Charged for nighttime useage electricity when nothing has been used

chrisplettuce

My wife has run a little shop in our local town for the last 9 years. Since she took it over she has been charged nighttime useage charges for electricity when every single thing in the shop has been switched off at the socket, not even the till has been left on yet British Gas has continued to charge her all this time. I think she's entitled to a refund but need to know if we have a leg to stand on. We're only a very small concern up against the big boys and couldn't afford a court case.

Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to offer advice.

Andy_WSM

First off, why is the shop on an economy tariff? The daytime rates are charged at a premium over non-economy tariffs.

How much usage are you talking about? It's unlikely you have achieved a zero load on the meter unless you turn the fuseboard off.

Unfortunately, if the meter is registering consumption it has to be paid for.

Nada666

How is it being billed? What type of meter/s do you have? Is there more than one reading?

Is the night-time charge a standing charge? If usage where is the reading coming from?

Or is your usage a single reading that is being distributed contrary to actual use?

If the tariff was not suitable then nine years seems a long time to be stuck on a contract - how long were your contracts? Did you not notice before the first renewal?

naedanger

chrisplettuce wrote: »

My wife has run a little shop in our local town for the last 9 years. Since she took it over she has been charged nighttime useage charges for electricity when every single thing in the shop has been switched off at the socket, not even the till has been left on yet British Gas has continued to charge her all this time. I think she's entitled to a refund but need to know if we have a leg to stand on. We're only a very small concern up against the big boys and couldn't afford a court case.

Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to offer advice.

If she can prove she did not use the electricity she was charged for over the last six (I think) years she should not have to pay for it, but she will have to pay any standing charges. But leaving it so long means she is probably going to find it very difficult to convince the supplier she did not use any of this energy.

She will need to work out what has been going on that has resulted in her getting bills for nighttime electricity. Have there been meter readings, and have they been correct? Is the meter reading moving over time and if so why? (Test by monitoring overnight when nothing is plugged in. Also check to see if it is moving during the daytime)

One thought that crosses my mind from seeing other posts is that the night meter is actually registering usage at some time during the day, in which case your wife may actually have benefited (by getting more expensive daytime electricity at cheaper nighttime rates).

[Deleted User]

Yes, Naedanger is correct. If the timerswitch controlling the day/night switch is an old analogue 24 hour timer, then these could well be switching tp the night rate at any time in the 24 hour period. Many are miles out, no one corrects the timerswitch. This is all well and good if the user is aware of this, but mostly they re not. "Which " magazine flagged this story up about customers losing money over this .they can gain if they re aware of it.