Help needed with pre-payment meter-Any engineers or anyone with knowledge of them?

sarah03_2

I am currently locked in a battle with n-power and banging my head against a brick wall.to cut a long story short I was a customer of theirs and paying for my electricity on a token meter, this was changed in Jan 08 to a key meter - after speaking with my current supplier 2 weeks ago it would seem that the meter installed was incorrect and designed for economy7 customers, (i am not on economy7), i argued that I have been over charged etc...I have spoken with consumer direct and energy ombudsman(they won't take the complaint on until it is 8weeks old), My question is: do anyone know if it is possible for a customer to be charged a correct single rate on a dual meter? n-power say yes it is, consumer direct say that it is not - the engineer who changed the meter last week also said it was not possible, n-power say that all information, price changes etc on done on the key - if that is the case why would I notice a massive difference in a week of having my meter changed?
thanks in advance to anyone with the knowledge - didn't know where else to look for the info'
xxx

Pink_fluff

Im a bit confused by your thread. At first you say the meter installed was Econony 7 and then later on in the post you ask if it's possible to be charged a single rate tariff on a 2 rate meter?

To simplify things: What tariff are you meant to be on and what tariff are you actually paying at the moment?

sarah03_2

i'm not on economy 7 but the meter which was installed was designed for e7 customers so the wrong meter was installed - npower have told me to prove incorrect meter was installed! I obviously can't prove that and my current supplier will not put in writing that it was incorrect meter although they verbally told me it was wrong - i'm now on a single rate meter so am being charged a normal rate

credit_crunch_victim

count yourself lucky our electricity meter has been on the economy 7 tarrif since 1991
i have spoken to consumer direct and eon and it is a waste of time you get passed pillar to post

SwanJon

sarah03 wrote: »

My question is: do anyone know if it is possible for a customer to be charged a correct single rate on a dual meter? n-power say yes it is, consumer direct say that it is not - the engineer who changed the meter last week also said it was not possible, n-power say that all information, price changes etc on done on the key

Is your new meter white with a blue button? (Will probably say KBD on it somewhere)
In which case, yes it can look and be wired like a 2 rate meter but function like a 1 rate meter. You can check this by pressing the blue button. I'm fairly sure if you have screens C & D (Date & Time) then it is set up as 2 rate. Suppliers can change this through your key.
Bit worrying the engineer isn't aware of that, but I suppose it's not really part of his job to know.

sarah03 wrote: »

paying for my electricity on a token meter, this was changed in Jan 08 to a key meter ....why would I notice a massive difference in a week of having my meter changed?

When was the token meter last programmed with the correct prices? If it was a while before the exchange it is likely you were paying at old (reduced) rates, and are now paying the right price on the key meter. Your supplier may also be asking you to catch up by putting a debt on the meter.

CloudedPearl

Being on a 2 rate (Economy 7) tariff rather than a 1 rate (Domestic) tariff is not necessarily to your disadvantage. Economy 7 is generally intended for customers with electric storage heating and, for a slightly higher standing charge than a Domestic tariff, gives a cheap (usually half-price) rate for electricity used during a 7 hour night period at some point between 11pm and 8am (the exact times being at the discretion of the local electricity distribution company, regardless of who your supplier is) with the day rate being marginally higher than the normal Domestic tariff rate - the idea being that your storage heating (the majority of your usage) will charge during the cheaper night rate period.

However, customers without storage heating who use at least 20% of their total electricity usage during the night period will benefit from being on an Economy 7 tariff rather than a Domestic tariff as the lower night rate charged for their night usage will offset the (slightly) higher standing charge. For those without storage heating that are not night owls, a higher usage on the night rate can be achieved by using the delay timer device on high usage appliances such as tumble dryers, washing machines and dishwashers (taking account, of course, of the safety issues of such appliances operating unattended during the night if you are in bed).

The best way to work out if you have been disadvantaged by being on an Economy 7 tariff rather than a Domestic tariff is to check your supplier's current Domestic tariff rate and Economy 7 tariff rates. Then, find out how many day and night units you have used over a given period and multiply these against the Economy 7 tariff rates. Add up both the day and night rate units and multiply these against the Domestic tariff rates (as all units would have been charged at had you been on a one rate tariff) and compare the difference - if you would have been cheaper on a Domestic tariff, your supplier should rebill your total usage for the disputed period on a Domestic tariff to ensure you are not disadvantaged.

dunloadin

I fit meters and may be able to clarify some of your concerns.

Firstly, the majority of token meters I see have tariffs that are years out of date, hence when the meter is replaced and the prices are brought up to speed folk get a bit of a shock at the additional expense. You can end up with a bill for the electricity you have used to pay for the difference, some suppliers just write the accumulated debt off.

Key meters come in several sizes and shapes, to comment on yours with the details provided is difficult. The basic meter has four terminals, meters used in Eco7 systems have five. It is possible to programme either meter with a single or multi-rate tariff, either by the engineer using a handheld gizmo or the supplier sending the info down to the key when you use it at a pay point.

There are other tariffs out there, Eco10, Comfort Plus, Total Control etc, that require non-standard meters, not every supplier supports or caters for these systems and all sorts of problems occur when they try to.

What sort of heating do you have? as this tends to influence the type of meter you require. If you can describe the heating system in your property it will greatly help in letting you know what type of meter you should have and what tariff you should be on.

I'm not going to get into the Eco7 v Single rate argument, if you have storage heaters you need eco; if you don't and your a bit of a night owl and find benefit from it great....but most folk don't from what I see.

dizziblonde

If your old meter was one of the kind that took those cardboard tokens it was probably underset so charging much less for your electricity than it should have been (my old one I know was underset to quite amusing levels). Do a quick check on the settings of your meter (keep pressing the blue button - it'll go through a lot of different screens of numbers) and make sure they haven't set a price increase debt on there when they changed it over - I know the company I used to work for were trying to pull that stunt off (one reason I left).

Garz

sarah03 wrote: »

My question is: do anyone know if it is possible for a customer to be charged a correct single rate on a dual meter?

Yes. The just add rates 1 and 2 (assuming this is what the current meter reads) and treat it as a single rate.