Wrong electric meter reading

Jharpin7

Please can anyone help me. I'm with British Gas and when I brought my first home I gave totally the wrong meter readings to them. I haven't gave them another meter reading for 12 months and when I rang up today and have them the correct meter readings I have 2 which are day and night they are totally different due to me giving a wrong one when I first moved in.. I'm really worried I will end up with a huge bill due to my mistake. I live in a 2 bedroom house with my girlfriend.. British gas are sending out a meter reader in 3 weeks and will then run a burner test to estimate what it was when I moved in.. Can anyone tell me please where I stand and if I will end up with a huge bill I really am clueless when it comes to this. Thank you so much

JJ_Egan

The fact is you are going to owe them for your twelve months use . Have you been paying BG for current usage since you moved in . As to BG being able to give an accurate estimate one hopes that they can and maybe past occupier gave a true final reading .

Jharpin7

I have paid 30 pound a month for the past 12 months that's what they asked me for. We received a refund of 240 on gas we were charged for but didn't use. So are hoping we should be owed money on the electric we completed the purchase of the house in October last year however it needed renovating so didn't move in until march this year but starting paying bills in October. The last time the old owner gave a reading was September 2012

Cardew

Jharpin7 wrote: »

I have paid 30 pound a month for the past 12 months that's what they asked me for. We received a refund of 240 on gas we were charged for but didn't use. So are hoping we should be owed money on the electric we completed the purchase of the house in October last year however it needed renovating so didn't move in until march this year but starting paying bills in October. The last time the old owner gave a reading was September 2012

Welcome to the forum.


The average gas/electricity bill is around £1,200 per year. Usually more with British Gas.


As I understand your post, in the last 12 months you have paid £360 and had a rebate of £240 so a total paid of £120 and you are hoping for a further rebate??


Bear in mind that you will be on BG's standard tariff, which is their most expensive, you are very likely to end up with a justified bill of well over £1,000. The Daily Standing Charge - before you use any gas electricity is £190.

Jharpin7

No we pay 50 pound a month for gas over the last 12 months however we received 240 pound back. We have paid 30 pound a month for electric.

SwanJon

What do you mean by totally the wrong readings?
It may be possible to work out the right readings from them.
E.g. if you gave day and night the wrong way round it's easy to work out what they should have been.
If you misread a dial (clock face) meter it can probably be worked out too.

If you read a neighbours meter then those readings won't help.

You have the readings from yesterday, and they have one from around 2 years ago so they can make a rough estimate for the day you moved in.

You can challenge this estimate if you think it is wrong, but you'll need something to back it up. Take readings every week (or day if you want), and use these to work out roughly how much you use each day.
Then work back to when you moved in (March), and again to when you bought the propoerty (this will be harder as you don't really know how much was being used).

That said, it might be you agree with their estimate, but regular readings are never a bad idea and if you give them to BG (online is easiest) it will mean their future estimates are more accurate.

matelodave

SwanJon wrote: »

That said, it might be you agree with their estimate, but regular readings are never a bad idea and if you give them to BG (online is easiest) it will mean their future estimates are more accurate.

One would hope that if you give them regular meter readings - ideally every month, then you shouldn't get estimates.

Jharpin7

British Gas said to me when I rang yesterday that the readings that were given and they only took a night reading when I moved in are totally different.. I think I may have given the total of day and night rate together as my meter first gives the total then rate 1 which is day and rate 2 which I assume is night.