Broken Electric Meter for 4 Years..HELP

[Deleted User]

Thank you, I will check out the flashing load .I will send in your information to firstly BG technical people to get their opinion .
Its not that the suppliers "dont give a toss " but once occupiers get to know that a blank screen means its now an all you can eat buffet, then they make sure to make life difficult to the DNO s ( they are the ones to come out ) to actually change the meter. They can see the van outside so its just a matter of not opening the door. There is nt a bypass involved so the address is then just put on the back burner for another call 3 months down the line. Its never escalated to warrant of entry status
We have always been under the impression that the read has gone and can t be brought back. Call centre staff have been quoted on here to say "use as much as you like " until meter is replaced.
I am going to email BG technical staff to ascertain if the current reading can be seen on a blank display . I will certainly quote that link you added.
I have a SMETS 1 smart meter in my house for the last three years. The smart switching point is purely a customer service point about smart meters.There is more to smart meters than the ability to switch seamlessly. Suppliers want smarts for a few important reasons such as , correct billing and timings, the ability to stop professional renters notching up free energy to a large amount, new time of use tariffs,and my favourite, early detection of a meter bypass. So far in the 8 years I ve been looking at BG smart meters by Landys and Gyr I havent spotted one fiddled meter. One missing seal is the only transgression I ve seen. OK, I ll have to take another 30 mins visit by a meter fitter to get SMETS 2..Ill enjoy the chat about all the bypassed meters hes discovered in his job.

leewesley20371

Hi, I think I've just been stung by EDF for a meter that's been faulty for over 7 years. They have told me it was my responsibility to pay the estimated consumption as I did not declare residing at the house since 2014. I informed them I was a private tenant, I was unaware I had to inform the electricity suppliers I had moved into the property and the landlord handed me the key and just told me to top up the meter as and when needed to. I found out in August this year that the readings have been the same for the last 7 years. Is there anything I can do to sort this out as they have offered me a £500 discount off a £1500 bill.

Cardew

leewesley20371 wrote: »

Hi, I think I've just been stung by EDF for a meter that's been faulty for over 7 years. They have told me it was my responsibility to pay the estimated consumption as I did not declare residing at the house since 2014. I informed them I was a private tenant, I was unaware I had to inform the electricity suppliers I had moved into the property and the landlord handed me the key and just told me to top up the meter as and when needed to. I found out in August this year that the readings have been the same for the last 7 years. Is there anything I can do to sort this out as they have offered me a £500 discount off a £1500 bill.

Welcome to the forum.

Did you think electricity was free?

leewesley20371

Thanks for the welcome,
I understand it's not free lol, it seems to me they are making myself and my partner a scapegoat for all the money they've lost over the last 7 years. As I've mentioned my landlord gave us the electricity key and informed us all we have to do is top it up. I've also have a child with ADHD and now I have to put at least £35 a week in to cover everything as they charged us for the credit they put on the new meter on top of this.

Cardew

You don't say what type of property you live in, or if it is all electric.

However most all electric properties will cost at least £1,000 a year to run with a Payment meter. So being charged £1,000 since 2014 is not being made a scapegoat.

leewesley20371

I live in a house with oil based heating and electric. It's a 3 bed room end house, they gave us an estimated reading of £1500, but it's the fact that they solely blamed the fault on us and are only dropping the amount by £500 instead of as others have mentioned 50% of the bill.

Cardew

What do you mean by 'oil based heating'? An oil central heating boiler, with a big oil tank, supplying hot water and heating via radiators?

Or electrical heated oil filled radiators?

lstar337

leewesley20371 wrote: »

As I've mentioned my landlord gave us the electricity key and informed us all we have to do is top it up.

Stupid landlords keep doing this, probably to pay off accumulated debt!!

My partner was told this by the landlord and had no idea she had to sign up to a supplier until I told her. She had already paid off the debt of the previous tenant before I met her. She was a struggling single mum spiraling into debt herself due to bills and the council meddling with her benefit top up.

These landlords should be reported and stopped from being allowed to rent properties.

Do you have a deposit protection scheme in place? That's another one my partner got stung on too.

lstar337

leewesley, your posts are getting a little complicated.

1. What type of heating do you have?

2. Who is your supplier?

3. Do you have a bill?

4. If you have been topping up, I presume it is a pre-pay meter. Do the supplier have a record of all your top ups? Do you have a record of them? (bank statements maybe)

5. If the meter is broken, how did you know it was topping up? Or is it just the register that has stopping working?

6. Do you have any clue of what the meter reading was when you moved in?

Try to answer some of these and we'll see what we can work out.

If you have a copy of the bill, can you upload it here with the personal stuff scrubbed?