My electricity meter is supplying two flats

CandyBar_2

macman wrote: »

Call the emergency number and tell them that you believe someone has tampered with the wiring and that it's a safety hazard (you don't have to specify when it was tampered with)?
The emergency crew would then refer it back to someone who maybe has a clue.

I think I'd be calling my DNO (as opposed to my supplier) then - is this OK?

wuckfit

CandyBar wrote: »

And then say I made a mistake when they turn up and find this is not the case? (this also goes against everything I have told them in my 10+ calls...)

your meter is the prepayment meter. it's being bypassed, you suspect by an under-rated cable. that's all you need to tell them.
and it IS the case. you've made no mistake.

DVardysShadow

Actually looking at it all, I think this could all have happened due to negligence and miscommunication rather than malice.

It looks to me as though the whole premises were originally on the prepayment meter. As part of the conversion to flats, probably switches 1 and 2 were installed and the new credit meter - to avoid having to feed the meter while the conversion was on going. Hence the small cable from switch 1 to switch 2. Ultimately the intention could have been to replace the prepay meter and connect up switch 2 permanently. It looks tome that this step was missed.

CandyBar_2

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Actually looking at it all, I think this could all have happened due to negligence and miscommunication rather than malice.

It looks to me as though the whole premises were originally on the prepayment meter. As part of the conversion to flats, probably switches 1 and 2 were installed and the new credit meter - to avoid having to feed the meter while the conversion was on going. Hence the small cable from switch 1 to switch 2. Ultimately the intention could have been to replace the prepay meter and connect up switch 2 permanently. It looks tome that this step was missed.

Well, yes I suspect that the bypass was installed by builders. But the fact that the previous occupants of the two flats did not correct it/report it *is* malice. Also I don't think the two flats were on the same meter: I was told that the new credit meter replaced an existing meter (in 2005), so there have been two meters for a while... (and indeed as far as I know the flats have been split for a long time too)

Premier_2

CandyBar wrote: »

The material gain is due to the fact that until I moved in there was no record of this (credit) meter, so nobody was paying for the consumption on this meter.

CandyBar wrote: »

...When I moved into the flat none of the electricity companies had any record of any meters for this flat. I had to give my chosen supplier the MPAN of the meter in the cupboard downstairs for them to create an account based off that (and initially they refused to believe I had the right MPAN as this MPAN was apparently registered to a meter in another flat in another location). They then had someone visit the flat to confirm the initial reading and that my flat was indeed supplied by this meter...

It seems somewhat incredible to me that:
(a) when the person came out to check the MPAN of the meter, they did not spot the suspect wiring that was instantly recognised by my many non-professionals here on MSE as soon as you posted the photograph.
(b) I'm not sure how they checked the meter for the MPAN (The meter point administration number). That is not on the meter. The meter only includes a meter serial number ... something entirely different.
(c) the company are not around immediately to ensure no more illegal gains are obtained now that they are aware of the tampering that appears to be evident.
Normally their Revenue Protection team are around, usually accompanied by the Police too, who may well have questions of their own they would like answering.

CandyBar_2

Premier wrote: »

It seems somewhat incredible to me that:
(a) when the person came out to check the MPAN of the meter, they did not spot the suspect wiring that was instantly recognised by my many non-professionals here on MSE as soon as you posted the photograph.
(b) I'm not sure how they checked the meter for the MPAN (The meter point administration number). That is not on the meter. The meter only includes a meter serial number ... something entirely different.
(c) the company are not around immediately to ensure no more illegal gains are obtained now that they are aware of the tampering that appears to be evident.
Normally their Revenue Protection team are around, usually accompanied by the Police too, who may well have questions of their own they would like answering.

I unfortunately don't know how so many people can be so incompetent, but anyway, I've just got off the phone with EDF, and while they wouldn't put me through to RPS (even though I specifically asked for them to do so), claiming that they are a very small dept, this time I did not get into specifics (despite the woman asking -- I'm tired of speaking to the same people so unless I speak to someone in a different dept I'm not getting into the details again :P) and just said that my meter was being bypassed and that there was a safety issue (meter tails hanging out of meter), and the woman eventually told me that someone from RPS would be visiting me as soon as possible today. Not sure they'll actually make it today, but this is progress.

CandyBar_2

...When I moved into the flat none of the electricity companies had any record of any meters for this flat. I had to give my chosen supplier the MPAN of the meter in the cupboard downstairs for them to create an account based off that (and initially they refused to believe I had the right MPAN as this MPAN was apparently registered to a meter in another flat in another location). They then had someone visit the flat to confirm the initial reading and that my flat was indeed supplied by this meter...

Premier wrote: »

It seems somewhat incredible to me that:
(a) when the person came out to check the MPAN of the meter, they did not spot the suspect wiring that was instantly recognised by my many non-professionals here on MSE as soon as you posted the photograph.
(b) I'm not sure how they checked the meter for the MPAN (The meter point administration number). That is not on the meter. The meter only includes a meter serial number ... something entirely different.
(c) the company are not around immediately to ensure no more illegal gains are obtained now that they are aware of the tampering that appears to be evident.
Normally their Revenue Protection team are around, usually accompanied by the Police too, who may well have questions of their own they would like answering.

Sorry, I actually meant they had to create an account based on the serial number I gave them, not the MPAN. I never really figured out what went on which led to the credit meter not being correctly registered in their database (and therefore not being billed), and then them thinking that the meter with the serial number I gave them was fitted in a different location. Someone I spoke to at EDF did say that serial numbers are not unique, so that could explain why they had a record of a meter with that serial number in a different location, but this seems rather strange: surely serial numbers should be unique?!

Cardew

You really are wasting your time on the phone! Call centre staff are not qualified(or interested) to deal with the problem. It is 100% certain that there will be issues over whom said what to whom!

You really do need to write - an email followed by a snail mail letter - expressing your concerns that there is both safety and fraud issues here and if they do not deal with it immediately you will contact the council.

CandyBar_2

A guy from RPS finally came. Immediately after he found out what the situation was he looked quite disappointed/frustrated as he said that the term 'bypassed meter' has a very specific meaning and only applies when someone is consuming electricity which is not going through a meter. However despite this he was very helpful and gave me lots of advice.

He offered to remove my prepayment meter so that I can have EDF fit another (credit) meter directly, and I accepted. He also advised me that I do *not* need an installation certificate; instead I need a periodic inspection report (PIR), which is what I thought (and basically I need to argue with the call-centre monkey if they say otherwise ). He advised me to:

a) Get an electrician to come and do a PIR
b) Get this electrician to take the wire which connects switch 1 & 2, disconnect the switch 2 end, and put it into a double pole block. Then connect two meter tails from this double pole block to switch 2. This means I still have electricity via the old arrangement, but via a double pole block.
c) Send EDF the PIR and get them to come and fit a new meter
d) The person who fits the new meters will then remove the two meter tails from the double pole block (or I guess I can do that just before they arrive), and put them into a brand new meter.
e) That should be it

The RPS guy also took a photo or two, took down the details of the meter he had removed and the meter he left, and the name of the ground floor flat tenant. So I think he has everything adequately documented.

Slow progress, but progress nonetheless

molerat

I suppose from his point of view bypassing the meter means using unmetered electricity. In this case it was using metered electricity except no one was paying for it. Now all you have to do is sort out your bills which I can see being another struggle, take daily readings once the new meter is installed to use as evidence for the corrections.