Disputing read on switch - no resolution, no final bill, can't provide ongoing reads

itchyfeet123

Relevant background: I have an economy 7 meter, but I use 100% of my electricity on the day meter.

In April I switched from Green Star Energy to Iresa, and submitted my meter readings. The night meter reading was rejected for being lower than expected and a much larger value was substituted. I first discovered this last month when I tried to provide a new reading online and received an error message that the new reading can't be lower than the previous reading. At this point I contacted customer service at Iresa, who said they'd start a dispute on my behalf.

Fast forward a month, with no contact from either Iresa or Green Power, and I get an automated message to provide Iresa with a new reading. Again, I try to do so online but get the same error message. I contact customer service to provide the readings and ask for an update on the dispute, and get a message thanking me for providing the readings and telling me that the problem is because the opening read was in reverse. This isn't the case; the day meter reading is fine and the problem is that my 0 use on the night meter is not within the expected range.

What I want advice on is:

1) How long does the dispute process normally take? When should I start chasing up?

2) Is there any reason to be worried about the outcome of the dispute? If someone physically came to my flat and looked at my meter they'd be able to see that I really am not using any energy on the night meter, but if it's purely an administrative exercise.

3) Should I be worried that the most recent customer service rep I interacted with thinks the problem is something completely unrelated? Does that mean that the process to dispute the reading is not actually happening? Could this guy make things worse by trying to solve a made-up problem?

Xbigman

Something is wrong with this. Does your fridge not run at night? Or are you not on an economy 7 tariff in some way?




Darren

itchyfeet123

The only thing connected to the night meter is the hot water cylinder. The way it's intended to work is to have the hot water cylinder heated off the night meter, with a switch to heat it off the main meter if necessary during the day. Because I use so little hot water -- electric shower, usually wash my clothes in cold water, electric radiator -- I just leave it on the day meter.

dogshome

If I'm reading Post#3 correctly the OP is useing some hot water, but only uses the daytime Boost switch to heat it.

Don't know the tariffs, but this is costing around 50% more than if the ECO7 night rate was allowed to do the job

House_Martin

Quite difficult to use 100% day rate of an Eco 7 meter without there being a fault on the meter recording night rate usage.. electricity used in the cheap 7 hours include fridge /freezer, anything on standby and using electric showers/tv/toaster etc before the day rate kicks in around 8 or 8.30 am in BST..All Eco 7 s stay on GMT throughout the year..I suspect a faulty meter if its not recording night rate usage

Carrot007

Sounds to me like the OP does not have E7 but 2 seperate meters. Normal and RHT meters of whatever you want to call them. This would mean it is possible to use nothing on the RHT but would be better off removing it to avoid the second standing charge.

itchyfeet123

dogshome wrote: »

Don't know the tariffs, but this is costing around 50% more than if the ECO7 night rate was allowed to do the job

Maybe, but given how little I use -- washing my face in the morning, filling the sink to wash dishes every third day or so -- I'd be surprised if it had a noticeable effect on my bill. I just have electricity, no gas, and I pay about £28/month. (At least, that's what my direct debit is based on the usage information I provided when I set up the switch. If I can ever get the readings issue sorted, that could change.)

Carrot007 wrote: »

Sounds to me like the OP does not have E7 but 2 seperate meters. Normal and RHT meters of whatever you want to call them. This would mean it is possible to use nothing on the RHT but would be better off removing it to avoid the second standing charge.

I have a single meter, with a single spinning wheel thing, and two sets of numbers, one labelled low and one lablled normal. When I moved in, the landlord explicitly used the phrase "Economy 7". My electricity bills only include a single standing charge.

Carrot007

itchyfeet123 wrote: »

I have a single meter, with a single spinning wheel thing, and two sets of numbers, one labelled low and one lablled normal. When I moved in, the landlord explicitly used the phrase "Economy 7". My electricity bills only include a single standing charge.

Many things have been called economy 7 over the years so the phrase is not greatly helpfull.

However with one meter then it is impossible for only certain things to be wired up to the offpeak. The off peak is set by time, nominally 12:00-07:00. As such unless you have no fridge and leave nothing on standby then there must be some night useage or the meter is faulty and this really should have been rectified before you switched.

itchyfeet123

dogshome wrote: »

If I'm reading Post#3 correctly the OP is useing some hot water, but only uses the daytime Boost switch to heat it.

This led me to go investigate. I had attributed the lack of use on the night meter to my not understanding what switches I should have on when, and assumed I had somehow set it so that it only used daytime electricity.

But, if the boost switch is the one with a red light on it, this switch is permanently *off* not on. I don't use much hot water, but I have certainly used some, and the meter hasn't changed in the 20 months I've lived here. Does that suggest a fault with the meter? Is it strange that a fault would be affecting only one of the two dials?

itchyfeet123

Carrot007 wrote: »

Many things have been called economy 7 over the years so the phrase is not greatly helpfull.

However with one meter then it is impossible for only certain things to be wired up to the offpeak. The off peak is set by time, nominally 12:00-07:00. As such unless you have no fridge and leave nothing on standby then there must be some night useage or the meter is faulty and this really should have been rectified before you switched.

Cross posted. Hmmm. I definitely use electricity at night. If there's a fault, would the electricity used at night have appeared on the day meter? Or should I expect a bill for a year and a half of night electricity?

Carrot007

itchyfeet123 wrote: »

Cross posted. Hmmm. I definitely use electricity at night. If there's a fault, would the electricity used at night have appeared on the day meter? Or should I expect a bill for a year and a half of night electricity?

Yes indeed if the switching method is faulty (there are serveral types), then it could be stuck on day. In which case you are liekly indeed owed money. While it may be possible not to register on any register at nioght I have never heard of it. It is usually just not switching over.

Note on some systems the switching over could be at any times of the day! However even so zero usage suggests it is not.