in January to "look at/fix it" but I now want to know the basis on which they can possibly justify billing me as much as they have over that 18 month period. How does it work? Are they now allowed to guess what I'd have used over the past 18 months and bill me that amount?
 


Your meter is fucked and needs replacing, if you do the honest thing and tell them they will estimate your usage if you don't I don't think anyone could blame you.

Edit- you've told them didn't read your post properly :lol: when was the last time you received any kind of Bill? 1 bill a year estimated or actual is a must
 
Sweeper said:
Been paying 118 quid a month DD for gas and electricity in a 2 bedroom flat (which I have recently decided is a lot, having googled the national averages).

On the back of that, I have just been down to check the electricity meter and the reading is still showing the same reading that they took on their last "actual" reading back in June 2013 - in other words, it looks like in reading the meter 18 months ago the engineer has broken it and it hasn't been ticking over. They have been billing me on estimated usage since then. They are sending an engineer out in January to "look at/fix it" but I now want to know the basis on which they can possibly justify billing me as much as they have over that 18 month period. How does it work? Are they now allowed to guess what I'd have used over the past 18 months and bill me that amount?
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:lol:
 
Mackem Messiah said:
Your meter is fucked and needs replacing, if you do the honest thing and tell them they will estimate your usage if you don't I don't think anyone could blame you.

Edit- you've told them didn't read your post properly :lol: when was the last time you received any kind of Bill? 1 bill a year estimated or actual is a must
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I get quarterly estimated bills but fuck knows what they're estimating it on seeing as (i) it's a two bedroom flat built seven years ago; and (ii) they haven't taken an actual reading since June 2013 (since which the meter seemingly hasn't been moving).

My question is - they come out and fix the meter but I want to switch. How can they come up with what the debit/credit is on the account when the meter hasn't been working, due to their fault? It's not like I've sabotaged the fucker.
 
Sweeper said:
I get quarterly estimated bills but fuck knows what they're estimating it on seeing as (i) it's a two bedroom flat built seven years ago; and (ii) they haven't taken an actual reading since June 2013 (since which the meter seemingly hasn't been moving).

My question is - they come out and fix the meter but I want to switch. How can they come up with what the debit/credit is on the account when the meter hasn't been working, due to their fault? It's not like I've sabotaged the fucker.
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To be fair to the energy company they can only work with information they have and which they only have to read meter once every 2 years. Once you get the meter fixed I would take a reading every day for a couple of weeks and calculate your daily usage and ask them to look at your DD.
 
pop round your neighbours and see what they pay/use
 
Mackem Messiah said:
To be fair to the energy company they can only work with information they have and which they only have to read meter once every 2 years. Once you get the meter fixed I would take a reading every day for a couple of weeks and calculate your daily usage and ask them to look at your DD.
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I appreciate that, but surely the payments made in the interim are "on account" pending a re-adjustment when the next actual reading is taken? I.e. I'd then be entitled to a refund on the difference or have to pay the balance. If they can't do that calculation then what happens? They've been taking money every month for 18 months but can't prove what I've actually used.
 
Sweeper said:
I get quarterly estimated bills but fuck knows what they're estimating it on seeing as (i) it's a two bedroom flat built seven years ago; and (ii) they haven't taken an actual reading since June 2013 (since which the meter seemingly hasn't been moving).

My question is - they come out and fix the meter but I want to switch. How can they come up with what the debit/credit is on the account when the meter hasn't been working, due to their fault? It's not like I've sabotaged the fucker.
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The best thing to do for this is to ring them and discuss what you use in general terms, based on that they will work out what you've been using roughly.
If that's less than the national average they'll use that, if it's more they'll use the average anyway as its fair to you.

I'd probably raise a complaint with them as well so you get it looked into properly in the way that I've described, drop me a PM if you need any advice whilst it's being sorted.
 
Charlestonian said:
The best thing to do for this is to ring them and discuss what you use in general terms, based on that they will work out what you've been using roughly.
If that's less than the national average they'll use that, if it's more they'll use the average anyway as its fair to you.

I'd probably raise a complaint with them as well so you get it looked into properly in the way that I've described, drop me a PM if you need any advice whilst it's being sorted.
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Cheers mate, have emailed them to raise my concerns and will drop you a PM if needed once I have a response.

arthursboy said:
You could get free heating for a couple of years over this
In Durham prison
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:lol:
 
Had a friend who had one of them old type meters, he got a quarterly bill for a couple of grand,knowing that was impossible he called electric board, hey agreeed and sent an engineer out who told him the meter was really old type,faulty and needed replacing with a new one.in the meantime he was told there would be no charge for his electric as they had no way of measuring how much he had used. It took them just over a year to fit the new meter!!!
 
When they come out they will inspect the meter, if they exchange the meter you will have acknowledgment that the meter was faulty. Challenge them with this fact and get them to do an estimate of usage, (the meter should be inspected and read every 12 months by one of their engineers, so if they havent been writing to you, asking for access to the meter, then they are at fault) you will need to provide details of all electrical items and guestimate of usage, they will then use this info as well as billing info from other similar properties in the street/area to provide you with an estimated bill, this needs to go right back to the last time the meter was actually read. If your OK with the bill, pay it (although im guessing you will be getting a refund), doesnt stop there though, Keep your bills for the next year and then if the bills are lower than their estimate, challenge them again in a years time.
 
weardale mackem said:
Had a friend who had one of them old type meters, he got a quarterly bill for a couple of grand,knowing that was impossible he called electric board, hey agreeed and sent an engineer out who told him the meter was really old type,faulty and needed replacing with a new one.in the meantime he was told there would be no charge for his electric as they had no way of measuring how much he had used. It took them just over a year to fit the new meter!!!
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This.They can't bill you on guesswork.
 
You may find it gets wrote off anyhow as it's more cost effective than having somebody recalculate the bill manually for you then to dispute it and so on.
 
When I moved in here the timer on the white meter wasn't switching over properly, so I could turn storage heaters on any time rather than just at night.
Eventually worked out that wasn't meant to happen and they went back over my bills, adjusted the lot and I ended up with a few hundred quid back (as well as a nice warm flat all winter)
 
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