Faulty Electric Meter

mbl3

I have been informed by my energy provider that my last two readings that I sent in were the same and that my meter is faulty. They are coming to replace the meter but are saying I will have to back pay once they estimate my use from september! Do i have to pay them what they say I may have used. Can I argue that it is too much? Do I have to pay them at all?

spiro

Do i have to pay them what they say I may have used. - Yes as they will estimated based on your useage.

Can I argue that it is too much? - You can try but it will be difficult.

Do I have to pay them at all? - YES

dogshome

Hi mb13 - Yes you will have to pay for what's been consumed over the meter's dead period and it will be based on "estimated" consumption, but if you have had the account for over a year and have been paying by D/Debit, it should make little difference to your Debit/Credit amount

This Estimate will be based on the historical records of your power consumption for the same period in previous years, and if you have kept your bills, you can estimate it as equally well as the power company can, and for your own peace of mind should do just that If you have not kept the bills, ask your supplier for copies.
If your estimate differs by a significant amount from the providers, or perhaps you were away from home for a month during the period, write to the provider with your figures.

A problem arises if you were not with this provider during the same period 12 months ago, as there is then no historical record of your consumption in winter, and the problem gets even bigger if you are an ECO 7 tariff
In this case, negotiate with the provider to pay a reasonable amount now with the proviso that the amount will be adjusted when your consumption is known for the Sep 2010 - July 2011 period

undaunted

I think it's only fair that you should have to pay them something as you have presumably been using energy during this time haven't you?

As to whether their estimate is realistic (I wouldn't just trust them to get it right / not over estimate myself), as already suggested above you can make your own based on past usage / bills, compare them & take it from there.