Faulty electricity meter? Using 1000+ kwh/month = £2400/pa?

Cardew

Have you got a digital meter or one with dials?

The latter can be very easy to misread if you don't appreciate that all the pointers do not move in a clockwise direction.

Reading a dial meter
If the pointer falls between two numbers, always read the lower number – in Fig A you would write down the number 4.
If the pointer is directly over a number always record it – in Fig B you would write down the number 5.
If the pointer on a dial falls between 9 and 0, reduce the reading already taken for the dial on the left by one – for example, if your original recorded 5, reduce this to 4.
Following these instructions, the correct meter reading for the dial in the diagram will be 44928.

GMAD

It's a digital meter.

Have been monitoring stats since last week and with heavy (w/machine + tumble dryer + plenty of immersion etc) use, we can clock up 25kwh/day. Probably more than we'd like but still nowhere near the 55kwh they're accusing us of.

I think one of their guys mis-read the meter (it's very low down in a small, dark cupboard) several months ago, e.g. 2/5, 1/7, or 3/8 and subsequently put down a far lower number than should have - hence the gap to last month is massive and the reason EON want us to pay £stupid to get back on track.

HalloweenJack

keep giving them meter readings and ask them to rebill you based on new readings

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi GMAD

Such a large increase is unusual and I can well understand your concern.

Meters can go faulty and the engineer will confirm if there's a problem. If there is, we'll replace the meter and re-bill your account.

Where we have previous usage history, we'll estimate the readings based on this. We'll also back date to the last valid reading before the meter went faulty.

If we don't have these details, we'll base our estimates on the new meter.

We've a specialist department who do these calculations taking into account things like seasonal fluctuations. They'll be happy to talk to you about any concerns you may have with their calculations.

You say we may have mis-read the meter some time ago. If this is the case and the result is a large catch up bill, the usage should settle down again once the readings are back on track.

However, we will not expect you to pay for such a mistake all in one go and will be happy to set up a payment arrangement to spread the balance over a more manageable period.

If the meter isn't faulty and the readings are correct then it looks as though you've used the electricity. In this case, it's important to understand where. There's already some excellent advice on here about ways to check your usage.

We can also help with this. Have a chat to our Consumption Team. Tell them about your property and the appliances used. They will be happy to help you understand where the electricity is going.

Hope this helps GMAD. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

GMAD

Hi Malc

Thanks for your response - I wasn't expecting that at all!

I'll keep an eye on things this week and then call EON to update. I believe the engineer callout IS free, even if the meter isn't at fault. I need confirmation of this because other firms do seem to charge (which is understandable).

We may well have used the energy stated. But if we have then the jump between readings seems totally unrealistic (plus the request to switch from paying £35/m to £115/m!) - even more so given our history over the last 2-3 years (and even before that). Negotiating that amount to something more amenable would certainly be something I'd like to pursue.

Will post an update when I know more.

Thanks

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi GMAD

There's no call out charge for the engineer's visit. Also, if the meter is faulty, there will not be a charge to replace it.

Look forward to hearing what happens.

Malc