Electricity meter broken

jamtart1874

I am moving out of a rented flat in 8 days.
I have been paying £54 per month for electricity but they state that based on their estimates I owe them approx £125 for the period Sept 11-date therefore they plan to increase DD to £64/ month.
When I called to give meter readings they advised that they are exactly the same as when I moved in last June and they will have to try and get an engineer out to fix/ replace it ASAP.

I called to give the meter readings as this seemed a lot of money given that I live alone, only stay here for 4-5 nights per week (for work), have never bothered using the electric water heater as it didn't seem worth it to switch on simply to wash my hands (I hate baths but have an electric shower so I do still wash!! ). I have electric storage heaters in two rooms which I have had on at low heat through the winter but have never used the other electric heaters as the smell of burning dust is too unpleasant.
I work long hours and usually eat at work so very rarely cook in the flat and am also not there much to watch TV etc.
Obviously I have used electricity while I have been here but I would say that my usage has been minimal.

When I asked how this will be resolved wrt how much my bill would be the advisor told me that someone will need to ring from the appropriate dept on Monday, but that it would be based on previous usage.

Can they bill me based on the bills of the family who lived here before? Their usage would have been much higher than mine.

I now realise that I should have called them sooner to give readings but I have not ignored any requests to submit readings / allow access and it seems a little outrageous that I should be penalised for their faulty equipment.

Any advice?

Premier_2

jamtart1874 wrote: »

I am moving out of a rented flat in 8 days.
I have been paying £54 per month for electricity but they state that based on their estimates I owe them approx £125 for the period Sept 11-date therefore they plan to increase DD to £64/ month.
When I called to give meter readings they advised that they are exactly the same as when I moved in last June and they will have to try and get an engineer out to fix/ replace it ASAP.

I called to give the meter readings as this seemed a lot of money given that I live alone, only stay here for 4-5 nights per week (for work), have never bothered using the electric water heater as it didn't seem worth it to switch on simply to wash my hands (I hate baths but have an electric shower so I do still wash!! ). I have electric storage heaters in two rooms which I have had on at low heat through the winter but have never used the other electric heaters as the smell of burning dust is too unpleasant.
I work long hours and usually eat at work so very rarely cook in the flat and am also not there much to watch TV etc.
Obviously I have used electricity while I have been here but I would say that my usage has been minimal.

When I asked how this will be resolved wrt how much my bill would be the advisor told me that someone will need to ring from the appropriate dept on Monday, but that it would be based on previous usage.

Can they bill me based on the bills of the family who lived here before? Their usage would have been much higher than mine.

I now realise that I should have called them sooner to give readings but I have not ignored any requests to submit readings / allow access and it seems a little outrageous that I should be penalised for their faulty equipment.

Any advice?

You don't say how long you have been at the property, but in the period Sept '11 to today you should have had at least a couple of bills/statements and it was up to you to check them against your actual meter readings.

How do you know you are going to be penalised? Especially as you obviously have not looked at the meter for so long and therefore have no idea what you have actually been consuming?

In the absence of any measured consumption then what else can they do but estimate?

Now that estimate may be a good estimate, an over estimate ... or indeed an under estimate.

Advise the supplier of your situation if you think your particular situation would make your consumption abnormal, and the supplier should take this into consideration when estimating the consumption.

Or, how else do you think the supplier could otherwise fairly bill you for what you have consumed?

Terrylw1

Since it was stopped before you moved in, the will have nothing to estimate you with at all. They can't use tge previous consumption as they only have pure estimates or the consumption of a different customer.

So, what they normally do is ask you to take readings on the new meter to do some basic estimation from. Since you are moving out, this won't work either.

The best you can do is preempt the bill by working out all your applies and how long you would have used them, then submit this as a settlement option and see how it goes. Suggest letting them submit the estimate first incase its lower.

However, there is no legal proof of your consumption and its a question of negotiation.

Also consider how many times they read he meter ir took a reading off you as that would have showed the stopped meter scenario and their process to investigate it should have begun.

DVardysShadow

As this is a flat, I have to ask how do you know that this is your meter? If it is in a common area for all flats, it is possible that what you think is your meter could be the meter for an unoccupied flat.

I suggest that you check this out before you move, because once you do move, you will lose your chance. Not saying that this is definitely the case - it is just one of the things to take a look at.

macman

It's not the supplier's fault if you fail to read your meter regularly. They are only obliged to check it once every two years-the other readings are down to you. They are not psychic and have no way of telling if a meter has failed unless the customer advises them.

[Deleted User]

its in the small print that any meter faults you are obliged to inform the supplier, eg blank screen on digital meters. In your case it sounds like you have a meter such as the Sangamo Weston which occasionally for some unknown reason shows a blank in the single digit number and then stops. The reading is then just given as a zero.I have found this meter stopped often, sometimes for years. Meter readers and customers log the blank as a zero.A good thump on the side of the meter will restart it. Its the only mechanical type of meter I have known to stop.

Terrylw1

sacsquacco wrote: »

its in the small print that any meter faults you are obliged to inform the supplier, eg blank screen on digital meters. In your case it sounds like you have a meter such as the Sangamo Weston which occasionally for some unknown reason shows a blank in the single digit number and then stops. The reading is then just given as a zero.I have found this meter stopped often, sometimes for years. Meter readers and customers log the blank as a zero.A good thump on the side of the meter will restart it. Its the only mechanical type of meter I have known to stop.

Careful, EDF will be appointing you chief SAP fixer engineer :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Yeah Terry, its a very common meter the Sangamo Weston, I wish i had one, it usually stops when the 3 rd and 4 th digit is on 99.I once found 3 stopped in one street.Have got a photo of one in photobucket to show but have failed to work out how to get it on here !. I am surprised that hardly any meter readers have understood that they are stopped