Is my gas meter running too fast?

nic7_2

Hi all,

Story is this: I'm with British Gas paying monthly for dual fuel. No dispute with the electric, just the gas.
I went away from the 15th December to the 14th January. I submitted meter readings on the 13th December and again on the 14th January. When I left on the 15th, I turned the gas and electric off at the mains and switch board, respectively.
I got my bill today for £45, gas alone is £30. I called British Gas and asked how they calculated this seeing as I was only in the house 2 days over the billing period and he accused me of using £30 of gas in the 2 days before I left! I told him this was definitely not the case and I was highly offended. With the tariff I'm on, it's impossible even if I had the heat on full to spend £30 in less than 48 hours. I'm refusing to pay, my last bill came in at £100 when we had used electric heaters opposed to the gas as it's costing so much. The only thing using gas is the central heating. The radiator in the spare room and bathroom are permanently turned off.
I called British Gas again and told them this other wonderful fact - from when I read my meter on Sunday until today, Thursday, the meter is saying I've used 66 units! The meter is practically whirring round when I watch it. I did think perhaps the neighbours were using the gas but I'm not so sure, I think the meter itself is to blame.
It's a new metric one, the bills are being charged in the metric units and it was fitted in 2010.
I'm completely at a loss. We're low income but it seems not low enough to get any help with this. Can anybody suggest what the problem is and what I might do? I've called the energy ombudsman who were very helpful in giving me email addresses etc. for British Gas but said unless this goes on for 8 weeks or unless they send a letter stating they won't help me, they can't help either.

espresso

The one common thing in your post is that you submitted these readings - are you sure that you are reading the meter correctly? Please post your meter readings for Sunday and today.

HappyMJ

How many units did you use on the January bill? British Gas charge a higher unit rate on the first 2,680kWh per year. Over 1 month that would be charged on the first 20 cubic metres and cost £20.

nic7_2

hi

for Sunday was 01228 and for today was 01295.

December was 01181 when read on the 13th and Sunday 01228. You can see how much it has gone up without me even being here

HappyMJ

nic7 wrote: »

hi

for Sunday was 01228 and for today was 01295.

December was 01181 when read on the 13th and Sunday 01228. You can see how much it has gone up without me even being here

The bill is correct then. Over the past few days since Sunday how much and at what setting have you had the heating on? How big is your house? What sort of boiler do you have? Model/type/size? Using 150kWh of gas per day is not impossible. It's 6.25kWh of gas each hour. If your boiler is 80% efficient that's less than 5kWh of useful heat per hour. 24/7 of heating since Sunday and some hot water and that's about right.

jalexa

nic7 wrote: »

I'm refusing to pay,

To look at this in black and white terms, the meter reading is proof positive of consumption and you must either pay the bill or challenge the accuracy of the meter by demanding a test and being liable for the test fee if the meter is found to be accurate, which statistically is "very probable".

That is your call. The forum can help if you provide answers to all the specific questions asked but refusing to pay the bill and doing nothing is not a sensible option.

GuessWhoDIB

Can You Smell Gas , No Pay Yer Bill , Youve Used it

jalexa

nic7 wrote: »

my last bill came in at £100 when we had used electric heaters opposed to the gas as it's costing so much.

Something you said in your OP. You seem to be saying that you had a previous concern about high gas cost (or usage)?

If so, is the most recent episode just a repeat? There as some tests you can do yourself as a first step. See this thread...https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/50223803#Comment_50223803

bentalos

Your all being very nieve, Im and electrician and im currently in dispute with british gas because my electricity meter is doubling my actual usage. I attached a check meter to the tails going into the meter to see exactly what i am using, however the meter is actually recording double my usage. Also different manufacturers only guarentee a certain level of accuracy on thier meters and British Gas wont tell you what the accuracy is. British gas now want me to pay £200 for the privallege of a check meter so they themselve can decide if they are ripping me off. The situation is rediculous Ive already proved they are recording double my usage now im supposed to pay them to rectify the problem.

chanz4

bentalos wrote: »

Your all being very nieve, Im and electrician and im currently in dispute with british gas because my electricity meter is doubling my actual usage. I attached a check meter to the tails going into the meter to see exactly what i am using, however the meter is actually recording double my usage. Also different manufacturers only guarentee a certain level of accuracy on thier meters and British Gas wont tell you what the accuracy is. British gas now want me to pay £200 for the privallege of a check meter so they themselve can decide if they are ripping me off. The situation is rediculous Ive already proved they are recording double my usage now im supposed to pay them to rectify the problem.

Are you aware that your not permitted to attach or even touch the meter or before, been an electrician you should be aware that you can only touch on the consumer tails side.

Are you sure you didn't just attach an energy monitor

Terrylw1

bentalos wrote: »

Your all being very nieve, Im and electrician and im currently in dispute with british gas because my electricity meter is doubling my actual usage. I attached a check meter to the tails going into the meter to see exactly what i am using, however the meter is actually recording double my usage. Also different manufacturers only guarentee a certain level of accuracy on thier meters and British Gas wont tell you what the accuracy is. British gas now want me to pay £200 for the privallege of a check meter so they themselve can decide if they are ripping me off. The situation is rediculous Ive already proved they are recording double my usage now im supposed to pay them to rectify the problem.

That's illegal. So, I wouldn't admit to that.

Why fit a check meter, can't they do a Standard Load Test (SLT) which will prove the speeding? The check meter is the next stage if the SLT doesn't prove anything and you still dispute it.

The accuracy of meters is nothing to do with suppliers, its published...see here.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1566/contents/made