wrong meter

SwanJon

mililly, can I just check something - I'm not sure what you mean from your post:

mililly wrote: »

i have a combi boiler and have done since we changed heating when we moved in meter was in when we moved in and for years i have complained about high bills compared to others and all they have said is its your usage...

Without punctuation it needs interpretation. Did you mean:

mililly wrote: »

I have a combi boiler and have done since we changed heating when we moved in.
The meter was in when we moved in and for years i have complained about high bills compared to others and all they have said is its your usage...

If so, it suggests that you took the storage heaters out, not the previous tenant. If so, this was the time to fix the meter.
Yes, when you asked about your consumption & bills they should have spotted this and I think this should be the focus of your complaint. Follow their complaints procedure for 8 weeks then go to the ombudsman if still not satisfied.
Have you arranged to change the meter now? The quicker it is done the quicker you can get the best tariff for you.

Terrylw1

macman wrote: »

It was your usage-you were using a lot on peak rate and being charged acordingly. But did you tell them that you now have gas CH and no longer have or use night storage heaters or an immersion heater? They are not psychic.

They can easily work out if you should be E7 or not as long as the have consumption based on actual readings.

I agree its up to the custom, but for some years there have been discussions I'm aware of about how internal monitoring would be Best Practice but it never happens...because they earn money of less diligent customers.

Its needs the SLC's to properly cover this, not sure if the latest update will be enough.

mililly

Thanks for the replies although i don't appreciate the comments about my punctuation, thats not what this is about. I have had no storage heaters and i have never had them even though that the meter was wrong like i say everything was already in when we moved in and yes the onus is on the customer but how am i supposed to know that i have a meter that is not relevant to my household when no one suggests it.. I have complained about excessive bills for years and if it is down to usage then yes i have used what i have used but been charged an excessive amount based on the economy 7 tariffs for my meter. Yes it is finally being changed after someone at n power pointed it out to me.

macman

But you said 'we changed the heating when we moved in'. So what was the heating arrangement before you installed the combi, if not E7 storage heaters and an immersion heater?

SwanJon

mililly - I'm sorry if you took the comments about your punctuation the wrong way. It looks like everyone on this thread is looking to help you, but if we misunderstand what you say we may give the wrong, or useless, advice.
It's good that you are getting the meter changed over - once that is done you can swap to the best single rate tariff.
This won't affect the progression of your complaint through it's 8 weeks, so don't drop it unless you are satisfied.

[Deleted User]

Mililly, your eco 7 meter may have been the old type mechanical meter with a timer attached. If it was nt a radio teleswitch timer, you may have been getting the night rate charged in peak periods as nearly all the ones I see the timers are incorrect, a lot are way off the correct time so you would nt necessarily have been paying too much, in fact you may have been paying less. The digital type meters which are fitted now are very accurate, they have been around for 7 or 8 years now

mililly

When we moved in it was ducted central heating no storage heaters...yes the meter has old dials i think its probably been in house more than the 21yrs we've been here..I dont think anyone in particular is to blame im just so annoyed that i have been charged in excess of what i could have paid..i worked out difference from economy 7 tariff to standard on my annual usage and its over £500.00....not good

[Deleted User]

Hi Mililly, as I have said ,you have to look at the timer dial pointer to see what time it is pointing too. It almost certainly will not be the correct time, meaning that the cheap rate will be skewed into the peak periods. You will have most proberbly have been getting your electricity cheaper than being billed single rate. The distribution companys do not want to spend money rectifying all these faulty timers and the suppliers can t be bothered either. I have just explained this same fault in the eco 7 timers to a new occupier and she most definitely wants to keep her old eco 7 meter as it is delivering cheap rate electric slap bang in the high useage times in the early evenings

Terrylw1

sacsquacco wrote: »

Hi Mililly, as I have said ,you have to look at the timer dial pointer to see what time it is pointing too. It almost certainly will not be the correct time, meaning that the cheap rate will be skewed into the peak periods. You will have most proberbly have been getting your electricity cheaper than being billed single rate. The distribution companys do not want to spend money rectifying all these faulty timers and the suppliers can t be bothered either. I have just explained this same fault in the eco 7 timers to a new occupier and she most definitely wants to keep her old eco 7 meter as it is delivering cheap rate electric slap bang in the high useage times in the early evenings

Its not the distributors issue, its with the Meter Operator and supplier.

Distributors only manage the nightly signal for RTS got the suppliers so the meter is updated daily and a file of all the times is gathered by an industry body and broadcast to all suppliers and Data Collectors...not that they use it!

For time switch meters, its all MOP and supplier. They get a data item telling them its possibly faulty if you've reported it. If they don't work these codes, that's just poor management and processes.

[Deleted User]

hi Terry, no one takes a blind bit of notice on anything at all we report on the handheld, be it missing seals, blank screens on electric meters ( two today, same two as were blank last quarter ) or nearly every old style timer I look at on economy 7 meters. Its a bigger shambles than the G4S affair. Its amazing how slapdash its run. when I first started with the old Y.E.B. ( yorkshire electricy board ) we had a box to tick to say the timer is correct, now no ones interested. With the blank screens on the electric meters I ve taken to putting the onus on the occupier telling them they must tell the supplier themselves, as they are supposed to do with any faults on their meters