NPower won't accept my meter reading

Firemunchkin

We're having severe problems getting NPower to accept our electricity meter reading. In August, we submitted a reading and it was quite high - the website said it looked too high so someone called us a few days later to double check we'd got it right. We had triple checked it - each - and it was correct. Our bill was sky-high as a result and our monthly payments doubled. In November we submitted a reading but it was actually LOWER than the previous reading. How on earth can that happen?! Again, we both checked this and it is a correct reading. Understandably, NPower won't accept this because it is lower than the previous reading.

I received a call from their office and I explained to them that the reading was correct but I didn't understand how it could be lower. I said that we had requested the meter be changed several times before because it is such an old one (the clocks type) but that request had been ignored [side question: is it the energy company who is meant to change these or us? I was pretty sure that messing around with a meter is not allowed by the home owner?] I asked if they could send an engineer round to read the meter, but they said they can't do that on a weekend. I explained that I work full time and can't take a day off (I have no annual leave left) but they wouldn't budge. In fact, the girl on the phone was so argumentative I had to ask her to get someone else to call me back. They didn't.

I then got an email from them, a generic one, to which I replied explaining my difficulties. Nobody has replied.

I've also tried Twitter - and they've said that some areas do Saturdays and others don't. Not helpful. Now I'm being ignored again.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with a bill which is too high.

Can anyone suggest anything else that might work? Should there be another way of dealing with this? Or am I forced to take an (unpaid) day off work to deal with this? Can I switch provider and get the new provider to take an accurate reading (on a Saturday!)?

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

The dial meters are notoriously mis-read. I would say with 99% certainty that's what the issue is here - for a meter to suddenly start spinning backwards is so rare I'd almost discount it.

If you want someone to come out and look into this, be prepared to take a day off. Or the other person you mention in your first paragraph takes a day off. Switching provider won't really help the issue - even if the transfer weren't blocked by npower because of all the shenanigans, whoever you choose as the new provider won't come out to read the meter straight away.

[Deleted User]

Its the old dial meter mess up as usual.Probably the 10,000 kwhr dial bang on a border pointing to eg a 5 when its still a 4 until the dial on the right, the1000 kwhr dial passes the zero. I ve had it many times where the occupiers say they have read their own meters correctly and end up with a computer billing them 10,000 kwhrs too much , approx £1200.
When dials align on borders the simple rule of thumb is to check the dial to the right and make the decision from that, not what your eyes see

dogshome

Damned Dial Meters ! Apart from being hard to read they are now very old and should have been consigned to the scrapyard years ago

Each segmant on the extreme Left hand dial reads 10,000 units and with the pointer hovering on the number it's all too easy to read it as the next number up.

The trick is to look at the dial on the right hand side of it - If this dial is reading a low number such as 1 or 2, then the 10,000 dial really has advanced one number, but if that right hand dial is showing 9 the 10,000 dial should be read as the lower number of the segmant the pointer is on

footyguy

Firemunchkin wrote: »

We're having severe problems getting NPower to accept our electricity meter reading. In August, we submitted a reading and it was quite high - the website said it looked too high so someone called us a few days later to double check we'd got it right. We had triple checked it - each - and it was correct. Our bill was sky-high as a result and our monthly payments doubled. In November we submitted a reading but it was actually LOWER than the previous reading. How on earth can that happen?! Again, we both checked this and it is a correct reading. Understandably, NPower won't accept this because it is lower than the previous reading.

I received a call from their office and I explained to them that the reading was correct but I didn't understand how it could be lower. I said that we had requested the meter be changed several times before because it is such an old one (the clocks type) but that request had been ignored [side question: is it the energy company who is meant to change these or us? I was pretty sure that messing around with a meter is not allowed by the home owner?] I asked if they could send an engineer round to read the meter, but they said they can't do that on a weekend. I explained that I work full time and can't take a day off (I have no annual leave left) but they wouldn't budge. In fact, the girl on the phone was so argumentative I had to ask her to get someone else to call me back. They didn't.

I then got an email from them, a generic one, to which I replied explaining my difficulties. Nobody has replied.

I've also tried Twitter - and they've said that some areas do Saturdays and others don't. Not helpful. Now I'm being ignored again.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with a bill which is too high.

Can anyone suggest anything else that might work? Should there be another way of dealing with this? Or am I forced to take an (unpaid) day off work to deal with this? Can I switch provider and get the new provider to take an accurate reading (on a Saturday!)?

Forget emails, twitter, facebook, etc - follow this if you have cause for complaint (preferably putting your complaint in writing)
http://www.npower.com/idc/groups/wcms_content/@wcms/@busi/documents/digitalassets/puttingthingsright100108.pdf

I don't think you will be ignored, but it even explains what you can do (after 8 weeks) if you are

AndysDad

There's lots of info on the web how to read this type of meter that might help you sort this problem out.

Firemunchkin

Ok - so Twitter worked, eventually. I got them to admit that they do Saturday appointments for meter readings and they booked one in for me. God knows why the girl on the phone was being so difficult and refusing to accept that they do Saturdays!

They've also agreed to upgrade my meter although that will have to be on a weekday, and I will probably do this early next year when I can actually get a day off work (new annual leave allowance!)

It's good that we've got a meter reading being done earlier though because then our bill can be sorted out properly - at the moment we're being grossly overcharged so the sooner that is reduced the better! :T