Old meter must of been faulty

RobertFraser

I am looking for some advice.
I had a smart meter fitted in October 2017. Prior to this I was averaging 42 units of electric a day. There been no adjustments made in the property since new meter was fitted and I am now averaging 25 units a day that is a difference of 17 units. I was paying £270 per month for old meter and my heating is oil fuelled. With new meter I am paying £150 per month. I have had an outstanding complaint open with the electric company since October who wanted a longer period of usage. Today after six month they said they can offer me a £100 good will gesture when clearly I was over paying for old meter to the tune of an average of £5000 over six years. They have a green that my units registered per day is a lot lower but have said because old meter is now removed they can't test it. I have old bills to prove the large difference in registered usage. Is there anything I can do. Was thinking of going to energy ombudsmen. They have asked that I must inform them before I do this. I have left complaint open and it's been escalated to their managers. I refused the £100 and stated it was an insulting offer of compensation. Is the fact that they have offered me £100 proof they admit the fault. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Regards
Robert

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Your figures don't seem to add up. Even on BG's most expensive standard tariff(Midlands 14.564p/kWh and 26.01p DSC) 42 kWh a day costs £194 a month at 2018 prices - it would have been cheaper in the previous 6 years. So £270 a month seems way too much.

At 25 kWh a day it costs £119 a month at 2018 prices - not £150.

The £100 goodwill offer is not an admission of fault.

Given the average electrical consumption(without heating) is 3,200kWh pa, why did you not query your consumption of 15,330kWh pa? Even your consumption with the smart meter at 9,125kWh pa is huge.

You have nothing to lose by going to the Ombudsman.

CashStrapped

If you have been with the same supplier for the last six years, then I would escalate it to the ombudsman if you are not happy with what has been offered.

The problem is, as they say, no way to prove the old meter was faulty. Yes, the fact that your usage on the new meter is so much lower supports the idea, but there is no way to prove it.

While a reduction in 17 units is a lot, is there a chance that with a new smart meter you have been more energy conscious without realising it? Seeing that energy meter can certainly have an impact on habits.

Furthermore, it is not like the energy company knowingly left a faulty meter in situ. They were not to know themselves.

The issue is, no one can prove anything at this point.

Over what timespan were you calculating your daily use via old meter readings? Are you looking at a long period and dividing to get an average daily amount?

[typed while Cardew posted his]

House_Martin

What make of meter did you have ? was it a dial meter ? they have six rotating dials with a pointer, or was it an Eco 7 meter , digital or analogue ?
The reason I ask is that I ve seen people constantly mis reading the 10,000 kwh digit on a dial meter, the first one on the left. Get that wrong by even one digit and its 10,000 kwhs overpaid .
Eco 7 meters which are constantly transposed can also inflate/deflate the yearly consumption.

Cardew

As said earlier, even your present consumption of 25kWh a day(9,125kWhpa) is very high and it is difficult to envisage using that amount without some form of electrical heating.

There were times in the past when CH oil was very expensive and with a low efficiency boiler it would have been as cheap to use electrical heating.

Carrot007

Look at it from there point of view. You never complained about the meter when it could be checked. Might just have beeen misreading for all they or you know and not a faulty meter. Either was by not challenging the bill/reads you are seen to have accepted it, especially given the ammount of time.


Ensuring the equipment is both theirs and your job as you are more likely to be in a position to notice things.

Your current usage is also very high for someone who heats without electricity. I use around 16 units a day and am considered a very high user. Of course you might be a 8 bedrooom house full of people for all I know.

Yes they should give more but only if they have been your supplier all the time. As to what is the question since you have both made errors.

I would expect them to at least try to track down the meter. Though if it was an end of life change then it's probably in a skip since it costs more than a new one to recertify them these days.

matelodave

As others have said, 25 units a day seems excessive - what are you using it all for. Have you got a kiln, a server farm or growing a bit of weed in the shed? .

My annual average is around 19 aday and we are all electric - heating as well. In summer it's around 7-10 units a day but in the winter it has been known to get up to 50 but only on rare occasions.

RobertFraser

Thank you for your reply's. there are 7 people in a four bedroom house so I realise my usage is of a higher rate hence the reason I did not challenge the bills before. it was only when the new meter was fitted that I realised the difference. It is the same electric company since I have lived in the property and the usage is an average over the six year period. I requested back bill from supplier to work this out.

CashStrapped

When you say an average over the six year period. Is that calculated just using two meter readings? Or were you averaging that across multiple meter readings across that period of time.

Ideally you want to look at all your recorded meter readings. They will appear with a C and/or A next to them on your bill. Ignore estimated ones.

Write down all these meter readings spanning the six years and the dates they were taken.

Then work out the difference and then daily averages between those meter readings. This will give you a more accurate break down of your use over that period.

RobertFraser

I used my very first reading to the last reading before I had meter changed and calculated it that way. I worked out the difference in units between the two readings and divided it by the number of days between when they were taken. I accept that there is fluctuation over this period that was the best way of determining an average.

CashStrapped

I would do a more in depth analysis of your past use rather than just calculating the average over such a long span of time.

Start looking for meter readings 6 months and one year apart.

Try to get year on year use for those six years. That will be far more helpful. It will also show more accurately how consistent you have been in your use.

If you want assistance doing this. Type out all your confirmed/actual meter reads here (not estimates) and the dates.

As Cardew said, your numbers, even after the smart meter are super high. So analysing your numbers in more detail will be super useful for you.