Billed for the wrong electricity meter

Sephy_2

Hi,

I moved into an apartment 22 months ago and the agent read my electrcity meter that is kept in a locked cupboard and I was not provided with a key. Based on the previous tenants usage I was told me bill would be set at £45 a month. After 6 weeks of being in the flat I recieved my first bill based on actual readings, this bill was in excess of £300. I rang the company and they basically said it was based on actual readings so that was what I owed so I transferred to an energy advisor who told me I was using an average of 44 units of electricity a day. I talked them through my energy usage and they calculated that it was 21 units so I explained that this was further proof I could not have run up such a bill but that was where there help stopped and I was toldi was obviously using more than I thought. Living alone in my first proeprty I was naive to the amount that electricity would cost so from then on I switched off all the heating within the property and endured a winter in the cold.

5 months ago I recieved a bill explaining that my bill was going up to £152 so once again I got on the phone and this time was told that it had all been based on estimations based on the previous bill. I asked for someone to come and take a reading as I explained that I didn't have a key, I was told that they could not do this and i would have to obtain a key and take a reading myself but she reassured me that due to the information I had provided that I should be facing a much lowwer bill once a reading was taken.

This week I recieved a bill based on actual readings that my bill would now be £368 a month. I am one person living in a 2 bedroom flat, I am out all day at work from 8 - 7pm and spend half the week at my boyfriends, I am also now so energy conscious that my friends and family make jokes about wrapping up warm if coming to my house and making sue all plugs are switched off. I therefore knew it impossible to have run up this bill. I rang my supplier very distraught and explained this, the man was rude and unhelpful and basically told me that it was actual readings and my direct debit had been changed and that it was up to me to prove it wrong! I explained there would not be enough money in my account for that and was told that that would lead to my electricity being switched off and my direct debit being cancelled.

After finally aqcuiring a key I worked out within 5 minutes that the meter I have been charged for is in actual fact someone elses. The numbers have been crudely changed using marker pen but the serial numbers are also wrong. I have calculated that i have paid £1525 in the last 22 months and based on readings taken in the last 5 days believe this to be a vast overpayment. I have taken readings of both meters and the amount used by my actual meter is 31 units and the amount used by the meter I have been paying for is £125 units.

I have reported the matter and taken photos and video evidence. Do the energy company have a legal obligation to provide me with a refund for overpayment?

macman

Yes, if you have been overcharged then you are entitled to a refund. However the usual circumstances of this are that the meter serial nos. don't match the billing nos. (i.e. the meter readings have been allocated to the wrong account-an admin error). In your case it is clearly deliberate fraud, so may take some time to unravel.
It sounds like you have got all your evidence at hand, so let us know how this plays out.
Sounds like your neighbours are growing herbal substances under lights maybe?

ali1917

Hi,

I've just discovered today that I haven't used any electricity since December 2010. I am in the middle of trying to switch from Southern Elec to nPower, wish I hadn't bothered as nPower upped their prices anyway and this month direct debits came out for nPower and Southern elect.
Anyway, I finally called Southern elect today, gave a meter reading and the guy was stunned adn then told me that it's the same reading as the engineer ready in july and then again in december last year.

I'm worried they are now going to try to charge me for a whole year of electricity - any idea what I can do?

I do have photos of meter readings i took on 20 sep and today, possibly previous meter readings too?

thanks
Alison

Superbiatch

I've just had this recently whereby my meter went faulty (due to water damage). Thankfully as its locked in a riser and I have no access to it, there was no insinuation I had anything to do with it

As they couldn't prove what I had used, they charged me nothing. I'm billed on an 'as used' monthly basis normally and it was actually me who flagged it up to them as I'd not had a bill for a while. I'm not actually living in the property at the moment, so expected the bills to be minimal anyway.

I suppose they could look at previous usage although if you've not long changed suppliers I don't suppose thats an option.

macman

ali1917 wrote: »

Hi,

I've just discovered today that I haven't used any electricity since December 2010. I am in the middle of trying to switch from Southern Elec to nPower, wish I hadn't bothered as nPower upped their prices anyway and this month direct debits came out for nPower and Southern elect.
Anyway, I finally called Southern elect today, gave a meter reading and the guy was stunned adn then told me that it's the same reading as the engineer ready in july and then again in december last year.

I'm worried they are now going to try to charge me for a whole year of electricity - any idea what I can do?

I do have photos of meter readings i took on 20 sep and today, possibly previous meter readings too?

thanks
Alison

You will be charged on an estimated basis in these circumstances. This situation can easily be avoided by reading and submitting your own readings at least every 3 months, which is what you are supposed to do-the utiiity co. only has to read your meter once every two years.
You won't be liable for a whole year-only any excess over what has already been paid for on an estimated basis.

ali1917

Hi, thanks for your replies. I talked to both suppliers today; I have told my new suppliers about the problems with the meter and arranged an appointment for a meter exchange, not till 24 November!

Old supplier have offered to charge me from dec - jun, but talking to this guys manager it changed a bit. They also told me that the new supplier couldn't support my meter, they say they can...

What I am left with is poss a £200 bill, what I would like to know is where I stand on this, can they really charge me based on my estimated usage? Surely there is no proof at all of my usage so they can't charge?

