Stuck with E-on and SP because of a "complex meter"

Samaincita

Hi all! I've been following this forum for a while trying to get some more info. I find it very useful and I was hoping to find some answers to my current situation. I apologise in advance for any mistakes as English is not my native tongue.

We live in rented accommodation, however our landlord is happy for us to do as we please with bills or repairs. We have a gas meter and 2 electricity meters, one for the heaters and one for the electricity in general. Our hot water timer model is something "Economy 7" and the meter clics when the off-peak time starts.

When we moved in, E-on was supplying dual fuel to the property. We called Scottish hydro and they told us that because of the type of meter we have, they wouldn't be able to provide us with electricity. We asked E-on and they said that we had a "complex meter", therefore we couldn't sign for Economy 7. We signed a year contract with E-on, being able to choose from other tariffs. Now that year is coming to an end, and we're offered their standard and expensive tariff (EnergyPlan). After finally speaking to a manager, they said that our meter is a Weathercall meter, therefore only E-on and SP support it. This meter is specific for Scotland and apparently it gives the heaters a boost if the weather is cold in Glasgow airport.

When we enquired about changing the meter, they said this wasn't possible because we had oil fired heaters that blow hot air. The only reasonable alternative would be installing gas central heating and get rid of the meter that powers the heaters, because this Weathercall heater can't physically support other tariffs as the readings would be all wrong if they change tariff for us.
After calling SP, they offered us an Economy 7 tariff. E-on says that this might be because they classify our meter as Economy 7, however they don't do that.

I was wondering if any of you has been in the same situation and also if I could have some opinions on this. They would be very much appreciated. I don't like the idea of being stuck with two companies only, especially when we used to pay £60 of gas+electricity and we're paying £119 now!!

Thank you very much in advance, any help or advice will be much appreciated.

rogerblack

Samaincita wrote: »

When we enquired about changing the meter, they said this wasn't possible because we had oil fired heaters that blow hot air.

Do you mean oil filled?
Or do you get occasional deliveries of oil?

Samaincita

No, we don't get oil. A manager from E-on said that, literally. I just assumed the heaters had oil inside that would get hot and then release that heat during the day. They're old Dimplex storage heaters.

I don't know if this helps, but there's a black box connected to the meters. It says "radio teleswitch" in it.

Wywth

I see no reason why you cannot shop around for the best gas deal for you.

Regarding the electricity, then I strongly urge you to not bother attempting to switch supplier with the current set up as this invariably ends in tears (As Eon says, the current set up is most enlikely to be supported by any other supplier)

As you are only renting the property, then don't even go down the route of changing the current set up. If you don't like the current set up, move - that's the benefit of renting

Samaincita

Thanks a lot Wywth! It is indeed ending in tears so I'll just leave it be. As you say, we can just move (but we like this place so much ).
Just in case someone is in the same situation, I'll add that SP just told me that they wouldn't be taking our meter because of this stupid weathercall thing. When I argued that it was all their property (the timeswitch says "property of Scottish Power") they said that they had been happy to supply our electricity in the past, but there had been a change of company (to E-on, by our landlord ages ago), so they had no obligation to take the supply back. We're basically stuck with E-on forever, and so far it means we've gone from paying £60/month for gas+electricity to £119!!! It's absolutely crazy and frustrating.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Samaincita

I know you intend to leave things as they are but just thought I'd post a bit of info about your metering.

The type of Weathercall metering you describe is what's known as a Restricted Hour Tariff (RHT). This type of set up provides electricity at a cheaper rate at certain times during every 24 hour period. This is for things like storage heaters and water immersion heaters.

There's usually two meters with a time switch to move between the two. One meter records normal usage whilst the second is for off peak usage for heating/water heating purposes.

Storage heaters and water immersion heaters are usually wired into a controlled circuit. The circuit is energised at particular times of the day at the discretion of Scottish Power (the distributor for the area). This is based on the forecasted weather conditions expected the following day.

The intention is for customers to be able to leave their storage heaters switched on with their charge controllers set to maximum. This is to obtain a constant daily average indoor temperature in each heated room throughout the year.

All electricity going through the controlled circuit to the storage and water heaters is charged at the lower, off peak rates. All electricity used for other purposes, including any space and water heating not supplied by the appropriate circuit, will be charged at the higher rate.

