Swalec

Machiavelli_2

Hi,

I’m currently a customer of SWALEC for both gas and electricity and have had some issues with my meter reading; my last bills showed that I was in £45.35 credit for electric and £988.36 credit for gas. I phoned customer services to get this credit returned to me for the electric this was no problem but on attempting to return the monies from the gas account some irregularities were noticed i.e. for the period of 22 December 2009 to 25 June 2010 my meter reading verified by a SWALEC engineer shows only 11 units of use. Clearly there is a problem but who is liable for this, and what are the rules that govern such an incident?


Regard,

Machiavelli

KimYeovil

If the meter is malfunctioning then you are liable for an estimated use. You can dispute and question the size of the estimate but ultimately you will have to pay a reasoned amount.

anniecave

Assuming you do use a reasonable amount of gas (not that you have gas and only have it attached to one heater that you don't often use or something) then they may replace the meter and then wait for a few months so they know how much you are using then estimate for the faulty meter period. Or they may just estimate depending on previous consumption.

DVardysShadow

Was the reading on 22 December 2009 an actual read or an estimate? If it was an estimate, then there is no reason to suspect that the meter is faulty. Equally, if the meter was misread on 22 December, then there might be no problem with the meter whatsoever.

In your position, I would want them to demonstrate that the meter was seriously in error, before allowing it to be removed, unless they guarantee to accept the readings.