Help - metric meter misery?

kingkenny77

As my gas provider wants to up my monthly DD to cover my gas usage, I became slightly concerned that our cost is going up and up. This prompted me to finally sit down and look at how this is calculated. I have enquired about my high costs on a number of occassions but just could not see anything wrong with what they were telling me.

However, when I looked at the calcs used to calc kWhs, I noticed that they times the units used by 2.83, so I asked myself why.

Apparently this is a conversion factor for imperial into metric. Ok, so i looked at my meter and its definately metric, reads in m3.

It now appears to me that I am being over charged quite considerably. I dont really know what to do as this has been going on since I moved into my home over 6 years ago. Have I got the above wrong or am I missing something? Can any one offer some advise?

I have all my bills since i moved in, and they all look excessive.

any help, just to talk this over with someone on here would be great.

thanks

Vestra

Take a note of your gas meter serial number sound like it is a 5 dial and you are being billed for a 4 dial. Call you gas supplier with the meter serial number and ask them to amend their computer. And do this for every supplier you've been with in that house.

This is a common problem and people are being overcharged a lot!

Magentasue

kingkenny77 wrote: »

It now appears to me that I am being over charged quite considerably.

thanks

I'm not sure why you think this. An approx conversion from metric units to kwh is to multiply by 11 - 100 units = 1100kwh. Roughly.

Suppliers use a more complicated formula that gives an accurate conversion but x11 will do to see if you really are being over charged.

Cardew

As indicated above, if you have all your bills all you need to do is multiply the gas units used by 11 to work out if you have been charged for the correct number of kWh.

Ensure your meter hasn't been changed in that period though - there is a program to exchange the old Imperial(cubic feet) meters for metric.

kingkenny77

ok so the last period of my bill I used 41 units.

41 x 11 = 451 approx (kWh)

to be more accurate:

41 x 1.022640 x 40.3 / 3.6 = 469 kWh

However, Scottish Power calculate and charge me as follows:

41 x 2.83 x 1.022640 x 40.3 / 3.6 = 1328 kWh

Now can you understand why I think I am being over charged? Or do I have this totally wrong??

espresso

You are indeed being billed incorrectly if you have a metric (M3) meter. The 2.83 x should only be used for imperial meters (100's of cu Ft).

Cardew

As said above, you are being billed for an Imperial meter.

You don't say when, or for how long, your last period of a bill was for, but 451kWh is a tiny amount - about £12 or so.

Have you had a metric meter for the whole 6 years you have been in the house? or has the meter been changed recently?

Again, as said above, this is a pretty common mistake - especially after a meter change.

Have you checked the serial number of your meter against the serial number on the bill?

kingkenny77

yeah it was for a 10 day period if I remember so, just at the end of the bill. I just used this as reference, but all is the same throughout the bills.

Thinking of it now, when I first called SP back in early 2003 to give them a meter reading, they said it must be wrong as if it was correct then someone would owe thousands. The it turned out that the meter had been changed in 2002 and they did not have this updated on their account.

The more i think about this, the more it makes sense now! Anyone got any ideas how I should approach SP about this? I have set up a speadsheet and have calculated that I have paid more than £700 too much since end of 2005 alone.

Cardew

Write to them and set out the circumstances. Don't ring them or you will be fobbed off.

Just ask for the bills to be recalculated as a metric meter and get a refund.

With any luck they may refund you at 2008 prices rather than trying to apportion consumption at the various prices from 2003 until now.

Wait to see their response first.

urbtaf

Kingkenny77 welcome to the club. We turned off our central heating 2 years ago because we couldnt afford the bills.
Just before Xmas I found out (after spending about 3 weeks learning about how to calculate energy) that I was being billed for a imperial meter when I have a metric one, just like you. This goes back to 2003, the date of meter change is written on the meter on a white strip, sometimes the date has faded but gently wipeing with ink will fill the impresion and make it readable.
I reacon I have been paying about 3 times what I should have for about 5 years.
It has caused us a lot of distress and also we have used more electric than we should as we have been useing oil filled heaters just to survive.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Im with the utility warehouse for the last 2 years, and N-power before that.
I phoned the utility warehouse, giving them the number on the meter they confirmed it was a metric meter and that we were being charge as if it was imperial.
I then informed then that I was stopping the DD and will not pay them anything till this is sorted, and any comunication must be in writing. With N-power I have informed them by phone and dont expect much responce in view of there reputation!
The anoying thing is that we have had several "experts" out to find out why we are useing so much gas. The meter has been read many times, and noone has spotted the problem.
I will post when anything happens about this as I get the feeling that many others are in the same boat

auntynet

Hi everyone - I'm Mrs Urbtaf.

Just to tell you that today we've been filming our story for BBC1's Watchdog programme and it will be aired next monday (12th January).

Have to say that I hope Watchdog go easy on Utilities Warehouse as they have been very helpful and have promised to refund our money :T - we are asking for compo but don't know if we'll get any.

Its also interesting to know that we've been having this problem for about 5 years and NPower haven't done anything to help us - but today, after receiving a letter from Watchdog,:rolleyes: we get a phone call from one of the bigwigs in their complaints dept about it . . . . who's arguement was that its our fault for not telling them that we have a metric meter! :question: :mad: Like we're the gas experts!!!!!