Coin meter for electric, rate set by landlord :S

adam88888

Hi this is my first thread on this forum but have found it to be a great resource for information in the past.

I have recently moved into a flat through a private landlord, rent seems fairly cheap, £470pcm which includes rant,water rates and broadband. my only other bills are council tax and electric.

Land lord said that it was to expensive to have a key meter fitted so she's had to stick with an old pound coin meter which she empty's manually and can set the "rates" on.

Im having real problems understanding the old dials on the front of the coin meter. I'd just like to determine what exactly the rate that has been set is because it seems like im putting an awful lot of coins in considering im living by myself.

My brother who is an electrician has had alook at it and cant get his head around it either, hopefully someone on here has had experience with them and can point me in right direction. Adam

here is link to a picture i toke of the meter, unfortunatly i cant put working urls on as a new user but this might work.

tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=29wlj13&s=8#.VC6Fv_ldUxh

Replace the (dot) with a full stop and the link should work

Nada666

molerat

Somewhere around the white lump there should be a pin on the silver ring. The rate set is on the dark "B" ring next to that pin so 4.4 - 4.8 units per coin, can't quite tell from the angle of the photo.
http://www.electricmeters.co.uk/pdf/CoinMeter-SmithsAlteringUPC.pdf

Andy_WSM

I think molerat is about right. Another way to check is next time you put £1 in, see how much the "unused units" dial goes up by and we'll be able to work out roughly your unit cost.

lstar337

Looks like the pin is at 7 o'clock position which is labled as 4.0 on the black ring and 1.0 on the white ring.

Bark01

I think its illegal for the Landlord to actually make a profit from the meter unless they are a registered supplier.

Should cost ~£50 to replace a meter some suppliers might even do it free dependant on the circumstances. EDF are fairly good for swapping for free.

Andy_WSM

lstar337 wrote: »

Looks like the pin is at 7 o'clock position which is labled as 4.0 on the black ring and 1.0 on the white ring.

If it is then the landlord is almost certainly breaking the law. That would put the unit cost at 25p, double the current levels available from various suppliers.

adam88888

Thanks for your help so far, it appears that it is indeed set to 4.0 per unit

tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2m4rj0k&s=8#.VC7SFPldUxg

I put in another pound and this is a before and after of "unused fuel" dial.

Before:
tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2vkyn2b&s=8#.VC7TEfldUxg
After:
tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2wp8284&s=8#.VC7TevldUxg

Im abit concerned now, any advise how I should approach this to my landlord? Iv only just moved in and handed over £940. LL wanted 470 for the first months rent and said the other 470 was to cover last months rent instead of paying a deposit. the LL lives below me and seems like a really nice lady. Did seem abit to good to be true when i moved in.

misterbarlow

there is usually NO expense to have a key meter fitted, as most suppliers know this is a guaranteed way to get a payment.. there is usually only a charge to remove them...

matelodave

I'd guess this is a private meter so the electricity suppliers won't want to know about it and won't change it for free. The landlady probably just has a spur from her supply through the sub-meter meter to supply the rented accommodation.


There are strict rules about reselling electricity or gas - look here https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/74486/11782-resaleupdateoct05.pdf

Andy_WSM

adam88888 wrote: »

Thanks for your help so far, it appears that it is indeed set to 4.0 per unit

tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2m4rj0k&s=8#.VC7SFPldUxg

I put in another pound and this is a before and after of "unused fuel" dial.

Before:
tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2vkyn2b&s=8#.VC7TEfldUxg
After:
tinypic(dot)com/view.php?pic=2wp8284&s=8#.VC7TevldUxg

Im abit concerned now, any advise how I should approach this to my landlord? Iv only just moved in and handed over £940. LL wanted 470 for the first months rent and said the other 470 was to cover last months rent instead of paying a deposit. the LL lives below me and seems like a really nice lady. Did seem abit to good to be true when i moved in.

Ouch! It is indeed set to 4 units for £1. It should really be set at 7 or 8 units for £1 at current rates including an element for daily standing charge.

People saying it can be changed by the supplier... No, it can not - this is a sub-meter, owned by the Landlord. I would guess the flats electricity supply is split from the landlords and she uses the cash to pay the bill. Only thing is, it looks like you are paying most of her bill too!

How to approach it? Print this and give it to them: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/74486/11782-resaleupdateoct05.pdf

It's the law, they can't just ignore it. Point out you are getting just 4 units for £1 and even on the most expensive tariff is should be at least 6 and a savy consumer, 8.