Intermittent gas meter fault?

macman

No, your maths is spot on-that is 2,480 cu m = 28,179 kWh and will cost around £1,048.

espresso

uk1 wrote: »

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?

If the meter has registered 2480 cu M of gas in the 3 months that you say the boiler was definitely switched OFF, then you have a leak after the meter which is not nPowers problem!

uk1

Thanks macman,

Well, I didn't want to own up to the method I used because it was dirty and simple! Having struggled doing it the proper way, I got my current bill, and took the previous reading from the last reading divided into the total gas cost gave me a factor of £0.406 per unit of meter reading - from memory. None of this calorie or kwh malarky. Simple.

I have had a couple of conversations with different people at npower this afternoon. They acknowledge it's all strange and if I understand them correctly they are going to fit a tandem meter alongside the current one. No mention of any charge. I guess it's now just a matter of being patient and seeing it through.

In the first year with them the bill was less than £50 for the year. This year for 21 days they calculate nearly £60 per day. I have dated and timed camera pictures of when we arrive and leave, indoors temperature logs showing the temperature is a little lower before and after we arrive, telephone bills showing when the phone was used .... if it gets nasty I can show we were only here for 21 days and there is a gas usage of around a £1k when the house was unoccupied. No gas leaks as far as we can tell.

When I get back to base I'll write to them to ensure no misunderstandings.

Thanks for listening.

uk1

espresso wrote: »

If the meter has registered 2480 cu M of gas in the 3 months that you say the boiler was definitely switched OFF, then you have a leak after the meter which is not nPowers problem!

Well, I would have thought that a £1000 of gas might in a few months in a house with electrical appliances and electric lights going on and off might have caused a bit of a firework display.

If they thought that was a possibility I would have thought they would have mentioned?

I don't now how you have concluded it isn't a meter problem but thanks.

espresso

uk1 wrote: »

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.

uk1 wrote: »

Well, I would have thought that a £1000 of gas might in a few months in a house with electrical appliances and electric lights going on and off might have caused a bit of a firework display.

If they thought that was a possibility I wold have thought they would have mentioned?

I don't now how you have concluded it isn't a meter problem but thanks.

So you are saying that the meter is only faulty when you are not there and the boiler is switched off!

If the boiler was on 24/7 for 3 months it could only use a maximum 3780 cu M in that time but in reality it could not actually use that much because the burner would not be on 24/7.

It is very easy to get a gas tightness test done to check this.

uk1

I don't know when it is faulty, but over the last three days it seems to be showing sensible usage.

There's no smell of gas.

espresso

uk1 wrote: »

I don't know [STRIKE]when[/STRIKE] IF it is faulty, but over the last three days it seems to be showing sensible usage.

There's no smell of gas.

It is not always possible to smell escaping gas. I have seen a massive gas leak where the occupants were totally unaware e.g. the gas pipe was underfloor. No explosion though.

Simple logic suggests that you need to get it checked for an escape.

uk1

Thanks.

I have stuck my nose against an airbrick that ventilates the underneath of the house ie nelow floorboards - but there is no smell of gas.

chanz4

uk1 wrote: »

Thanks macman,



I have had a couple of conversations with different people at npower this afternoon. They acknowledge it's all strange and if I understand them correctly they are going to fit a tandem meter alongside the current one. No mention of any charge. I guess it's now just a matter of being patient and seeing it through.

This is not possible, as only one main. The test is called an ofmat test, the meter is removed and sent to an ofgem registered test place. However I bet they get you to sign a form first.

macman

You'll be charged only if the meter proves to be within tolerance.