A Retrospective Price Rise?

vax2002

The new tariff will be encoded in to the number of your first top up after october the 1st, all key, token meters have the tariff set by the key/ pass number/ token
To avoid, run the credit down you already have on, they wont be able to charge the new rate as the meter charges the rate and it wont be calibrated with the new rate.
Very important that word (calibrated) with any meter or measurement device, you can only legally charge at the rate the device is calibrated at.
So a butcher can not charge you £15 for the scales saying £10 claiming the scales need updating..same applies with any measurement device that sets tarrif.
It wont stop the utilities companies trying it on, but they would not dare go near any court with such an argument.
If they dont like it up em, they could always send someone round to calibrate the meter on Oct the 1st.

MrsBartolozzi

vax2002 wrote: »

The new tariff will be encoded in to the number of your first top up after october the 1st, all key, token meters have the tariff set by the key/ pass number/ token
To avoid, run the credit down you already have on, they wont be able to charge the new rate as the meter charges the rate and it wont be calibrated with the new rate.
Very important that word (calibrated) with any meter or measurement device, you can only legally charge at the rate the device is calibrated at.
So a butcher can not charge you £15 for the scales saying £10 claiming the scales need updating..same applies with any measurement device that sets tarrif.
It wont stop the utilities companies trying it on, but they would not dare go near any court with such an argument.
If they dont like it up em, they could always send someone round to calibrate the meter on Oct the 1st.

Does that mean that if he charged up the meter with say, 3 month's worth of money on the 30th September (meaning no need to insert more credit til January) he won't have to pay the increased rate until January?

eurmalian

vax2002 wrote: »

Very important that word (calibrated) with any meter or measurement device, you can only legally charge at the rate the device is calibrated at.

Actually, there is already a precedent to say otherwise. Old electronic token meters (where you topped up by buying a cardboard token in a shop and putting that into the meter, rather than by key or card) could not have the price updated except by an engineer visit. By the time these got replaced with key meters some were charging at prices several years out of date. I believe that at least a few suppliers successfully charged the difference to customers as the prices that you should be paying are set and published, the ammount you have used is official and recorded, so an out of date price on the meter does not change the ammount that you actually owe. I think the one year back billing rule may have also applied, though I'm not sure on that part.

And that's without any evidence that could be brought forward about meter stacking prior to a price increase. Remember that suppliers can see your full purchase history so it's very obvious when you've suddenly changed that to avoid a price change.

vax2002

Any precedent would only apply to any meter that does not have the tariff set at point of sale.
The case law on weights and measures takes up two whole rooms at the Legal library.
You can not measure tariff on a calibrated meter and charge a separate price later, with anything.
However it does not stop utility companies sending an invitation to pay the higher rate or using debt collectors to press for payment for the invitation.
So yes they can harass the living daylights out of you, but they wont get very far in obtaining a correctly defended CCJ claim.
However loading the meter, could be seen as obtaining services by deception, so that would be a grey area best avoided.

example, you fill you car with £40 of petrol, the point of sale, is the till in the garage, the garage can not decide that fuel cost has now risen to £50 and demand £50 claiming the pump has not yet been calibrated.
The utility companies are well within rights to calibrate their own equipment, if they are to rely upon the customer to do so then the new tariff becomes enforceable upon calibration.

eurmalian

I'm not sure it's quite that cut and dried. Customers are sent a letter with the new prices and can check the screen with the current prices on the meter to see if they match. That already takes it away from your petrol station analogy. It's like a petrol station with a big sign outside saying 'All petrol is £5 a litre' and one pump set incorrectly at £4. If you then fill your car with 10 liters (your above mentioned £40) then they might have more of a case to charge you £50 rather than just the £40.

Edit: I've also checked a few suppliers T&Cs, and what they say is that the price you should pay is the announced price on the suppliers price list. They don't say that the price for your fuel is the price on your meter. If it was the other way round then charging the difference would be impossible, but this way it could be done.

Even if it was provable in court though, I very much doubt any supplier would bother about a customer taking an extra week or two to pick up the new prices.