Check your smart meters now!

The Fitter

The Fitter

Winger
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
 


The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
Click to expand...
Bit of a weird savings plan. What's their interest rates? What a bunch of charlatans. They should surely have told you they were guessing for all that time. I won't have s smart meter unless forced to.
 
The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
Click to expand...
You know an awful lot about your neighbours living habits
 
The daft twat who fitted ours left the gas pipe loose, I knocked it putting stuff away in the cupboard and the house was stinking. The gas bloke who came out to investigate the smell asked if I'd be tampering with it. Just gave me visions of Eddie and Richie with a hosepipe.

Apparently they're fitted with a brass connector that goes black if there's a leak. Ours was very black. It had been slowly leaking for three year. Nice surprise in addition to the fella taking the final reading from the old meter wrong and adding a grand to our bill.

At the time I think there was a push to get meters in houses, they were taking anyone on, giving them poor training, then sending them out to suffocate and blow up customers.
 
The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
Click to expand...

Superb but imagine some old lady, wouldn’t stand a chance.
Absolute criminal.

Nice one Mate.
 

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