Meter reading transcribed incorrectly - how long to correct?

robrooo

Just over a month ago the electricity meter man (from Siemens) called to take a reading at my house and it seems that the figures got transcribed incorrectly somewhere along the line to the electricity supplier.

Instead of the usual £140-ish bill, I got one for more than £1200.

The electricity supplier had actually noticed the anomoly, and asked me for a corrected reading, which I supplied about a month ago. They agreed that my new reading was in line with my normal usage.

But, now a month later my online billing still shows me over £1100 in debt. After a lengthy phone call today they are now looking into why its not been corrected before now and asking for a new reading.

How long do you think is a reasonable time to correct the mistake?

I am also now thinking of refusing to have thid-party readings done and will instead submit my own. Can I do this indefinitely or do you think the supplier would like a "professional" reading every so often?

dogshome

Your supplier, (Who are they ? ), does at least deserve a cheer for picking up the error, but a boo for only noticing it after they produced a bill

Whilst whoever you spoke to on the phone has replied with the right answer, with a month gone by and no correction it's a question of has this c*ck-up been passed further up the food chain to the people who can deal with it

You've got to get pro-active quickly on this one by WRITING a letter headed Complaint, enclosing a photo of your meter for the Meter reading they have requested

You don't say what billing cycle you are on - Monthly, Qtly, 6 monthly ? - but whatever it is, it's best to feed your supplier the meter readings just before the bill due dates

Wywth

robrooo wrote: »

Just over a month ago the electricity meter man (from Siemens) called to take a reading at my house and it seems that the figures got transcribed incorrectly somewhere along the line to the electricity supplier.

Instead of the usual £140-ish bill, I got one for more than £1200.

The electricity supplier had actually noticed the anomoly, and asked me for a corrected reading, which I supplied about a month ago. They agreed that my new reading was in line with my normal usage.

But, now a month later my online billing still shows me over £1100 in debt. After a lengthy phone call today they are now looking into why its not been corrected before now and asking for a new reading.

How long do you think is a reasonable time to correct the mistake?

I am also now thinking of refusing to have thid-party readings done and will instead submit my own. Can I do this indefinitely or do you think the supplier would like a "professional" reading every so often?

It shouldn't take too long.

If you raise a formal complaint they only have 8 weeks to resolve it, else you could ask the ombudsman for assistance.
I suggest you get the clock started now if you've not already done so.

The supplier should be attempting to read the meter at least once every 2 years even if you supply readings regularly. If you actively prevent access, they may think you are trying to conceal something.

Much better to let them take the readings as they want, and you double check them when the bill/statement arrives

robrooo

Thanks for the reply dogshome.

I am on a monthly direct debit - which is actually a cause of more confusion (to me at least) - the direct debit amount is fixed, i.e. every month they take the same amount no matter what my consumption is. Meter readings seem to be quarterly and I get a billing statement every month, which usually shows a final amount in red that I am in debit, but below that it says if you are paying by DD you don't need to do anything since the DD will cover it. I'm guessing that because my DD amount has not changed in a few years it has not kept up with rising costs/usage. I would prefer to give them a reading and get billed for what I have used, the way my gas works (albeit quarterly).

Anyway, it was the complaints department that I spoke to today, and they said they would be raising this with the person in charge of billing and adding a request for me to be contacted after they have my new reading and are dealing with the problem.

I do have a photo of the reading I did after the problem was raised (only because there was too much clutter under the stairs to make taking a direct reading easy!), and I will send a new one with my new reading too.

For info, the supplier is a really small, niche eco-friendly one. In the early days when you phoned them up you got straight through to the CEO or CFO - they only had 3 people working for them at the time. And they gave me free shares for being in the first 100 customers, and more for referrals. The shares are not traded, so not yet worth anything, but for the past couple of years they have given credits of around £25 to shareholders.

macman

The supplier must read (and inspect) your meter at least every two years.
If your DD has remained at the same level for 'a few' years then something is seriously amiss, as prices have risen hugely-unless your usage has dropped a lot to compensate. Based on the correct reading, how much debt do you have on the account?
Alternatively, your DD was set far too high when the account commenced.
You should be submitting readings at least quarterly, if the supplier does not read.

Inspectorman

By all means submit your own reads but carry on letting your chosen suppliers meter reader in - mistakes do happen from time to time . And as mentioned, if you refuse access it will only make them suspicious