Help me please! Losing the will to live!

MichelleM

I have had so many problems with having a new meter installed since the change from tokens to credit (I am with Scottish Power by the way).

Now I have finally got a new meter, however, I am shocked at the amount it is eating at each day!

I live in a small bedsit, have no washing machine or dryer, no dishwasher and I only put the water heater on when I need to. I only have one electric heater throughout all my bedsit which is on most evenings during winter.

Before the new meter, I could use only £5-£8 in electricity per week. However, I am now finding that my meter needs around £20 per week! I can't go on like this!

I don't have a clue when it comes to meter readings, but when I checked the kwh it said something like 0008650... This is the same for both day and night. However, I am sure for my last meter it was around 000465... during the day and 000667... at night. I think that it also says I am on Economy 1?

Does this sound right or is there a problem? I know that for my previous meter the weekly charge wasn't added so it will go up, but that is only £1.50 per week.

PLEASE HELP!

pink_poodle_queen

MichelleM wrote: »

I have had so many problems with having a new meter installed since the change from tokens to credit (I am with Scottish Power by the way).

Now I have finally got a new meter, however, I am shocked at the amount it is eating at each day!

I live in a small bedsit, have no washing machine or dryer, no dishwasher and I only put the water heater on when I need to. I only have one electric heater throughout all my bedsit which is on most evenings during winter.

Before the new meter, I could use only £5-£8 in electricity per week. However, I am now finding that my meter needs around £20 per week! I can't go on like this!

I don't have a clue when it comes to meter readings, but when I checked the kwh it said something like 0008650... This is the same for both day and night. However, I am sure for my last meter it was around 000465... during the day and 000667... at night.

Does this sound right or is there a problem? I know that for my previous meter the weekly charge wasn't added so it will go up, but that is only £1.50 per week.

PLEASE HELP!

Did you use the heater whilst you had the old meter, or have you only just started using it?

I have no heating in my cottage so for the last few years have relied solely on plug-in convector heatings, the models of heater I bought allegedly are only 1p an hour to run. However, in a three-bedroom cottage with three to four of those heaters they soon add up and are damn expensive to run over the few months of winter. Needless to say, this year seeing as I am now single so nobody at home during the day needing heat (as has been the case), I have abandoned the heaters in favour of a fleecy rug to wrap myself in infront of the TV, along with an extra jumper or two!!!

MichelleM

I have only ever used one heater, a two bar electric heater.

espresso

MichelleM wrote: »

I have only ever used one heater, a two bar electric heater.

A simple two bar electric fire, without thermostatic control would cost approx 20p per hour to run, dependant on your rate per kWh.

Terrylw1

Hi,

If your devices have remained the same there should be no difference in the units you are using. The price should be cheaper since token is always more expensive.

Take your meter reading each day at the same time for 7 days. You will then be able to see your daily average. So, deduct the day 1 reading from the day 7 reading. This will give you the 7 day use, so divide by 7 to get a daily average. Then times it by the rates you are paying and see how it compares to your old token weekly usage.

Also, if the Kwh dials have the end dial as red, you & your Supplier don't use that dial which would turn your Kwh into 000865. Is it possible you have included this red dial? If so, ignore it for the sake of taking a reading (including in the above calculation I've advised) or it will grossly increase your calculations.

Bit strange that both dials are the same though. Could you reply with a new set of reads please so we can advise further as I personally think you may have misread how to read the meter.

Don't worry, it's very common if you have.

MichelleM

I will have to print out your instructions and try to figure out a reading as you confused me a little bit!

I have also got another quick question, are storage heaters cheaper to run than an electric fire with only one bar working? (Don't ask!) It's just that since I have moved in I have had a storage heater but it has never worked- have told council but it is still yet to be sorted! They gave us an electric fan heater when our fire broke... which still hasn't been fixed!

olly300

Storage heaters are suppose to be cheaper as you should have economy seven. Therefore they store electricity during the night when it's cheaper and release it during the day as heat. If you are on such a tariff you should try and do electricty intensive things like heating your water and doing washing at night.

Terrylw1

No probs. Just take your reads off your meter each day for th next few days and post them on here if you want and I'll work out your dialy consumption if it helps.

If you post each read on here it will also help as it will show your daily fluctuations to see if there are any spikes appearing.

Meters are normally 5 or 6 dial for readings so with yours having 7 I reckon you have including the "red" dial which is less than 1Kwh and is not counting by your Supplier.

Regards

MichelleM

Well, I double checked my meter reading that hasn't changed since I have had it fitted on 9th September- it is still 0008116... This is both day and night. It is also set at Tariff 1.

