Intermittent gas meter fault?

uk1

I know that meter faults are rare. Has anyone ever heard of an intermittent fault? I guess mechanically / electronically it is perfectly feasible.

We have a second home. We are currently there now and the meter is moving up daily as we would expect. Central heating costing roughly £1.50 per day. However, for the last two months when we haven't been here and the central hating was completely powered down, it has shown that we have used several hundred pounds worth! We always take readings at the end of each visit. As a double check, I also have a weather station that keeps an hourly record and it shows that the inside temperature reduced for the whole time we weren't here to ambient temperature.

Meter hasn't been changed. Just preparing for a nonsense few months with npower.

macman

A 'few hundred pounds worth'?
Be more specific. What are the opening and closing readings, and over how many days. Metric or imperial meter?
Have you doubled checked both the readings and the conversion to kWh?

uk1

Hi - it's a modern well insulated 3 bed south facing terraced house with a metric meter.

When we left the house on 20/6/2013 we read the meter as 8180 and when we arrived a few days ago it was 10660. My maths are potentially flakey but rough and ready I think that is just over £1000 for gas in an empty house where the central heating was switched off with 100% certainty.

In looking at the previous readings, I have an "actual" which I have taken as being read by a meter reader on 27/2/2013 of 7111 and if you take our earlier reading of 8180 making a rough gas cost of £440 for 21 nights occupation. I guess that £20 per night for gas central heating isn't impossible but it does seem suspect.

I have ignored the daily standing charge - this is just gas.

What do you think?

notbritishgas

The figures you quote do look unbelievable.
When you are at the property why not switch off the gas with the emergency cut off lever on the meter, then see if the meter advances at all.
If not switch it back on and make sure all of the gas appliances are off, then see if the meter moves.

uk1

I'll try that.

In the interim, I'm getting a bit stressed about how one sets about sorting it out.

I have sent npower a message telling them that there is a problem, I'll contact them in a few days and that they are authorised to continue the current direct debit but not authorised to increase it to several hundred pounds a month which is what they said in the last bill.

Does anyone have any advice as to how I manage the resolution of this with as little pain as possible?

C_Mababejive

Maybe you have had squatters/unauthorised visitors?

uk1

Thanks, but Impossible.

We have an extensive IP camera security system. It is pretty sophisticated I promise!

espresso

uk1 wrote: »

Thanks, but Impossible.

We have an extensive IP camera security system. It is pretty sophisticated I promise!

So why isn't one of these cameras on the meter then?

Why don't you read the meter and then turn off the gas supply at the meter when you leave the property?

uk1

Because the meter is on an outside wall and there is no front garden.

As I said , we will try turning off the meter next visit.

uk1

Does anyone have any advice as to how I manage the resolution of this with as little pain as possible?

Thanks.

chanz4

do you have an internal leak, reason I ask is meters don't correct themselves. you can have a meter test, but if found correct they will bill you