Help - Dispute with Powergen over incorrect meter readings

AMH82_2

We have been with Powergen after moving into the house in July 2004 as this was previous supplier so we just carried on. Upon moving in we phoned them with a current meter reading, etc they suggested the direct debit payments and the rest was history..........
until now
Basically we started to rack up around £300 credit, so decided we would ask for some back. They said yes and so we waited......nothing.
Phoned them back and they said they couldn't give us any money back yet until they have an up to date meter reading, my other half read the meter and told them. They then said we owed £200!!!
We live in a 3 bed end terrace, 2 of us, both work, gas c/h, use little elec and pay £70 combined per month.

I started to go through bills and they were all estimates for elec readings. When queried they said that this was because the actual readings from Siemens had been thrown out my computer as they appeared to be wrong.
Often, when siemens read our meter they asked if we had had it changed, we always told them NO, but they never asked any more questions.

It now appears that we have stupidly been ignoring the meter readings on the bills and happily paying the direct debits.

On the bill they all estimates and have figure of around 60000 for day rate and 28000 for night rate. Our ACTUAL meter readings of today are day 23058 and night 7385.

They are completely different, so eother they have our meter down as someones elses, OR the only customer reading that previous gave them upon leaving was wrong, and whene our meter was read at much lower figures was thrown out my computer and estimated from figures they thought were correct.

Not sure what I should do, if the meter they have for our address is totally wrong, who;s to say what electricity we have been using as we can;t find the readings we took when we first moved in IS it possible that Siemens would have the readings they had been taking on file so we could prove what usage we had for a year and also prove that the figures they have on file at Powergen are COMPLETELY wrong??

westernpromise

How exactly are Siemens involved in reading Powergen electricity meters?

njm_2

westernpromise wrote:

How exactly are Siemens involved in reading Powergen electricity meters?

They read ours too - on behalf of Powergen, however all our bills show estimated figures.

I'm currently trying to find out if Siemens retain records of our readings as I am trying to sort out my Gas bill with Powergen - their estimate shows us using less than 2 metered units per day, when we have averaged nearly 7 over the last 18 months - see "High Gas Usage?" thread.

f107btx

njm wrote:

They read ours too - on behalf of Powergen, however all our bills show estimated figures.

I'm currently trying to find out if Siemens retain records of our readings as I am trying to sort out my Gas bill with Powergen - their estimate shows us using less than 2 metered units per day, when we have averaged nearly 7 over the last 18 months - see "High Gas Usage?" thread.

Could be your meter is Metric 7 units =2.4 Imperial

njm_2

To contact Siemens you need to phone 0845 300 0046; have your current bills to hand as they will need your Gas Meter Point Reference or Electricity Supply number. You may need to make two calls as they have different departments for Gas and Electricity.

Unfortunately they have no records of our address for either fuel even though a uniformed Siemens man, with Siemens ID and a white van with their Logo has been attending periodically over the last 18 months. They may be able to trace us with a unique identifying code from our power supplier, but I had hoped to have more complete information before approaching Powergen

njm_2

f107btx wrote:

Could be your meter is Metric 7 units =2.4 Imperial

Our meter in metric, unfortunately so is their bill.

AMH82_2

Thanks guys, I will contact Siemens to see if they have our readings on file. I too would like all the facts before contacting powergen, just in case they try to worm their way out of it.
Once this is sorted I shall be looking elsewhere!!

sparkymark_3

Hi folks
See my thread "powergen are a shambles"
Hopefully you will be dealt with better ! (but don`t hold your breath)

AMH82_2

Well, that was a waste of time. Siemens said they will only give out meter readings to energy suppliers, i.e. Powergen. How does that help me when it is Powergen who have been ignoring these meter readings!!
Going to try sending them a detailed e-mail and hope that it is dealt with in the UK.

paul_h

AMH82 wrote:

Well, that was a waste of time. Siemens said they will only give out meter readings to energy suppliers, i.e. Powergen. How does that help me when it is Powergen who have been ignoring these meter readings!!
Going to try sending them a detailed e-mail and hope that it is dealt with in the UK.

You are not alone! Reading your tale was like deja vu for me, the problem I had last year with Powergen/Siemens was uncannily similar...

My (Siemens) meter reader had transposed the two readings, subsequently the Powergen computer rejected the readings. Their answer - create new meter numbers as if the meter had been replaced and reverse the readings so that the duff readings 'fitted in' - the bill actually had R on the readings for 'replacement meter'. Unfortunately, all subsequent correct readings were then also then rejected. What compounded the problem was that Powergen stopped sending me paper bills, moving me onto paperless internet billing without my consent. Whenever I rang Powergen, they insisted that I had had my meter replaced and that I was unable to read a meter correctly... Despite promises to put things right, it went on... and on...


Back to your own problem...

You must find the readings you made when you entered the property. Even if Powergen rejected the readings, they should still have them on file - if you register on the Powergen website so that you can access your account, you can see all the readings that have been made, rejected or estimated, going back quite a few years - not sure exactly how long, but it is a fair while. It might be worth registering to see if your readings are on file, you can find them in the account history - meter readings. If you can find them, make a copy.

Also, if you are concerned that the bill is not for your meter, check that the meter serial numbers on the printed sticker on your own meter match the meter numbers on your bills, under the first column marked 'Meter number'.

Once you have got all the relevant details together, I would definitely go down the detailed email route, the telephone customer services are unbelievably incompetent - after a number of hopeless telephone calls my problem was sorted with one very long email to them which was replied to quickly and the whole mess was sorted out. The person who replied to my email was, I suspect, in the UK.

If there is still a dispute over the readings and they will not accept your readings, tell Powergen to get someone out to check the meter and make sure everything is in order, including the readings - Siemens will be responsible for your meter and will have somone who does this.

Hope this helps, and I hope you can get this sorted out OK!

Cardew

Fortunately I am not with Powergen.

However I wonder if a few people who have been overcharged took Powergen to the small claims court, might it not concentrate minds in the company? It is an inexpensive and easy procedure and Powergen would have to pay your costs.