Money Moral Dilemma: Should I report my broken meter to my energy supplier?

stephanieann

gaving7095 wrote: »

Well I guess at least this is closer to a "Moral Dilemma" than we usually get! But surely the answer from the moral standpoint is so obvious it renders the question moot.
It seems unlikely that a new meter would be broken but who knows.
Nobody here will advocate for anything other than reporting it, obviously.

Update: just read the O.P.'s update - thanks :-) Lucky you! I don't see any good reason to refuse a smart meter as - if you want one - you can probably get one from your new supplier if you switch and if you don't the you can ignore it.

Also I think you're under two misapprehensions:
1) The actual meter (the broken thing you need replaced) and "smart meter" (usually a small handheld device) are two separate units. I guarantee that if your broken meter is replaced, the replacement to the actual meter will be suitable whichever supplier you use, and will have numbers on it which you can use for readings, etc.
2) The functionality of the handheld "smart meter" telling you how much energy you're using at any given time WILL work, regardless of supplier. Anything over & above that on the meter may stop working once you've switched supplier, but surely the main point of smart meters was to provide an easy way of seeing how much energy is being used at any given time (which also is pointless because you can read the meter twice a day & do some simple maths, but heaven forbid).

Worst case scenario is that the handheld "smart meter" bit either does stop working altogether (doubtful) or else loses some of its functionality if you switch - big deal.
Seeing as you are going to switch, why not just do that now?
If I were a cynical person I may suggest it's because your reason for switching - to get a better deal - is currently not there, even though you know full well that currently you are, technically, stealing energy.
I would say that was "through no fault of your own", were it not for the fact that you've already refused one engineer due to what I believe is a pointless / false reason.

Ermmm... No, on many counts.

1. My current meter is nowhere near being new - it was last changed in 2006 so it's 12 years old.
2. My current fixed energy deal ends on 31 August and the best new deal with my current supplier is terrible, so I am definitely changing supplier, but I need to have a working meter BEFORE I change supplier (or so says all the other suppliers I contacted).

3. Also, the gen 1 smart meter technology does NOT function properly with other suppliers - the engineer confirmed this to me when I cancelled that appointment.

scaredofdebt

They'll notice it at some stage and then charge you for what you have had for "free". In fact they probably already know something is up based on the readings you've given.

So might as well get it sorted now.

I notice your latest post, did they say IN WRITING that they won't charge you retrospectively? It's possible they have worked out how much you owe and it's a small enough amount for them to write it off.

Ian-RS

Its nice to get an update on these things from the original poster. Well done for updating your initial problem :T

maxinewhite84

I moved in to my flat in sept 2014, I noticed in the Nov 2014 that the day rate wasnt moving. I reported this straight away and they booked in several times to fix/replace it and everytime said they couldnt as it was above head height and needed 2 people for health and safety - this went on for 4years and my bills were getting higher and higher so I kept an eye on the readings and realised that although the day rate wasnt working, the night rate was going round 24/7 so Id been paying a night rate and they had been estimating a day rate for the last 4years.
After 4years of excuses as to why it hadnt been fixed, I put it a written formal complaint against them and amazingly it all got fixed within a couple weeks, I then requested my account was refunded due to the possible overpayments and they agreeed to credit my account with £450, which they estimated I over paid although I think it should be more than that as some nights it was using 2units of electric and some nights 12units with exactly the same appliances one but Ive got no way of proving it so looks like Im out of pocket thanx to their disgraceful customer service.

NevereverDave

I spent a year dealing with tenants who the utilities companies had caught up with. The debts that were applied averaged about £600 and they had gotten to the stage of serious court action at which point they had been referred to us to assist.

In every case they had been dealing with estimated bills which were incredibly low and not in most cases aware of how an estimated billing worked.

This was in the days prior to debt management arrangements and when there was arguably a surfeit of staff available to spend time on sorting this out. Today, with years of cutbacks and a hardening of attitudes because folk don't have the latitude now I'd suggest its better to ask neighbours roughly what they are paying for utilities to gauge if you're paying roughly in line with them.

Look on the meter as your assistant to keep you on track with your use and expenditure on the utilities you use. In this view you want that meter in good order doing its job well.

Avoid estimates if you can. Take readings and give them to your service provider, if they need in to check then do what you can to facilitate that visit.

In the instances I dealt with around seventy genuine, thirty or so sniffy a very few deliberate interference and one person swapping out stolen meters with their own! There was a lot of serious stress on the folk involved as the process dragged (at the time) until a resolution was arrived at. Stepping away from the arrangement process was a trigger for the utilities to go to court and they did without hesitation.

No one 'got away' with it and many ended up on Pre-payment meters for four or more years whilst the debt cleared up.

A few were written off but those were mental health and death cases.

In summary try and keep yourself right, get in touch with the utilities supplier and let them help you help yourself.

onlyroz

As a student I once lived in a rented flat with a broken electricity meter which wasn't charging us for electricity. We did report it, and when the electrician turned up he said that the wiring in the flat was so bad that he wouldn't touch anything. We then reported this back to the landlord, who refused to do anything about the wiring, and was amazed that we were upset about having free electricity. Valuing our lives more than free electricity, we moved out as soon as we could.

Effervescent

I had a broken Economy 7 once. I must have reported it 6 times before they actually believed me and came to change it. I couldn't believe that they could not see that I wasn't using any electricity. Meant I got free electricity for about 9 months.

AcerBen

I don't see why you refused to allow them to install a smart meter. Whether you'd had a smart meter or a regular meter installed, if you wanted a smart meter with your next supplier you'd still need another exchange, so it makes no difference which type your current supplier installed.

And whilst they are currently underbilling you, they have up to 12 months to correct the billing. In the absence of reliable readings they can estimate based on previous usage.

takman

stephanieann wrote: »

3. Also, the gen 1 smart meter technology does NOT function properly with other suppliers - the engineer confirmed this to me when I cancelled that appointment.

What they meant was that it wouldn't automatically send the meter readings when you switch supplier.

The meter will work perfectly fine with any supplier, you just have to manually read it as you do with your current meter.

brewerdave

takman wrote: »

What they meant was that it wouldn't automatically send the meter readings when you switch supplier.

The meter will work perfectly fine with any supplier, you just have to manually read it as you do with your current meter.

...but as been posted on the Energy board on many occasions -some of these smets1 meters are a nightmare to read, requiring multiple button presses and a display which is small and vanishes quickly -not much use on a dark Wintry night!!