Faulty electic meter - refunds

Skint_Man

Hi sorry if this is a duplicate but I did a search and couldn’t find ananswer to my question.

My power company recently contacted me to say the latest meter read they didshowed some unusual activity and could I check the electric numbers just after9am and just before 9pm.

I dutifully did this and they said they think there is a fault on the meterand can I repeat the test and then call them. They have said that the meterwill be replace free of charge if found to be faulty. Before I call them I wantto understand my position in terms of refunds.

My question is twofold:

1. I assume I will be able to claim a refund for a certain period of timewhere it was faulty (the December bill was higher than usual but when I checkedthe kwh they were accurate so thought it was my usage)

2. How do I go about claiming the refund and how can you tell when a faultstarted?

Any help/previous experience welcome

Thanks


In case anyone cares or are interested

Meter is an old economy 7 but I am on a standard tariff.Heating is gas.

Results of the test were:

1 read 1 09:20 reading 1 19701, reading 2 6142

2 read 2 20:30 reading 1 19704, reading 2 6144


December 2012 kwh 387

November 2012 kwh 343

October 2012 kwh 297

April 2012 kwh 276

March 2012 kwh 240

Dec 2011 kwh 184

Worth noting that due to arrival of children in March 2012 wenow use the tumble dryer a lot more hence why the increase in bills wasn’t particularlystartling. Most of these are estimates but they get the meter reads from timeto time and I do check that they are reasonable. Some of the other months are abit haywire because they swapped the numbers over for night and day but as theprice is the same and it would self correct later I didn’t bother to doanything with it.

Wywth

Skint_Man wrote: »

Hi sorry if this is a duplicate but I did a search and couldn’t find ananswer to my question.

My power company recently contacted me to say the latest meter read they didshowed some unusual activity and could I check the electric numbers just after9am and just before 9pm.

I dutifully did this and they said they think there is a fault on the meterand can I repeat the test and then call them. They have said that the meterwill be replace free of charge if found to be faulty. Before I call them I wantto understand my position in terms of refunds.

My question is twofold:

1. I assume I will be able to claim a refund for a certain period of timewhere it was faulty (the December bill was higher than usual but when I checkedthe kwh they were accurate so thought it was my usage)

2. How do I go about claiming the refund and how can you tell when a faultstarted?

Any help/previous experience welcome

Thanks


In case anyone cares or are interested

Meter is an old economy 7 but I am on a standard tariff.Heating is gas.

Results of the test were:

1 read 1 09:20 reading 1 19701, reading 2 6142

2 read 2 20:30 reading 1 19704, reading 2 6144


December 2012 kwh 387

November 2012 kwh 343

October 2012 kwh 297

April 2012 kwh 276

March 2012 kwh 240

Dec 2011 kwh 184

Worth noting that due to arrival of children in March 2012 wenow use the tumble dryer a lot more hence why the increase in bills wasn’t particularlystartling. Most of these are estimates but they get the meter reads from timeto time and I do check that they are reasonable. Some of the other months are abit haywire because they swapped the numbers over for night and day but as theprice is the same and it would self correct later I didn’t bother to doanything with it.

If the meter proves to be faulty, the supplier will arrange for a replacement meter (free of charge)

The supplier will then review your account and make any appropriate adjustments based on estimated usage during the period the meter was presumed faulty.

Skint_Man

Thanks, any ideas on how I can verify for myself that thier "estimate" is resonable? How can I tell when the fault started?

macman

You can't, and they can't. But in such cases the estimates invariably favour the customer.

Cardew

It seems both meter readings changed between 09:20 and 20:30, so that is obviously wrong as your E7(off-peak) reading shouldn't change.

Certainly your consumption is not excessive, with a highest monthly consumption of 397kWh. That will be easily accounted for by a new baby and presumably someone at home during the day.

Agree with the above, in the first instance let the electricity make an offer of compensation, they tend to be fairly generous. If not you can negotiate.

sheffield_lad

I wonder if it is E7?

Hi op are you its E7 could it be off peak? Have a look on your bill.

Is there one meter or two? That's meters NOT readings.

The other thing to check is if there is a clock at the side of the meter and if so is the time correct?

HappyMJ

The times are out but as you are on a standard tariff with the 2 different readings added together it won't make any difference to your bills.

A maximum of 400kWh a month isn't too bad considering you are using the tumble dryer more.

chanz4

it may even be a time switch issue, which if on standard flat rate will make zero diff