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zephglad

Hello, over a year ago a man from my housing association came and did an 'insulation check'. He was here over 3 hours checking that all the electric sockets and things were safe.

When I received my next electricity bill I didn't read it because I pay £30 a month direct debit and I just file them away.

I now realise, over a year later, having got these bills out, that I have not had to pay for any electricity except the standing charge!

My brother-in-law who is an electrician said that the insulation check man may have inadvertently broken my meter so it no longer registers the electricity running through it.

When I get round to telling the electric company, am I liable to pay for the last year's electric or are they, as my brother-in-law claims, liable 'for maintaining their equipment'?

Can I expect an estimate or will I not have to pay? I'm putting off telling them the meter is broken in case they wallop me with a huge bill.

BargainGalore

Yes you are liable only for what you used. They will probably make assumptions based on your usage over a given time

I cant see how an electrician could do this to your meter as they not allowed to tamper with it under any circumstances as its not yours

The back billing rule wont apply as you have been billed abet only for standing charge

dogshome

Hi zephglad - Report this "Iffy" meter to your supplier NOW

When this sort of thing happens the supplier replaces the meter and issues an 'Estimated Bill' for the power the old one failed to record, based on seasonal records of when it was working.

However if the £30 a month you are paying was enough to pay for your power when the meter was working, you will have built up sufficient credit to clear the 'Estimated' bill

macman

Have you looked at your meter to see if it is still running? Are the bills you are receiving based on estimated readings or actual-when was the meter last read?
Of course you'll have to pay for the electricity you have used if you £30pm doesn't cover it.

zephglad

Thank you for your comments.

The meter reading is the same as it was last November. The meter has been read about twice since then and each time I asked the meter reader if 'everything is ok?' and he nodded. I'm surprised now I look back that he didn't see that it says under the numbers 'Nil'.

I may have been away from home all year for all the supplier knows so I doubt if they will be able to estimate. My brother-in-law, who used to work for the supplier, says they are responsible for the upkeep of their meters and if their meter reader didn't spot it, it's their fault. Because my direct debits kept going out and the bills registered standing charge and I merely glanced at them, it's not my fault either.

I shall write to them and let them know that something is wrong with the meter.

savemoney

Its not just the supplier at fault, but unfortunately some of the blame lies with you for not noticing it.

The energy companies only have to read a meter once every two years I believe so only way they may know something is wrong is your readings being nil but as you said they may think you been away or house empty.

I am not sure how a insulation man could have "inadvertently broken my meter" what the hell did he do? why did he need to be near the meter in first place they are normally sealed I cant see how he could "inadvertently broken my meter" accidental unless he fell of a ladder on top of it or drop a lamp lump hammer

They may estimate based on how many people in house, I doubt you will get of scot free and why should you. Many of us are pro active in making sure we get right bills because money is tight

zephglad

My meter is read every six months and mine was read twice in that time period and yet the meter reader never noticed anything.

I don't know how the electrician broke the meter as I don't understand about these things but my electrician brother-in-law reckons he may have 'blown a fuse' or something. I doubt if he went near the meter. He was fiddling about doing an 'insulation check' for ages, unscrewing all the sockets and poking around. I have no idea what he was doing but it seems odd that the meter stopped registering usage around that time after he was here.

I have contacted the electric supplier and they will send someone round to look at my meter next week.

Thanks for all your comments, some helpful, some abrasive and rude.

macman

The meter reader takes the current reading and logs it against the correct meter no. (well, that's what is supposed to happen). He doesn't know what the reading was 6m ago, and even if it was the same guy, he certainly isn't going to remember it! The meter reading co. passes the reading to the utility co. That's all they do, they're not there to monitor readings for you-that's your job as the customer.
I can see no connection between the 'insulation check' and a meter failing. Blowing a fuse in your CU does not affect the meter, and if the service head fuse has blown you would have had no power at at all. It's purely coincidental.

System

zephglad wrote: »

Hello, over a year ago a man from my housing association came and did an 'insulation check'.
...

My brother-in-law who is an electrician said that the insulation check man may have inadvertently broken my meter so it no longer registers the electricity running through it.

Didn't your brother-in-law explain in more detail what the 'insulation check' actually involves ?

As far as I know (and I'm not an electrician) the tests he made would have included a Mega test which puts thousands of volts around the electricity wires to confirm that the insulation doesn't break down. It is checking the insulation resistance is good (Mega Ohms).
I believe that before he carried out the Mega Test, he should have disconnected the main cables that connect the main consumer unit to the meter thus protecting the meter from the thousands of volts.

Be careful what you say to the electricity supplier, because if they find out that an electrician blew up the meter, then they may hold you liable for the cost of the replacement.

If any electricians are on here, they may be able to confirm or not what I have said ?

Farway

BAA1 wrote: »

Be careful what you say to the electricity supplier, because if they find out that an electrician blew up the meter, then they may hold you liable for the cost of the replacement.

If any electricians are on here, they may be able to confirm or not what I have said ?

I am an electrician, you are correct

However if the chap doing these tests was doing them incorrectly and has somahow damaged your meter then you can be fairly certainly he has done same to everyone else

If he was "meggering" the circuits he would presumably do individual circuits from CU any way, with fuse / breaker removed, you do not "megger" live circuits, well you can once, but it is literally your funeral

hillcats

I am surprised you hadn't noticed this yourself? - Watch the meter like a hawk in future...
I have an online tariff with NPower for dual fuel and I keep my own monthly log of meter readings that I am responsible to the company to provide my own readings on a six monthly basis for billing purposes.

Regarding the meter (or any other parts or seals) being damaged you should have told the supplier the second you noticed something was wrong, I had a seal damaged / removed by an electrician recently as doing some major electrical work and had to remove the main fuse, I immediately told NPower as I didn't want to be accused of anything, they were fine with it and came out the next day to inspect and re-seal.

Honesty is the best policy by a long shot.