Can anyone help explain this? Faulty meter?

closed

Your most recent bill is only 40 watts/hour more than the previous one, estimated bills could be one explanation.

jalexa

flubdub wrote: »

About a year ago, we switch to EDF energy via a door to door salesman. He assured us that EDF would be cheaper than the £40 a month we were paying to British Gas for both our gas and electric. So, we switched to EDF and over the next few months, we payed them £40 a month. When we gave them a meter reading, we were suddenly on £1500 debt with them!

But that doesn't make sense. There is no way your tariff, whether mis-sold or not, paying the same monthly payment as you were previously, could end up as a £1500 debit balance *if* the previous £40 was an adequate payment.

I haven't read all the posts but this will most likely be a meter reading and/or billing issue, not a mis-selling issue*. Are you confident BG weren't underbilling you? Are you confident the transfer readings were correct? Are you confident you are not being subjected to an imperial/metric mix-up?

* the mis-selling costs are not the "£1500" but the cost difference for your actual consumption had you remained with BG. And it is not impossible the BG costs would have been higher.

later edit: did you take on board any of the advice you received when you last posted about this 6 months ago?

undaunted

You seem to have two issues to me - one the fact if you don't use the washer, dryer etc (and assuming nothing else extra is used) you'd obviously be right to expect that you use at least a little less electricity (amount depending on how much you usually use them)

Secondly the issue that you feel you were mi sold and the supplier hasn't addressed this. If you feel the salesman misled you how did you complain (eg by phone or in writing?)

If not in writing I suggest doing so. If you aren't satisfied with the response you could try the Energy Ombudsman http://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.html

Have a look at the code of practice for face to face energy sales in order to help you prepare your complaint
http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/29-energysure-code/309-energysure-code-of-practice.html

Good luck

flubdub

I know the £40 for British Gas was too low, and when we left them, we owed them money - which we paid. We had only moved into this house a few months earlier so had never given more than one meter reading. I have no idea where the £40 a month came from. Maybe it was the previous tenants amount? Anyway, the £40 wasn't enough and I know that. My issue ISN'T the £40 or any "mis-selling". I just wanted to understand this kWh rise.

My issue is/was, that it says I am using more kW this last month when we stopped using the washer and dryer and I didn't understand how that could be.

victor2

flubdub wrote: »

My issue is/was, that it says I am using more kW this last month when we stopped using the washer and dryer and I didn't understand how that could be.

There's various things that can result in an increased usage of electricity as it gets colder, even with gas central heating.
Do you have an electric shower? If so, does it have "low" and "high" power settings? As it gets colder, you may use the high power, where the lower setting was OK for the summer.
Do you have energy saving bulbs? They are obviously on for more hours as the days get shorter. Standard bulbs can use quite a bit of power.
List the electric items you have along with their wattage and hours they are likely to be on per day. That doesn't work with things like fridges, which are thermostatically controlled though. For that, a plug-in monitor (costing around a tenner) is better.

dogshome

You think the Hot Water is only heated by Gas?

Check the Hot water tank - If there is a round block mounted on the top with an Electric cable running to it, then you have an Immersion Heater - If this has been left on 27/7 it goes a long way to explaining your Elec useage problem

jalexa

flubdub wrote: »

At one point, we went on holiday so obviously we were not in the house. When we came home, I took a meter reading before we did anything else. Surely if nobody had been in the house, the usage will be lower? No. Our payments shot from £90 a month to £130.

So the meter reading before you went on holiday was? And after?

You need to post meter readings not monthly payments which are influenced by either or both estimated readings and your £1500 debit balance.

Whenever there is a suspicion of a faulty meter it is imperative to take regular daily reads and then zero in on the daily consumption. Do not rely on the Edf billing stats.

grahamc2003

flubdub wrote: »

I know the £40 for British Gas was too low, and when we left them, we owed them money - which we paid. We had only moved into this house a few months earlier so had never given more than one meter reading. I have no idea where the £40 a month came from. Maybe it was the previous tenants amount? Anyway, the £40 wasn't enough and I know that. My issue ISN'T the £40 or any "mis-selling". I just wanted to understand this kWh rise.

My issue is/was, that it says I am using more kW this last month when we stopped using the washer and dryer and I didn't understand how that could be.

As you have been told several times now, you have to look at meter reading to know whether you are using more, less or the same this month. Without those, or with only a single reading as you say, you don't know, your supplier doesn't know and no one here knows. Your supplier estimates, and since he doesn't know you've stopped using your washer drier and whatever, doesn't take that into account.