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Gas smart meter readings gone ballistic !

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Dingleroad
Dingleroad Posts: 8 Forumite
edited 26 February 2012 at 5:20PM in Energy
I noticed to my absolute horror yesterday that our smart meter was showing a daily gas usage of about £31 per day , up from about £3.80 per day two weeks ago !! :eek:

I immediately called the emergency line because I thought we must have some massive gas leak, but all was normal and OK.

It's still showing about £31per day even with all appliances off.

These things always happen at the weekend, so in desperation I've cancelled our direct debit, because I think it would be easier to argue with BG about our bill before its taken from our account, as it is quite Obviously massively erroneous .

Anybody also had problems with their smart meter ?
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Comments

  • DVardysShadow
    DVardysShadow Posts: 18,949 Forumite
    Gas leaks are measured in cubic metres or 100's of cubic feet, not £.

    Always start with the volume usage. If this is excessive, look for why you are using so much gas. If the volume usage is normal, look for the reason why it costs so much. Starting with £ cost just clouds the issue.

    If there is a dispute, stopping the direct debit also clouds the issue.
    Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam
  • Ok thanks

    Between the 29th Sept and 22nd Dec we were using 6.99 cubic mtrs/day
    Between 13th Feb and 22nd Dec we were using 10,28 cubic mtrs /day.

    Since the 13th Feb we are using 70.76 cubic mtrs per day.

    Gas is only used for central heating and hot water. Central heating only being on for 3 hrs in the morning and 3 in the early evening, In fact we've used our log burner to heat the the house for the last week, so the gas usage should be well down prior to 13th feb .
    Perhaps I was a bit hasty in cancelling our DD, but it BG got hold of our meter reading as it is now, we'd be in for one hell of a bill.
  • jalexa
    jalexa Posts: 3,448 Forumite
    edited 26 February 2012 at 7:55PM
    Dingleroad wrote: »
    Since the 13th Feb we are using 70.76 cubic mtrs per day.

    Does your (metric) meter have 3 digits after the point? For elimination is it posssible you have inadvertantly multiplied recent consumption by 10?
  • DVardysShadow
    DVardysShadow Posts: 18,949 Forumite
    jalexa wrote: »
    Does your (metric) meter have 3 digits after the point? For elimination is it posssible you have inadvertantly multiplied recent consumption by 10?
    Dingleroad wrote: »
    Ok thanks

    Between the 29th Sept and 22nd Dec we were using 6.99 cubic mtrs/day

    ....

    Since the 13th Feb we are using 70.76 cubic mtrs per day.
    That looks uncannily like a factor of 10 ... to the nearest 1% or so.
    Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam
  • Dingleroad
    Dingleroad Posts: 8 Forumite
    edited 26 February 2012 at 8:39PM
    I'm ignoring the numbers to the right of the decimal place.
    So the meter reading has gone from 7683 to 8603 in 13 days.

    The remote monitor we have in the kitchen just duplicates the readings from the smart meter on the stop tap and displays usage for gas and electricity in per day/week/month and converts it to a price. That's how I know it's costing £31 per day and how I know it cost less than £4 per day 2 weeks ago when we were using less gas and not more.

    The gas engineer who came today said we couldn't be using that much gas every day even if we had the central heating at full blast , hot water taps running and the gas hobs running all 24/7.

    What worries me is that this could be one of those nightmare scenarios where BG refuse to acknowledge that there is any fault with the meter.
  • The only possible answer to this ( as you have safety checked the systems gas tight throughout) is that smart meters are not always smart.Theres a fault on the digital display.I ve found enough dicky digital displays over the years.Suppliers going to have to use estimates on the time s its gone bonkers.They should have an exact record of when its all started.£31 a day,£217 a week! mind you, last week I found a gas meter in an outside box which had blown the bleed nipple out and gas was pouring out at a rate much higher than that
  • jalexa
    jalexa Posts: 3,448 Forumite
    Dingleroad wrote: »
    What worries me is that this could be one of those nightmare scenarios where BG refuse to acknowledge that there is any fault with the meter.

    You are doing the right thing to ignore the numbers to the right of the point.

    On the "worry", as the gas engineer stated, the consumption is "impossible". I would hope that the BG billing system flags "impossible" readings. In the meantime I recommend you take daily smart meter readings for a few days and take photographs if possible. I would also recommend that until the issue is solved, rely on the smart meter display not the remote monitor.
  • DVardysShadow
    DVardysShadow Posts: 18,949 Forumite
    Forget £££. The gas usage is seriously high. At that rate you will clock the meter in under a year. This sounds like one serious cannabis farm.

    First check, go by what the meter itself says, not the remote monitor.
    Second check, is the meter definitely for your property? If you turn off the gas at the meter, do your appliances stop working?
    Third check, leave it off for an hour - no gas whatsoever and check that the meter does not advance.
    Fourth check, turn off all appliances apart from 1 ring on the hob, take readings before and after 60 minutes. Report here.
    Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam
  • Ok will do, thanks for the replies.
  • Dingleroad
    Dingleroad Posts: 8 Forumite
    edited 27 February 2012 at 7:39PM
    The latest on my particular problem.

    Spoken to BG this morning. They are coming to change the meter and send it away for testing, if they find it faulty they will clear the high bill, if they don't , I'm liable for the cost which is running at £30 per day and they said they had hardly ever heard of a faulty meter , which is slightly worrying :eek:

    I have a saying which is going round in my head which I hear all too often by our engineers at work : " checked and found satis"

    I have turned the gas off at the stop tap and yes, it's still showing gas usage with the stop tap off , something like 15 cubic mtrs in 5 hrs. Just in case the meter is found "checked and satis" I've video'd the meter showing gas usage with the stop tap clearly off and I've reported the gas usage with stop tap closed to BG.

    Can anybody thing of anything else I could do in case this goes to dispute ?
    Many thanks
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