Check your meter serial number!!

lemontart

apurplemind wrote: »

I used to work for Transco and one of the jobs I did was dealing with 'crossed meters'. I would get a request from a supplier to check some properties out. An engineer would visit give me the details and then I would correct the details. Sounds so much easier than now!

I now work for a company installing utilities for housing developments, and quite often we will arrange for meters to be installed and the developer will decide that as a plot has been sold, and not currently with a meter they move them to suit. Or the meter is reported as stolen (either by someone moving the meter to suit their needs) or by someone wanting a meter to fiddle their gas/elec bills.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

With the stolen mtr issue gas suppliers often report them to the gas emergency service who then send an engineer to check for safety and ensure all is safe if mtr has been stolen the supply is capped and we advise the caller regardless of who they are that the theft be reported to the police as the supplier will want both the emergency job number and crime ref number so they can then arrange for a new mtr to be installed.

Also the meter may have had to be replaced for safety reasons or if faulty and the correct serial number then needs to trickle through the myriad of databases and of course there is the change of mtr due if the supplier feels it is past its best and needs replacing,

Henry_Hoover_2

I have done all that you suggested, but I just keep going round in circles.

As my electricity was with eon, I switched to N-Power, and switched the gas aswell, ensuring that I gave the correct meter serial number. They said that it doesn't matter about previous mix-ups, they will make sure they record the correct serial number....

I did get a bill from British gas this morning, addressed to someone else, but to my address, for gas supplied at number xx... the mind boggles!

Henry_Hoover_2

1. Transco no longer exists now National Grid
2. National Grid do not hold the main data base of supplier and meter details that is a company called xoserve

I wasn't sure of the correct name, which is why I said "the main database"... It was Xoserve that gave me my MPAN number, which was actually the one for the apartment upstairs. Gas compaines say contact Xoserve to get it corrected, Xoseve say contact the gas company etc etc.

anniecave

Ok Henry - who do Xoserve say is your supplier?
I would then call them up again and see if they can locate your details (under the mpr number).

If they can't I'd just put the money aside and wait. Eventually they will get around to billing you.

Oh and under the "supercomplaint", suppliers can only bill back up to 12 months, so if it goes on for more than a year then you will be getting free gas!

lemontart

Henry_Hoover wrote: »

I wasn't sure of the correct name, which is why I said "the main database"... It was Xoserve that gave me my MPAN number, which was actually the one for the apartment upstairs. Gas compaines say contact Xoserve to get it corrected, Xoseve say contact the gas company etc etc.

Mpan ? so the electricity mtrs details were recorded incorrectly then ?

Mpan - is the electricity version of the mprn number which identifies the property to supplier and is unique to property, serial number is unique to the meter and identifies the meter to supplier

samtheman1k

I've had great deal of hassle trying to sort out a similar problem with Npower, they just don't believe you when you tell them! It's taken dozens of letters, emails and calls. The only way I have found is just to follow their complaints procedure and eventually it goes to someone high enough up who will sort it, even if it's the ombudsman!

Henry_Hoover_2

Sorry, its been going on so long, i'm getting confused! I had an issue with electricity, apparently my address didn't exist (EON had every other apartment on their database, but not mine, even though a pre-payment meter was installed... long story, thats where I got confused and mentioned the mpan number)

Xoserve say the gas supplier is BG, but BG supply the apartment upstairs, under my serial number.

Southern Electric supply my apartment, but to the apartment upstairs' serial number...

The partment upstairs is empty (has a repossession notice stuck on their door) so I can't ask them if they know whats going on.

No-one will set me up an account until it's sorted. BG say go to Xoserve, Xoserve say go to BG. SE said they will sort it, but everytime I rang, they said someone will get back to me (never did).

So I switched to NPower in March, giving the correct serial number. Now its a case of waiting for a bill... I've been living here since December, so have been putting money aside for the bill, and taking regular meter readings.

It has been quite stressful, and I have no idea how the meters got mixed up. They are all in a communal room in the basement, but are clearly labelled with each apartment number!