Faulty electric meter - HELP

fountainpen

Hi,
Only since i moved to my present house have i had excessive electric bills.
My last electric provider would not check the meter as i said there may be a problem with it - so i forgot all about it.
I am with the best tarriff for Gas & Electric that i can get and do change to the best deals .Recently in conversation, my NEW current provider commented on Electric usages .
Now i do conserve energy use energy bulbs etc , dont keep stuff on stanby etc .However i was asked if i had underground heating , a heated swimming pool etc( i wish) - this is how high the electric is in my home .The lady said she is getting my electric meter changed as it may well have a fault ?
Out of curiosity what would happen if it was faulty ?The last few years like i said my electric has been through the roof and i have paid some huge bills i know prices have gone up but say the meter is faulty would i get the excess money refunded? The only problem is ive swapped and changed providers.

espresso

It is no good saying that your electric bills are excessive. What is needed is your actual consumption in kWh. Start by turning off the main switch on your consumer unit/fuse box and check that the meter does not increment. Then take daily meter readings at the same time each day and post your figures. Meters do sometimes go faulty but it is fairly easy to check the meter for yourself by using say an electric heater of known wattage for a period of time and reading the meter.

fountainpen

Thanks i will do that my bill for example was £224 for two months - Electric only !

Fire_Fox

fountainpen wrote: »

Hi,
Only since i moved to my present house have i had excessive electric bills.
My last electric provider would not check the meter as i said there may be a problem with it - so i forgot all about it.
I am with the best tarriff for Gas & Electric that i can get and do change to the best deals .Recently in conversation, my NEW current provider commented on Electric usages .
Now i do conserve energy use energy bulbs etc , dont keep stuff on stanby etc .However i was asked if i had underground heating , a heated swimming pool etc( i wish) - this is how high the electric is in my home .The lady said she is getting my electric meter changed as it may well have a fault ?
Out of curiosity what would happen if it was faulty ?The last few years like i said my electric has been through the roof and i have paid some huge bills i know prices have gone up but say the meter is faulty would i get the excess money refunded? The only problem is ive swapped and changed providers.

Thanks i will do that my bill for example was £224 for two months - Electric only !

We really need to know how many KWH you are using and over what period - and this must be based on actual not estimated readings. Energy saving bulbs and standby make very little difference to your bills - expensive items are heating, hot water and the tumble dryer. You don't say what period you are talking about, but energy prices went up by about 50% in a relatively short period, plus we had a very cold winter last year.

Are you sure your immersion is not switched on permanently or has a broken thermostat? Have you tried turning the circuit breaker off for an hour and making sure the meter also stops? Have you tried turning everything off except one item with a known KW use (a plug in heater is often suggested) and seeing what the meter does?

fountainpen

Fire_Fox wrote: »

We really need to know how many KWH you are using and over what period - and this must be based on actual not estimated readings. Energy saving bulbs and standby make very little difference to your bills - expensive items are heating, hot water and the tumble dryer. You don't say what period you are talking about, but energy prices went up by about 50% in a relatively short period, plus we had a very cold winter last year.

Are you sure your immersion is not switched on permanently or has a broken thermostat? Have you tried turning the circuit breaker off for an hour and making sure the meter also stops? Have you tried turning everything off except one item with a known KW use (a plug in heater is often suggested) and seeing what the meter does?

the bill above is the last two month ( until october) Bill is not esitimated .
I dont have an Immersion heater ? ? I have a gas boiler heating system.
The gas bill is fine just the electric is very high .We have had this problem for some time and cant put it down to anything we are "using" overly .The energy provider suggested replacing the meter as apparently it was moved a couple of years ago due to an extention in the property ( before we bought) and they think it may be faulty.

squack

next door neighbour hacked into your supply? maybe a cannabis farm :money:

Fire_Fox

fountainpen wrote: »

the bill above is the last two month ( until october) Bill is not esitimated .
I dont have an Immersion heater ? ? I have a gas boiler heating system.
The gas bill is fine just the electric is very high .We have had this problem for some time and cant put it down to anything we are "using" overly .The energy provider suggested replacing the meter as apparently it was moved a couple of years ago due to an extention in the property ( before we bought) and they think it may be faulty.

You are being very vague. Exactly two months to the day? Until the start of October or the end? The bill you mentioned is in £££s we need KWH. Are you certain there isn't an electric immersion switch on the gas boiler? You wouldn't be the first to not realise that it was switched on.

espresso

fountainpen wrote: »

I am with the best tarriff for Gas & Electric that i can get and do change to the best deals ..

So you must know who your supplier is, what tariff you are on and how much you are paying per kWh then?

fountainpen wrote: »

the bill above is the last two month ( until october) Bill is not esitimated .

So how many kWh did you use in the last two months?

fountainpen wrote: »

The energy provider suggested replacing the meter as apparently it was moved a couple of years ago due to an extention in the property ( before we bought) and they think it may be faulty.

So why haven't you agreed to them changing the meter then?

fountainpen

espresso wrote: »

So you must know who your supplier is, what tariff you are on and how much you are paying per kWh then?

So how many kWh did you use in the last two months?


So why haven't you agreed to them changing the meter then?

I have agreed to them removing the meter and changing it !
I have had the bills worked out price per kWh the point i am making is that the usage is High ! We are on Excessive usage .The electric company think we have a faulty meter .What i want to know if the meter is faulty because i have changed energy providers so many times whom is responsible for reimbursement if the electric meter is faulty?

Premier_2

fountainpen wrote: »

...the point i am making is that the usage is High ! ...

How high is high?

Why are you apparently reluctant to quantify this, and why don't you seem to want to tell us what supplier & tariff you are on, and how much they are charging you per unit?

fountainpen

Premier wrote: »

How high is high?

Why are you apparently reluctant to quantify this, and why don't you seem to want to tell us what supplier & tariff you are on, and how much they are charging you per unit?

Hi Reluctant .
Im not asking regarding tarriffs etc .

I would like to know as per my per my original post if the meter were faulty which the electricity company suspect this and are coming to fit a new one.
Then would i have any moneys refunded who is liable.I have all my bills .I gave a quick example above which works out correct on kWh used but an excessive amount .Everything has been checked around the home since my post .An electrician does suspect the meter is at fault .