I rang Scottish Power who told me that they didn't even know I had a new meter fitted, the woman then told me that I don't even have the correct meter fitted and that I am being charged at a higher rate. Apparently, I won't get a refund and she then arranged for a new meter to be fitted... God knows if they will turn up! In the meantime, I have to find £30 per week just to have electricity until the end of October as that is the only date they can do. :mad: I have never been so stressed in all my life. I wish I could take them to court!

They had failed to fit a meter due to missing appointments and left me with no electricity, so I had to call the emergency number for United Utilities who sent someone out (he informed me he shouldn't be working but did the job as a favour as everyone was watching the England match), Scottish Power told me the meter they have fitted is incorrect and there may be a chance that they can't even remove it now!

If anyone has seen my previous post they will know that I am not a happy bunny at the moment. I will post the previous situation below:

In October 2006, I received an appointment to have a new Smartcard meter fitted at my home. However, despite taking the day off work, you failed to arrive on the specified date. Previously to this, I received a letter from you saying that I had not been paying my electricity bill. When I responded it turned out that the card I had been using for several years had been from the previous suppliers, and the money I had paid was transferred. I was then told that you would send me a new card, however, it did not match my meter and was therefore useless (I would also like to add that when the card was sent, it had absolutely no reference to your company on it to verify that it was actually valid, and this was the same with the letter that was provided with it- it had no header and looked liked someone had ‘put it together’ themselves. That is why I needed a new meter.

Towards the end of June, the shops in my area had informed me that they were no longer going to supply the tokens that I use in my meter. Therefore, I rang 2nd July 2007 to arrange for the new meter to be fitted (again). The man I spoke to didn’t know what card tokens were at first and had to put me on hold (despite the fact I rang the prepayment contact number) to find out what I was talking about. He then told me that even though I had only emergency electricity left on my meter (as there were no places who were now selling the tokens in my area), I would have to ring again once I had 50p left or less for someone to come out and fit a new one.

I then received a letter dated 10th July 2007, saying that a new meter would be fitted in my home on 24th July 2007 between 8am and 1pm. No one arrived. In the mean time, I was lucky to find a shopkeeper who had some tokens available; however, my electric card was no longer being accepted so I have ended up buying electricity tokens even though they won’t even show up on my bill. I had bought approximately £20-£30 in tokens this way to ensure I had enough electricity until the new meter was fitted. It is a good job I did!

I then rang on 30th July 2007 to inform someone that I still had no new meter, however, I was put on hold for 15 minutes after a woman I spoke to said she would find out what had happened. I was then cut off.

I then rang again on 8th August 2007 at 4:41pm and spoke to a woman called ****** with a Liverpudlian accent. (I have now had to take down all these details as I was so annoyed at being messed around.) After a conversation with her, I discovered that I should have received a letter informing me that the tokens were no longer going to be available and that I could have had replacement tokens. I did not receive this letter so I asked her if all my address details were correct- they appeared to be. I received the tokens on 14th August, she also confirmed that I had a new appointment arranged for 22nd August between 8am and 8pm for the fitting of my new meter.

****** rang later on that day after our conversation and she also informed me that my account was in around £900 debt! I managed to find an odd receipt from January in my bag to prove I had actually been buying my electricity and gave her the numbers on it. I also gave her a meter reading, despite her informing me that one had been completed in May- it hadn’t. I have NEVER had a visit or call from anyone from your company regarding my meter reading.

On Monday 13th August, 1:23pm, ****** left a voicemail message on my old number (despite me giving her my new one when we had spoken previously). She said that she needed another full meter reading, that my debt had increased by another £200 and to confirm if I had storage heaters.

I rang on the same day at 4.29pm and got through to a Scottish woman named ???????. I informed her that ****** had left a message and would it be possible to pass on a message to ****** (with my new mobile number) to contact me again as my circumstances were so long and complicated. She told me that she had emailed her.

I rang again on 14th August 2007 at 3:03pm and was connected to %%% from Liverpool. Again, I asked to see if ****** was available, however, he said she was taking a call. He said that he would pass on my message for her to call and that she would contact me within the hour. I have received no more phone calls to the date of this letter.

The last straw came when I took a day off from my official holiday time on the most glorious and sunny day to wait at my home from 8am-8pm for the fitting of my new and long awaited electric meter. No one came and I have since spent the rest of this day writing this letter as I am absolutely furious and appalled at the way I have been treated by your company.

