Broken Meter! - Who's liable

[Deleted User]

Hello,

So I had our annual Gas Cert inspection a couple of days ago.

The gas man noticed that our meter was broken - it wasn't moving when the gas was on - He reported it to the gas board and its being sorted next Friday.

However it raised a few questions;

Our gas usage was 0 from March this year until three months ago - the last three months it has shown a small usage amount.

We gave our meeting readings monthly up until about two months ago when we changed contract (Same supplier) and they started taking readings every other month and we provided in-between.

Who is liable and can we expect a bill?

Our argument is that there was a usage in last three months, so does that mean it could have been deemed to have been working?

Also, they have been getting meter readings every month, so they should have known if something was wrong - they had even taken them themselves their self on a couple of occasions.

We aren't sure what to expect, we had an argument with them when we noticed them as they wanted us to foot the bill for the meter, our Gas Man told them in no uncertain terms that was ridiculous.

Any Help?

Swipe

They will monitor your usage over a set period once the meter has been replaced and will then back bill you based on an average of the amount used. Therefore, it is in your own interest to be as energy efficient as possible over the monitoring period.

[Deleted User]

Swipe wrote: »

They will monitor your usage over a set period once the meter has been replaced and will then back bill you based on an average of the amount used. Therefore, it is in your own interest to be as energy efficient as possible over the monitoring period.

But surely that will be over the winter - i.e. when usage is highest?

When will they back date from though? March or three months ago?

Technically it registered usage last month so could it be argued that only last month - They have no way of knowing the usage - when we were here etc etc?

dogshome

A gas meter that has failed in servicedue to normal wear & tear, is replaced Free of Charge (Would be different if there was evidence of the meter being tampered with by the cutomer)

The usual route for billing during the meters problem period, is for a bill to be issued that is based on the historical readings prior to the meter's failure.

However your need for a Gas Safety Certificate suggests the meter is in rented-out premises ?
If so and there has been a recent change of tenant, prior useage history is a problem, so it's a matter of a negotiated agreement between you and the supplier

For your supplier to even suggest that you are liable for the cost of fitting a another meter is astounding - Did you get this comment over the phone from their Customer Service Desk - If so the staff on these desks are notorious for
giving out wrong information, which supplier is it.?

Swipe

newbieboy wrote: »

But surely that will be over the winter - i.e. when usage is highest?

When will they back date from though? March or three months ago?

They will seasonally adjust it and mostly likely backdate it to when the meter stopped working or when you took over the account (whichever is applicable). I agree with dogshome, they cannot base your historic usage on a previous tenant.

[Deleted User]

So this was someone from E.On, who have been amazing normally.

The gas man went mental at them and told them they would not be charging me - he said it was appalling for them to even ask that. - Yes this was over the phone - the Customer Services member was annoying and useless in all honesty.

It is rented yes - but we have been in the house since it was built (2012).

I was going to complain to E.On about the fact that they tried to charge us anyway - was curious if i was right though lol

When will they deem it was broken though - March or a month ago - It has shown usage lately so it seems bait of a grey area?

dogshome

Good that you have a previous history, but check any estimated bill you do get and argue if you think it's wrong - It's all still down to negotiation.

IMPORTANT When the meter change crew do the job, make damned sure they give you a dated card that shows the reading on the old meter, even though it's broken, and the reading on the new meter at the moment it's installed ( It may not be reading OOOOO ! )

[Deleted User]

By "gas man" do you mean a meter reader ? reporting it to the gas board ? does nt exist for donkeys years. Gas man going mental ? whats it got to do with him, his job is to notify the supplier and not get involved in a phone calls to anyones supplier. He s a very diligent meter reader anyway to even spot that the hundreths of a unit was nt advancing. I find this whole post very odd. The only gas meters I find " stopped " are the prepays where its 100% customers fault for bypassing by a number of different cons and scams, super rare for a credit meter to stop. The customer is bound by their terms and conditions to report any fault asap, they are not liable for genuine faulty meters but are liable of course for tampers and attempted tampers which damage the meters

[Deleted User]

Who said it was a Gas Meter Reader?

It was a Gas Man doing a gas certification for the property. Someone who is legally obliged to report ANY faults with the gas system.

He got involved when they tried to bill me because he was the one reporting the fault to E.On, he was better placed to argue wether i should get billed as a Gas Cert professional. Otherwise I would have billed for something shouldn't have been billed for.

Also it wasn't a pre pay meter it was a credit meter, they don't often fail unless sabotaged but they did in this instance.

If you had read the first post it states:

"So I had our annual Gas Cert inspection a couple of days ago.

The gas man noticed that our meter was broken.." Nothing about a meter reader..

ValHaller

newbieboy wrote: »

The gas man noticed that our meter was broken.." Nothing about a meter reader.

'Gas man' is such a vague term that you should take responsibility for the misunderstanding.

As yo have a small usage amount, you could perhaps argue that the meter had in fact recorded your usage? Do you have any readings from last year?

[Deleted User]

Yes, We do have readings from last year.

The Meter was meant to be fixed last friday (a week after we reported it) but they never turned up.

Am i obliged to tell them that they never turned up?

We are annoyed due to the fact we had to finish work early :-(