Hope this is of interest Samaincita.

Malc

Samaincita

Thank you Malc, you make it sound like something I'd like to install in my home! However, we have never been able to choose any off-peak rates. We're being charged standard rates 24h, no matter what we do, or what meter is running (I've noticed the heating/immersion one is on between 1.50am-8am). The option of changing the meter doesn't exist as it'd imply changing the whole heating system in the house. To sum up, we're only able to have E-on as our electricity supplier in their most expensive tariff. We're a bit gutted about this.

Samaincita

I have yet another update and I have to say that I've never had to deal with a more appalling company.
A new call to the complaints department informed me that our meter would be changed for free to an Economy 7 one. The company representative also promised to send me a letter that never arrived. Another letter arrived though, asking for a monthly payment of £130 for gas and electricity. We are 2 people working full time, we only use one storage heater and the electric cooker and the shower. How is this possible??
But there's more. Upon another call to E-on, we've been informed that E-on doesn't support Weathercall meters and that we've been on the wrong tariff (we were missold!) for the whole year. They also said they might be able to transfer us to Scottish Power, so all the electricity spent up until now will be charged against their Weathercall tariff. If this is cheaper, we'll be refunded. If it happens the other way around, we'll have to pay the difference! E-on has no info about the new tariff, and SP say they won't take our meter, contradicting each other. The meter is still there. How on earth have we been sent a letter asking for £130 monthly if E-on doesn't support this tariff? And obviously we'll end up paying for all our consumption as we were never informed of peak times!!

I don't know if I'm explaining myself clearly as I'm extremely angered after having been ripped off in such a low and obscure manner. My fiance is talking to the complaints department (again) and we're thinking of escalating this to OFGEM. Absolutely appalling and disgusting.

insanegloss

First, escalating to OFGEM is pointless, they don't deal with consumer complaints. The Energy Ombudsman is the body for escalation.

Looking at your situation and my experience in this area, unfortunately the resolutions available to you are few and far between I'm afraid. With the meter setup, most suppliers won't touch the supplies as the stand, simply as they are non-standard. In my dealings previously with Scottish Power (Until recently I worked in BG complaints) on issues like this, they will not budge unless the metering details conform to their standards and they don't *have* to take the supply.

In addition, E.on (and yourself) are caught between a rock and hard place and if they don't support the tariff for your metering setup there isn't much they can do about it (I highly doubt they would create all the pricing, add the functionality into their systems just for you).

This leaves 2 options in my opinion, speak to your landlord about possibly getting gas central heating and moving to a single rate electricity or move to E7 (though that may require some rewiring for this depending on the exact setup)

Failing that, I'm not sure what the ombudsman could do for you I'm afraid. They can't force Scottish power to take the supply and they can't force eon to create a tariff just for you.

Sorry

Samaincita

Thank you insanegloss, it's good to feel we're being listened to. Eon said they'd change our meter to an Economy 7 one, but they've asked us to wait now until Tuesday due to the bank holiday. Apparently they'll speak to SP themselves next week. SP admitted they had customers on Weathercall, but they wouldn't take us, so they do have the tariff, they just don't fancy us. What's worrying us now is that we're being asked to pay £130 monthly and it might be more, as we used our electricity on peak times (which we didn't know), so if SP takes us and our electricity usage last year gets a revision, we might end up paying even more.
Just to clarify, we're paying right now £119 to cover for the winter usage, however the new meter readings indicate that this month we've used £126. That's an electric shower + 1 storage heater + the cooker + lights (we have energy saving lightbulbs) + 1 computer on for 4 hours/day.

I was thinking of going to the BBC Watchdog, as we might not be the only ones in this situation. E-on have just realised that they've been wrongly supplying electricity to this property for the last 2 years, so who knows?

insanegloss

At least your getting somewhere with eon (hopefully!), these scenarios are uncommon but as you can attest they do happen unfortunately.

The volumes of people affected are low, I only come across handfuls of these types of cases in my 6 years at BG.

Stick at it getting E7, it may take a bit of work but it should be the cure for your problems in the future. And perhaps ask (nicely!) for a goodwill gesture once resolved considering the effort you've expended.

Oh, and use a price comparison site to try and get the best deal you can.