Huge Gas Bill

Johnnyboy5

Hi all, wondering if anyone can advise on this...

I received a bill of over £2000 from Eon for gas usage a few weeks ago with them wanting to increase my DD to £500 odd per month, which I assumed was a billing error, however Eon are standing by the charge and my account is now in deadlock with my only option being to write to the Ombudsman.

I've submitted regular meter readings and have gone back over these. In summary my units used has gone from 700 in all of 2016 to 5000 so far in 2017. The huge increase looks to have started at the beginning of this year and continues to increase at a ridiculous rate. I was away from home last Monday to Friday, took a reading before and after and it shows 30 units used despite not being at home and clearly no appliances used. I have a combi boiler, heating hasn't been on since Mar/Apr this year, cooker is gas hob, electric oven and I have a gas fire which hasn't been used in years. Oven (not hob) was replaced in Jan which ties in with the increase.

I can think of 3 possible causes

- Dodgy boiler drawing too much gas
- Gas leak (surely I would've smelled something)
- Faulty meter, which I understand is highly unlikely

Does anyone have a view on what is the likely cause of this? It's stressing me out and I'm in the process of getting a gas engineer out to take a look but wondering if anyone has experience of this.

Thanks!

LewisHamilton

Hi

Although the majority of meter accuracy tests find the meter to be working accurately, I have a feeling your gas meter is faulty due to the pattern of usage.

When a meter goes faulty, the signs are evident. As you state that the usage has increased significantly and has continued to get higher, these are the first signs of a faulty meter. The fact that the meter has recorded 30 units when no appliances are running is very high for five days.

When a meter goes faulty, it is not unusual for the usage to get higher and higher then suddenly stop recording altogether. My gut instinct is that its faulty. If you genuinely believe its faulty get it tested - its worth gambling on the potential charge in my view, particularly if the circumstances you state are correct. You will get the charge refunded if its found to be faulty. If not, at least you can rule a faulty meter out.

I am surprised E.ON has not tested it for you or at the very least, offered a test, and you are at deadlock with E.ON.

Cardew

Presumably the units used in 2016 were based on estimated meter readings?

Does your oven and/or boiler have pilot lights?

A better test would be to watch the gas meter with everything turned off. Then if there is no movement, switch on appliances one by one.

Johnnyboy5

2016 were actual readings.

Oven is electric and I assume the boiler does have a pilot light but unlikely to be that causing a ten fold increase I would've thought. Boiler hasn't been serviced since it was installed 5 years ago which could be a big mistake.

Cardew

Johnnyboy5 wrote: »

2016 were actual readings.

Oven is electric and I assume the boiler does have a pilot light but unlikely to be that causing a ten fold increase I would've thought. Boiler hasn't been serviced since it was installed 5 years ago which could be a big mistake.

A 5 year old boiler is unlikely to have a pilot light.

To use 5,000 gas units - approx 55,000kWh - in 8 months is just not possible. Get the meter checked by your supplier.

macman

And get the boiler serviced. Though any remaining warranty has now been invalidated by failure to service it annually.

House_Martin

Is the gas meter a digital gas meter, eg Siemens E6.?.We have had a few instances on here over the years where these digital meters go faulty.
Definitely worth the gamble of the £60/70 meter check.
The only other thing to check is that Eon have not suddenly started billing you on an Imperial meter digits ( 4 dials ) rather than the metric 5 dialers..Imperial units are nearly 3 times dearer

dogshome

My vote goes with House Martin.

Old type mechanical meters used the gas flowing through them to power the display - No Gas through = No meter read change.
Digital meters are battery powered and have the capability to go faulty and create readings when no gas is being used.

Johnnyboy5

It is a digital meter but I'm not sure the make. These replies give me hope, I'm praying it's a faulty meter!

Eon wanted £170 to check the meter, refunded if it's found to be faulty....Might just be worth doing that

House_Martin

Johnnyboy5 wrote: »

It is a digital meter but I'm not sure the make. These replies give me hope, I'm praying it's a faulty meter!

Eon wanted £170 to check the meter, refunded if it's found to be faulty....Might just be worth doing that

If all gas is off, no pilot light on boiler,, then if the digital display is moving at all you either have a big leak from the meter to your appliances or its yet another faulty Siemens digital display..The lcd displays can t be trusted 100% unlike the mechanical or electro mechanical designs..I have even see a display where some of the digits where back to front !.
A leak can be tested by any gas fitter who can quickly connect with the nipple on the meter to do a leak test..£170 meter check is extortionate..That is so expensive people with faulty meters will be put off the gamble and may be at risk from a gas leak.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Johnnyboy5 wrote: »

Hi all, wondering if anyone can advise on this...

I received a bill of over £2000 from Eon for gas usage a few weeks ago with them wanting to increase my DD to £500 odd per month, which I assumed was a billing error, however Eon are standing by the charge and my account is now in deadlock with my only option being to write to the Ombudsman.

I've submitted regular meter readings and have gone back over these. In summary my units used has gone from 700 in all of 2016 to 5000 so far in 2017. The huge increase looks to have started at the beginning of this year and continues to increase at a ridiculous rate. I was away from home last Monday to Friday, took a reading before and after and it shows 30 units used despite not being at home and clearly no appliances used. I have a combi boiler, heating hasn't been on since Mar/Apr this year, cooker is gas hob, electric oven and I have a gas fire which hasn't been used in years. Oven (not hob) was replaced in Jan which ties in with the increase.

I can think of 3 possible causes

- Dodgy boiler drawing too much gas
- Gas leak (surely I would've smelled something)
- Faulty meter, which I understand is highly unlikely

Does anyone have a view on what is the likely cause of this? It's stressing me out and I'm in the process of getting a gas engineer out to take a look but wondering if anyone has experience of this.

Thanks!

Johnnyboy5 wrote: »

2016 were actual readings.

Oven is electric and I assume the boiler does have a pilot light but unlikely to be that causing a ten fold increase I would've thought. Boiler hasn't been serviced since it was installed 5 years ago which could be a big mistake.

Johnnyboy5 wrote: »

It is a digital meter but I'm not sure the make. These replies give me hope, I'm praying it's a faulty meter!

Eon wanted £170 to check the meter, refunded if it's found to be faulty....Might just be worth doing that

Hello Johnnyboy5 and welcome to the Forums. Already some excellent advice on here. Thanks all.

I can well understand the shock at receiving such a large bill after the lower ones you've had in the past. I suspect, as your bills are based on actual meter readings, we've put your complaint to deadlock as our Resolution Manager will have judged the charges to be right. A proven faulty meter will mean the complaint needs to go back to the area that set it to deadlock for a further review.

We'll be happy to arrange for the gas meter to be tested particularly if you've ruled out other factors like a gas leak or dodgy boiler. These tests are done by an independent party who carry out an OFMAT (Ofgem Meter Accuracy Test) test. As you know, there's a charge to do this which is payable in advance but will be fully refunded should the meter turn out to be faulty. OFMAT tests cost between £59.32 and £205.03 (including VAT) depending on the size of the gas meter and which company looks after the meter.

Once the meter has been tested, you'll receive a copy of the results directly from the company that do the OFMAT test. This can take up to six weeks. If it is faulty, we'll be in touch to arrange for any adjustments that are needed and to refund the charge of the test.

Before arranging a test, we’ll go through your usage with you to see if we can find any evidence to suggest your meter is faulty or if we can reassure you that it's working as it should. Previous tests have shown, only approximately 1 in 200 meter checks come back as faulty and we don't want you to pay unnecessarily.

Hope this helps point you in the right direction Johnnyboy5.

Malc