I did ring again on 23rd August 2007 at 6:14pm and made my anger at the whole situation very clear. After being on hold (again), she checked to see what had happened and told me that no date had been booked! She then advised me to ring when I was down to my last 50p and get an emergency call out. I asked to make an official complaint but she couldn’t put me through to them because (and I quote) “they have a lot of work on at the moment”. She then told me that they will get into contact with me in the next 7-10 days. To be honest, all she did was read my notes and tell compensation was being processed (which can take 6-8 weeks) and that the issue with debt was also processing.


On 29th August 2007 2:11pm I received a call from $$$$$ at your complaints dept. she said that she will send £40 in the post as compensation and will contact me again tomorrow to see if an appointment can be made for a new meter to be fitted.

I would like to have an appointment as soon as possible for a meter to be fitted. I finish work after 3pm and there is no possibility of taking anymore time off work for your electricians to arrive, therefore, the fitting will have to be after this time.

This was my letter so far… and this is what has now happened…

$$$$$ rang me again the day after to confirm an appointment for a meter fitting had been made for 17th September, I asked for her to send a letter to confirm this as well as some extra tokens to ensure that I had electricity up until this date.

I received the letter, but no tokens. I then contacted them on 7th September to tell them to arrange an emergency call out as I had only a few pounds of electricity left. Within 3 hours an electrician arrived only to tell me he couldn’t find the mains (I live in a flat and we share the mains cupboard on our floor), therefore, there was nothing he could do.

The following morning (Saturday) I rang Scottish Power to tell them that the man could not put credit on the meter; I then told them that I had rang the council to get a key for the mains cupboard which was now available. The man on the phone tried to put me on hold for 5 minutes, to which I told him he should ring ME back. He did so and then told me someone would arrive in four hours. No one turned up (what a surprise) and the offices closed at 1pm so I was ****ed!

I rang the emergency power cut number on the back of my bill and the lady told me it was the wrong number to contact, she then gave me United Utilities’ number. After pressing a few numbers I got through to a lady who told me she was trying to get someone to come out but it was difficult as a lot of the engineers/electricians were watching the England match and wouldn’t do the job as it was too far.

Eventually she provided someone who told me it had been his day off- he fitted a brand new meter within half an hour! (Despite them telling me that emergency call outs only top up meters.)

And after all that crap, this is the point where I am at now. I haven’t even spoken to Scottish Power since and I am 100% sure that they are not aware that their man failed to turn up or that I have a new meter fitted.

Terrylw1

Hi Michelle,

Ok, for a start the guy that fitted the meter on emergency was right but it's good he did it so at least you had power.

It sounds like he has fitted a meter and not informed your Supplier. This is common with the emegency guys...so it's his fault on that point as he hasn't sent his paperwork off!

Right some ammo for you - a Supplier as part of their licence has agreed to the GSOS or Guaranteed Standards Of Service. Part of this states that a Supplier MUST supply you with a visit within 10 days or your request or they have to pay you £20. So, I suggest you reming them of thi and watch them book you a visit it! This failure is also recorded against them and sent to Ofgem in their auditing reports so they will be keen to avoid it.

Also, if you are in all day and the engineer doesn't turn up, you are entitled to £20 again. Be aware though that it's not always your Suppliers fault that a lazy engineer doesn't turn up. So, your Supplier refunds you and gets the £20 back off the Meter Operator who comes to deal with your meter.

Also, there is another GSOS element thats states that the Supplier has X days to give you the compensation or tey have to pay you another one off £20.

Suggest you use this against them.

Now, the fact that your readings are not moving to sounds like this. The engineer from emergency has fitted a meter but "bypassed" the supply to get you back on. Then the Supplier should have got someone out to connect the meter itself and take you off bypass. However, no one told them which was confusion since you thought it was sorted and they didn't know. Again, you can blame the emergency guy for that.

So, if you are on bypass, do you know that you are getting free electricity? That would explain why the dials are not moving.

Your Supplier can arrange the meter change no matter what, thats their job. The fact that they say it may be a type of meter they can't support is less relevant. They can fit one they can to sort you out.

I don't know where you get the £30 from though??? If it's a credit meter and the dials are not moving, you are getting free electric and paying nothing. You only pay when the dials are moving. However, your Supplier may attenpt to estimate you a bill for the period if the meter is "stopped" for some reason, but they don't normally bother if it's been bypassed and then swallow the cost.

I take it that the smartcard meter was the one that came out? If so, you are in the old MEB region as they don't fir them anywhere else. Did you know that they could have "converted" your meter via the card to a credit to save on the visit issues??? It would have then just converted when you got a top up. It's best to have a new meter but that was another option open to them.

Let me know what you think.