Massive electricity bill that I can not explain!

Wail

If you can post your Meter Reading today, we will be able to understand what has happened.

12amat

Unfortunately no sacsquacco. They read the meter rightly, same did I! Although, as I said earlier, it looks like the first digit is wrong. If the meter would have been 50074 instead of 60074 everything would make sense, with a 2 months consumption of over 2000Kwh. I think something happened to the meter when the indicator turn the 50000Kwh.

It really looks me and EDF are right, but I know that I read correctly but they think I cheated for all this time. It is difficult for me to prove that I didn't cheat unless they give me until April 2014 to prove that my consumption is around 6000Kwh

12amat

I sent you my email on PM.

Are you a meter reader? I really hope you can help me
Regards

Dimey

When I had a problem with my meter I was told by my supplier to read the meter twice a day, every day for a week and as I'm on economy 7 it had to be at the change over times.

This helped them see whether there was something wrong with the meter. There was and they changed the meter for a new one. They also refunded the wrong charges to an amount we agreed averaged my pattern of use.

I've not had my meter read by a supplier in the 20 years I've lived here, with the exception of the chap who came to swap the meter.

OP, it feels as though you are panicking a bit. I understand why. Advice here seems to be ask EDF to come back for another meter read. Why don't you stand with the chap when he reads it so you know he has it right.

Get your historical usage evidence onto a spreadsheet and send another letter of appeal (writing not phone). Maybe ask for a new meter to be installed and ask them to ringfence the disputed month(s) until the dispute is resolved. Maybe offer to pay half of it by instalments until the correct amount is agreed between you.

12amat

Hi Wail, my meter today says 60670 from April when EDF read 60074. As you can see I used almost 600Kwh in 3 months (which is my usual consumption in this period of the year for the last 5 years). Something happened between FEB 2013 and APR 2013 when the meter jumped from 47850 to 60074 in 2 months.

silv.surfer

Sorry for butting in on this thread but if I could ask a question of the Poster, when my husband before retiring was a LEB meter reader in the 80's sometimes when he read a meter and it was much higher than usual, he would ask the Customer if they had recently added a Fan Heater type of appliance, which had come onto the market about that time.

Mostly he found that they had a visual Glow Heater/Fireplace recently installed that had a Fan Heater element for actual heating. In most cases these were found to be the cause of astramonical bills and and the Customer got this type of heating changed.

Just an idea of possible cause, or did anything else change equipment wise in that Feb to April 2013.

[Deleted User]

Hi 12amat, yes I am a meter reader, working for EDF/Scot Power and BG. As I said in my email, occasionally I see a dial pointer which is slightly out of alignment, enough to make the 10,000 pointer to appear to be past the zero, even tho the dial to the right , the 1000 pointer is still well before the zero between nine and zero. This is what happened with my old ladys meter where two meter readers came and read it incorrectly getting a bill of £700 extra. Also the pointers can be read incorrectly viewed from strange angles, above or below etc. I have a few photos of such meters. They should ideally be viewed at level. the meter dials are clockwork, the little dial at the right, the 10 ths, drives all the others linked by clockwork teeth , so jumping cogs would be unlikely. If that had happened, the relationship of one or more of the pointers would be out, and still out now. There is a set relationship which all the pointers follow if all is ok

dogshome

Hi 12amat - Reading back it seems that you have kept every bill since you moved in, in 2008. For EDF not to have taken their own a reading at any time over 5 years is astounding and a total breach of the rules

I'm sure you have done this, but please check back to see that there really isn't a bill which states it is based on a Meter Readers reading

With no Meter Readers readings and the possibility that your particular meter has 'Jumped' a digit on the 10K dial, the accusation that you have cheated on Customer Given readings for 5 years can only be dis-proved by reference to the Final Reading given by the previous occupier of your house
It's perhaps fortunate that you have not Switched supplier since moving in

EDF will be difficult about producing the previous occupiers bill, but they will still have it
You need to WRITE a letter headed Complaint, making much of the fact that they have called you a cheat and a liar and not read you meter for 5 years, demanding they give you a copy of the previous occupiers Final Bill, albeit with the account holders name blanked out for Data Protection

SwanJon

As you have all your bills for the past 5 years, you have all the readings. Have you collated them together to see if there is a pattern?
When you write, include these readings and dates, and probably a photo of the dials to give the agent all the info you have.
If the meter is recording correctly now you are going to have difficulty proving that it was reading incorrectly for a month.
Playing devil's advocate, from EDF's view it is more likely that you have used an extra 2k units/year over the 5 years than a meter going wrong then correcting itself.
Think about how you would counter this argument - the meter reading when you moved in, are you sure you didn't misread for 5 years? If you misread when you moved in and each time since then your consumption would be the same, you'd just need them to adjust yor moving in read (and each following one).

Good luck

ValHaller

12amat wrote: »

my last reading was 47850 and the EDF meter reader after 2 months was 60074. It looks like the first digit is wrong. If the meter would have been 50074 instead of 60074 everything would make sense, with a 2 months consumption of over 2000Kwh. I think something happened to the meter when the indicator turn the 50000Kwh.

I can't pay £1700 based on their assumption or from a meter that is from 1969 and that the last time that has been tested was in 1989!

That meter is well outside certification. Not that this is a factor likely to be relevant to jumping 10,000 units

sacsquacco wrote: »

Hi 12amat, yes I am a meter reader, working for EDF/Scot Power and BG. As I said in my email, occasionally I see a dial pointer which is slightly out of alignment, enough to make the 10,000 pointer to appear to be past the zero, even tho the dial to the right , the 1000 pointer is still well before the zero between nine and zero. This is what happened with my old ladys meter where two meter readers came and read it incorrectly getting a bill of £700 extra. Also the pointers can be read incorrectly viewed from strange angles, above or below etc. I have a few photos of such meters. They should ideally be viewed at level. the meter dials are clockwork, the little dial at the right, the 10 ths, drives all the others linked by clockwork teeth , so jumping cogs would be unlikely. If that had happened, the relationship of one or more of the pointers would be out, and still out now. There is a set relationship which all the pointers follow if all is ok

I think that the above is the most likely explanation