Massive electricity bill that I can not explain!

12amat

Thanks guys for all your replies! Really appreciate!

Do you guys know how often, BY LAW, you must replace your electricity meter? As I said EDF never came to inspect it or to read the meter physically. They did try, I must admit, but if they keep coming to read the meter from MON-FRI From 9am to 5pm good luck in finding someone home!

I think this, and tell me if I am wrong: I didn't mis read the meter for 5 years and they can not prove it. They said that meter works fine and I can't prove it, but if they give me 1 year until next April I can prove them that my consumption is around 6000Kwh, because I am 1000% sure that I didn't give the meter wrong and because I am super confident that all this story is not my fault.

I still believe that something happened to the meter when it had to set the 50000Kwh, probably it was out of sync or something else. I cant prove it because I don't spend my time looking at the meter. I just check it every 3 months when I have to give the readings.

From April 2013 until July 2013 I used up 600Kwh, a 1/10 of my usual annual consumption (ok it is summer time, but as you can see we still have 3 months of warm weather in front of us and I still have around 5500kwh left until April). I didn't record this period April-July, EDF did, so they cannot blame me for the mis read this 600Kwh figure.

This is a fact and no a supposition or assumption or probability!

I am curios to wait until the meter turns from 69999 to 70000.

st999

Do you know what your very first meter reading was?

Why don't you post all the readings and dates that you have?

And a photo of your meter as well

kazwookie

Why not photograph the meter each time you take a reading? and send it to the supplier?

Can you not book them to read the meter when you / wife are on holiday?

dogshome

What's interesting about all this is the position EDF are taking

Even they do not accept that 12,224 Kwh could possibly be used in 3 months, but rather than change this ancient meter so it can be examined for fault, they are pursueing the OP for payment on the grounds that he/she
lied consistantly for 5 years about the meters readings !

From the postings, it seems that 12amat inherited EDF as his/her supplier when moving to the house and has never Switched - So if EDF's ' We were told lies' position is true, how did it come about that they accepted an Opening Reading that was 10,000kwh lower that the End Reading given by the previous occupier ?

As previously posted, the key to this problem is the readings on the Final Bill issued to the previous occupier

antenna

Have next door tapped into your leccy supply to grow wacky baccy in their loft?

anneliza

I know this is stating the obvious but have you taken your case to The Energy Ombudsman?

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.html

SwanJon

Keeping my devil's advocate hat on

12amat wrote: »

They said that meter works fine and I can't prove it, but if they give me 1 year until next April I can prove them that my consumption is around 6000Kwh.

All you can prove by waiting until next April, is what your consumption is betweeh April 2013 and April 2014. I agree that it will be fairly hefty evidence for your annual consumption if it lines up with your previous years, but it does not prove what you used up to April 2013, and does not prove that the meter has jumped 10,000 kWh - especially if they don't have any meter reader reads to confirm your customer reads.

12amat wrote: »

I didn't mis read the meter for 5 years and they can not prove it.

I know it is hard to say you were wrong when you know you were right, but this might be the quickest and most painless way out of it.
If the reading you provided when you moved in was 10,000 kWh too low (as was every subsequent read you provided up to April this year), and they agree to rebill to this, then you'll be back on track.

12amat

Hi Guys!

It seems that the good common sense prevailed in this story.
Today I have received a phone call from one of the managers from EDF. He said to me that he spoke to one of the most senior electric meter engineer of the company, apparently a guru of meter engineers. This guy said every blue moon a meter can jump/skip the 10000Kwh dial, and he said that just because all the information that I provided to them made sense, this is a blue moon situation.
They decided to wave me bill, install a new meter start from the meter reading 50660 instead of 60660.

He said that they can not prove that I mis read the meter, they can see that my past consumption for the last 5 years is constant and make sense, they can see that after they read the meter in April I am in line with my 5 years consumption and based on the fact that my meter is 44 years old, it hasn't been tested since 1989 and the fact that the meter can skip/jump the 10000 dial is extremely rare but not impossible, they have decided not to charge me £1700 but they will charge me based on my annual consumption and they will install a new meter within 2 weeks.

I really hope this story is finished, in case I will keep posted. I just want to thank you all for the comments and suggestion.

Best regards.

[Deleted User]

Hi 12amat, glad to hear you got a result out of the complaint. Has this set a precedent for all dial meters if " a meter guru " quotes that the 10,000 dial can suddenly jump a cog ? I sincerely hope EDF will make good the 10,000kwh s back to the grid because of this strange fault. Also they need to come out quickly to replace this meter if they admit its developed a fault. Somehow I cant see EDF coughing up over £1000 pounds to the National Grid anytime soon. I think the shortfall will be absorbed by a bit of clever accountancy so they repay zero . I will pass on your experience to any others I meet who have "dial" meter billing problems, of which there are many
I dont think there is any" laws "about certification of meters but theres certainly a "law" set by OFGEM requiring these suppliers to do a 2 year safety inspection on your meter of which they have broken, as they routinely do. Skimping on 2 year safety checks has put you in a position where you have to defend your last 5 years self reading. Edf have a bad reputation amongst Revenue Protection also due their laxness

Welshdresser

I may have missed this further up the thread, but where is your meter located and could anyone else gain access to it (i.e in a communal entrance)? Just wondering as I have been on some training at work today about meter fraud and people tapping into other properties supply. Could this be possible in your case?