EDF - Broken meter

blake7_2

I recently received my first electricity bill (economy 7) from EDF having moved into a new flat in August.

As it seemed a bit high and based on estimated readings I read the meter this morning and discovered that the daytime reading has not changed at all since the initial reading, whereas the night reading has changed (although it's lower than their estimate). I phoned EDF and they said that as the meter is faulty they will re-calculate it based on average daily usage.

I'm wondering how they calculate this and over what period, as they have no previous figures to go on (meter has not been working since day 1). Also, if they base it on current usage it won't take into account the fact that I will be using heating now it's winter and was away on holiday for 4 weeks during that period.

What's the legal position? Can they just come up with a figure when they can't prove I've used any electricity?

thanks!

anniecave

Did you take a meter reading when you moved in? If so then they can prove you've used electricity. It sounds like it is just the timeswitch that is faulty (the timeswitch determines whether the usage goes on the normal or the low register) so in your case, what is reading as the night usage is actually your total usage.
So it's the split between day and night that they will estimate. They will probably use meter readings from before you moved in (from the readings they will be able to determine a point in time past when it was working properly) to estimate the split and I wouldn't think it will be that far out.
Assuming it is just a faulty timeswitch, just check the total they are billing you for is what the reading moved by.
If they use yearly figures, the amount they recalculate will probably work out less than it should be, as when you use the heating, you would use more at night than when you don't use heating, so if they're estimating the non-winter part the estimate will be a bit out.
Wait until the bill comes in and see.

blake7_2

Thanks for your reply. I hadn't thought of the possibility that the night (low) reading is the total reading. I assumed the night reading was correct as it was lower than their estimated night figure, and that the daytime usage has not been recorded at all.

Yes I took a reading when I moved in. As it's a newly built flat they won't have any past figures to base their calculation on. I'm happy to pay for the electricity I've used but I can't see how they or I can come up with an accurate figure! I'll just have to wait and see what they come up with.

cheers

anniecave

if it's a newbuild they will probably use whatever the average split on an e7 meter is. Don't know what that is, possibly 1/3 day and 2/3 night usage but it could be something like that.