And my new supplier, what will happen between now and the meter exchange?!

t0rt0ise

They can charge you on an estimated basis but you are free to negotiate. If you were away some of the time for example or whatever you can get the amount down.

macman

Your ongoing consumption will be measured and an estimate done from that.

ali1917

Thanks all for your replies - the saga continues I'm afraid. I've received the following from Southern Electric, which I believe is pretty good as an outcome, I have to say that it was very stressful getting there, but I was wondering if this seems like a reasonable conclusion or something I should progress further up the chain?? What concerns me most if for people who wouldn't have thought to challenge them initially, which I almost did not too as it's extra hassle at this time of year, but as it was an additional £230ish, I couldn't afford not to do so. It just feels wrong to me?

Also, any advice on the latest with nPower, who are now my suppliers and at the last appointment, they failed to send a suitably qualified engineer to perform the exchange and during my last phone call to them, told me they could 'force entry' into my home. I'm not really doubting they can, however I was completely shaken up and can't believe they threatened to break into my home - it's not like I've repeatedly refused to show up, shown up without skills or not been present when I promised... arrgh, maybe its just me???

Anyways, this is the response from Southern Electric - (I've blanked out peoples names by the way)



"Firstly, I am very sorry you have had cause to complain. We aim to provide a customer service of a high standard at all times, and it is disappointing to learn we have fallen short on this occasion.

When a meter reader calls to a customer’s home to obtain readings, they have no record on their system of previous readings taken. Therefore, they would not been aware the meter had stopped when they called.

I appreciate that when we received your readings for the 27 June 2011 this matter should have been looked into. I assure you we have procedures in place to try and prevent situations of this nature occurring. If we have any concerns regarding actual meter readings, we usually try to contact the customer by telephone or in writing to request confirmation of their readings. I therefore regret, in this instance we did not contact you and I have made the necessary department aware of this situation.

When a meter stops recording, it is usual for the meter to slow down before coming to a stop. Therefore, it is likely your electricity meter slowed down and came to a stop between the 24 June 2010 and 20 December 2010. Looking at your previous usage history, this also suggests this was the case, as your electricity usage was consistent and dropped on all registers during June and December 2010. For your ease of reference, I have detailed previous usage history below:

Dates Days Readings Usage Average Daily usage

20/12/07 – 25/06/08 188 00795 – 01876 (low) 1081 5.75 units per day
00785 – 01951 (normal) 1166 6.20 units per day
00278 – 00632 (stored) 354 1.88 units per day

25/06/08 – 18/12/08 176 01876 – 03169 1293 7.34 units per day
01951 – 02605 654 3.71 units per day
00632 – 00755 123 0.69 units per day

18/12/08 – 25/06/09 189 03169 – 05354 2185 11.56 units per day
02605 – 03266 661 3.49 units per day
00755 – 00953 198 1.04 units per day

25/06/09 – 18/12/09 176 05354 – 06857 1503 8.53 units per day
03266 – 03876 610 3.46 units per day
00953 – 01104 151 0.85 units per day

18/12/09 – 24/06/10 188 06857 – 09604 2747 14.61 units per day
03876 – 04555 679 3.61 units per day
01104 – 01246 142 0.75 units per day

24/06/10 – 20/12/10 179 09604 – 09994 390 2.17 units per day
04555 – 04760 205 1.14 units per day
01246 – 01290 44 0.24 units per day

As you will see from the above, your usage between the 24 June 2010 and 20 December 2010, was approximately three times less than a similar period the previous year.

If a meter stops recording usage, we only have two options when assessing consumption for the period a meter has stopped. We can either carry out the assessment based on the usage recorded on the new meter or we look at the usage on the old meter when it was deemed to be recording usage accurately. In the interest of fairness the assessment should be based on a comparable period of time.

In your case, as we had lost your supply before becoming aware the meter had stopped, we were unable to make arrangements for a new meter to be installed and we only had previous usage history to carry out a reassessment.

I regret that when my colleague provided you with a breakdown of his revised calculations, he included usage up to the transfer date 20 September 2011. I note in your letter you state you were informed we would not bill you for 6 months usage. However, the notes on our records indicate this was for 3 months which would be between June and September 2011. It appears that when nnnn was calculating the charges, he did not take this into consideration, for which I apologise.

Taking into consideration, the average usage recorded on your meter between December 2010 and June 2011, and your payments, nnnn calculated your charges at £81.91 outstanding. Regrettably, no adjustment has been made to your account at this time for the stopped meter charges.

Between January 2011 and October 2011 you made payments by direct debit totalling £362.00. Out of this amount, we have refunded you in total £295.03, this includes the recent refund of £118.90. Therefore, at this time, between 20 December 2010 and 20 September 2011 we have only charged for standing charges, plus VAT.

When the final readings were entered onto your account this produced a bill for £118.90 credit. The readings used at this time were, 4760 (normal), 9994 (low) and 1292 (stored heat energy). From when the meter stopped, we have only billed 2 units at the stored heat rate. When your account was finalised, as the balance was showing £118.90 credit, the system automatically generated a refund, which was approved incorrectly.

In view of the confusion surrounding your account and the poor level of service received, as a gesture of our goodwill we will not be carrying out any further reassessment on your account. I can confirm your final account balance is zero and you should not receive any further correspondence from us regarding any outstanding charges.

Please be assured we take every complaint very seriously, and every complaint is individually investigated to establish the cause of the problem. We particularly note any comments customers make when our service has not been satisfactory and any members of staff who have fallen short on the service they have provided are identified. This matter is then discussed with the individual and appropriate action taken.

I hope that this information helps clarify the present position for you. If you would like to discuss this matter further, or if I can be of any further assistance, please contact me on 0800 072 8613 by the 23 December 2011.

Kind regards

nnnnnnn
Customer Relations