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Smart meter - scam? - screen blank
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One day a meter man came to my house and asked to read my electric meter he checked it but was a bit longer than expected (over a minute) , i did not think anything about it and I let him out. My utility company (I won't mention at this stage) emailed me for readings a month or so later, when i went to check my meter the screen was blank .. strange!!!
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
So I then tell my utility company who then (after 2 months) get me a meter man to replace the meter (probably same meter company). But after installing it tells me "we didn't have any normal meters left on the van mate so I've installed you a smart meter"
That's when it all gets interesting, you see I don't receive a proper bill on my consumption for 3-4 months, "waiting on industry data" and re-calculations (as the prices go up, to add to the confusion).
Then eventually I start paying bigger bills (over £300) so I think OK they are catching up 2 months electric and so on. I don't think anything of it then after paying over £800 in less than 8 months I get a whopping bill for over £1100!!!
That was enough for me to start investigating and taking the time out to question this.
That was over 6 months ago a lot has happened that i wont get into with this company (I am going through the ombudsmen with them), but the nux of it is when they took my old meter out they put down a reading which equated to 2 years worth of electric over what i had used!!, (That's a 15,000kw difference in my case!!)
I had to work this out myself by going through all my bills (2 years worth) with a tooth comb. They denied at every stage and said i had got it wrong (my bills averaged at £180 month over a 2 year period), now at last they have admitted liability (they had no choice I had worked out the problem and it was not deniable in the end).
So how many people have not had the time or the inclination to check their bills and just paid this company?
Is there a scam here with the Meter company maybe?, I am not sure I would have to hear from other people to see if there is a pattern but it all seems a bit convenient looking back. (meter breaks, meter replaced, bill goes up, overcharging pays for new meter).
If meters are being replaced by smart meters who pays for this?, we are told they are free.
Please give me your thoughts.
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
So I then tell my utility company who then (after 2 months) get me a meter man to replace the meter (probably same meter company). But after installing it tells me "we didn't have any normal meters left on the van mate so I've installed you a smart meter"
That's when it all gets interesting, you see I don't receive a proper bill on my consumption for 3-4 months, "waiting on industry data" and re-calculations (as the prices go up, to add to the confusion).
Then eventually I start paying bigger bills (over £300) so I think OK they are catching up 2 months electric and so on. I don't think anything of it then after paying over £800 in less than 8 months I get a whopping bill for over £1100!!!
That was enough for me to start investigating and taking the time out to question this.
That was over 6 months ago a lot has happened that i wont get into with this company (I am going through the ombudsmen with them), but the nux of it is when they took my old meter out they put down a reading which equated to 2 years worth of electric over what i had used!!, (That's a 15,000kw difference in my case!!)
I had to work this out myself by going through all my bills (2 years worth) with a tooth comb. They denied at every stage and said i had got it wrong (my bills averaged at £180 month over a 2 year period), now at last they have admitted liability (they had no choice I had worked out the problem and it was not deniable in the end).
So how many people have not had the time or the inclination to check their bills and just paid this company?
Is there a scam here with the Meter company maybe?, I am not sure I would have to hear from other people to see if there is a pattern but it all seems a bit convenient looking back. (meter breaks, meter replaced, bill goes up, overcharging pays for new meter).
If meters are being replaced by smart meters who pays for this?, we are told they are free.
Please give me your thoughts.
0
Comments
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hardly a scam with the metering engineers all they do is put the meters in, it the supplier that charges you not the metering company.
here is the info on smart meters
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/smart_meters/regulation/regulation.aspxI am responsible me, myself and I alone I am not the keeper others thoughts and words.0 -
There is no conspiracy- mistakes happen- most often when meters are exchanged. In the normal scenario I would make sure all readings are written down re the Removed and Installed meters and then check the first bill received after the exchange. In your case as the meter was blank you would have picked up the problem faster if you had monitored the first bill as you would have immediately seen the descrepancy.
I'm glad you have it sorted but it's not good all the trouble you had to go to to prove it.
Because there are different companies involved in the transfer of data in the energy industry it gives more possibility of mistakes happening but if people are observant they can usually be solved quickly.Self Employed, Running my Dream Jobs0 -
Hi Bewart1, by meter man I take it you mean meter reader.your electric meter was a digital meter and its not uncommon to find them blank, I ve found 2 today on my rounds. The meter reader probably would have been recording on his handheld computor the fact that the meter screen was blank, hence the delay.nothing suspicious.I personally inform the customer about faulty meters and tell them to call cust services because the suppliers usually take no notice whatsoever of anything I say to them about faulty meters.
With a blank screen meter the supplier then estimates your useage untill a replacement or repair.Looks like you v then copped for a smart meter which is supposed to be infallable,no mis reads,no estimates,and an end to certain folk doing a bit of rewiring for free electric.Theres no scams,as far as I m aware the cost of smart meters in shared three ways, you, the supplier, and the local company who own the meter.Have read of quotes of around £6 a year for ten years falling onto the customer0
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