Wrong meter reading used when switching supplier

30033830

Hi,

I have recently switched from British Gas(BG) to EDF for my gas and electric. I gave my meter reading to EDF when they requested them and expected the switch to be straight forward!

However, I also received a letter from BG requesting my final Gas meter reading (dated 7/6/2012) so they could close my account. I gave this over the phone, the reading then was 01945. A few days later I then received a final bill from BG with an "ACTUAL Reading" of 02178 for 16 May 2012! i.e. charging for gas they had not supplied

My online EDF account now shows a reading 02178 and hence I have been unable to enter my actual reading toady of 01960.

Is it best to try and sort this with BG first rather than contacting EDF as I don't want to risk been charged twice for the same gas?

Thanks

victor2

If EDF and BG have both got an "actual" reading of 02178 for the changeover of supplier, where did it come from?
Doesn't "actual" mean a meter reader read the meter?
If that reading has been used for the changeover, but hasn't actually been reached yet then so long as EDF are not charging you from 01945, you'll not be billed twice, and could even gain if the new tariff works out more expensive than the old one.
If it's an error and your final BG bill reading doesn't match your starting EDF billing, then contact EDF and explain. They should sort it out.

30033830

Thanks for the advice

I think the "actual" reading must have come from when I phoned up BG with my final reading after 7th June - the guy on the phone was more interested in trying to retain me as a customer and was hardly interested in taking the figure at all - i think the error occurred then. I take you point that "actual" implies a meter reader has been out but i can’t see them misreading the meter, and my final bill with BG came out shortly after I phoned up

I think I'm inclined just to leave things as they are and once I’ve passed the changeover value then i will be able to submit reading online with EDF!

Thanks again

Terrylw1

It will show as an actual since its a switch reading.

If they didn't use yours, one is Deemed by the agents based on the reading history they hold.

You needed to give the new supplier the switch reading, which may be why tis has occurred...as you said, the guy wasn't very interested.

What needs to happen to correct this is that your new supplier initiates the disputed readings process so that they correct it to what you took, as long as both suppliers agree. This process can take some time though.

Given its not far off, you could refrain from giving readings until your meter advances past the switch read, but there are some things to consider:

- you have paid Bgas more than you should, if they are a higher unit price...you're out of pocket due to this error, so use the disputed readings process to correct it.
- when will your meter advance past this switch reading? If your plan is to conceal this for now, you may have to keep quiet and pay some estimated bills until the meter does get past it, then call them to rebill.
- if they read the meter, the issue will come to light and they will investigate it...which will mean using the disputed readings process.

So, there are a few things for you to consider.

victor2

Some good points from Terrylw1 there.
At the usage you've indicated with your readings on 7/6 and 24/6, you are using less than 1 unit per day, At that rate, it will take until early next year for the meter to pass the 2178 figure. Of course, if you've got gas fired heating and it's been off (finally!) this month, the usage will jump up when you switch it back on later in the year. If it's a metric meter, the units will go faster than on an imperial one. but it's still going to take some time to catch up and there's every possibility a meter reader could visit before that happens - should you choose the wait and see approach.

zerog

Can you really pay the old company for a few months after you switch?

2 months after my recent dual switch BG sent a bill with an "actual" final reading for gas, but not for elec. They claimed I had actually used 150kwh more than I did. However I emailed them and they fixed it with no questions asked.

This was probably because they have been really incompetent, took 1 month to get the account working from moving in, and still have our names incorrectly spelt. They have issued 9 bills for 2 months of supply because they kept making mistakes.

30033830

Following the advice given, I have contacted EDF to get this disputed reading sorted.

I also decided to contact BG who have agreed not to take
the final bill payment debit(about £100) until my crossover reading is finalised.
:beer:

Terrylw1

zerog wrote: »

Can you really pay the old company for a few months after you switch?

2 months after my recent dual switch BG sent a bill with an "actual" final reading for gas, but not for elec. They claimed I had actually used 150kwh more than I did. However I emailed them and they fixed it with no questions asked.

This was probably because they have been really incompetent, took 1 month to get the account working from moving in, and still have our names incorrectly spelt. They have issued 9 bills for 2 months of supply because they kept making mistakes.

No, never. The switch reading is final for you and both the suppliers. If you ever found the readings overlapped each other on a switch, only one of the suppliers would really be paying so you would be paying twice for nothing.

You can pay after on a payment plan for a larger than expected final bill, but it must be to the switch reading which matches your new suppliers opening readings.

zerog

Terrylw1 wrote: »

No, never. The switch reading is final for you and both the suppliers. If you ever found the readings overlapped each other on a switch, only one of the suppliers would really be paying so you would be paying twice for nothing.

You can pay after on a payment plan for a larger than expected final bill, but it must be to the switch reading which matches your new suppliers opening readings.

Yeah, so the actual gas transporter always gets paid for the supply, but I meant what would happen if for example 30033830 didn't notice the mistake and just carried on. So he might be paying BG for 200m³ of use when it was actually supplied by EDF. If nobody reads the meter for a month it might not even get noticed during December.

Would he just be losing out on the cheaper tariff then? Does this mean that someone could under-read their meter on switch day so they pay less on the old rate and more on the new rate? (though I can't imagine there will be that much savings without the old supplier getting suspicious)

Terrylw1

zerog wrote: »

Yeah, so the actual gas transporter always gets paid for the supply, but I meant what would happen if for example 30033830 didn't notice the mistake and just carried on. So he might be paying BG for 200m³ of use when it was actually supplied by EDF. If nobody reads the meter for a month it might not even get noticed during December.

Would he just be losing out on the cheaper tariff then? Does this mean that someone could under-read their meter on switch day so they pay less on the old rate and more on the new rate? (though I can't imagine there will be that much savings without the old supplier getting suspicious)

Yeah, that's why is best to give plenty of reads and never let them Deem your switch reading. A Deemed switch reading might not be too far off if they get a good supply of readings though since its not suppliers that Deem the switch readings, its the agents who use the reading history and some very advanced software that's industry standard and includes complex factors such as from weather stations. However, a switch reading is only ever truly accurate if the customer gives it.

If the reading is Deemed, if too low you pay more to the new supplier, if too high (like this threads case) you pay more to the old supplier.

So, it can affect what you pay out if you end up with more squeezed consumption on the more expensive suppliers side.

You can easily manipulate your switch reading. However, the supplier passes it to their agent as only they can validate it against your meter consumption history. If they agent doesn't like it, they fail it. The supplier then tries to get them to validate it or speak to the customer to determine if its incorrect. If not resolved, the agent Deems one anyway.