Ittria and Purplebricks

[Deleted User]

heres some suggestions of finding your meter .I ve been reading meters for 20 years so have a lot of experience,.I ve only been defeated a couple of times and they were hidden behind wall paintings in alcoves in walls in the lounge or kitchen
Electric meters can be hidden away in the downstairs ceiling space, (look for a panel in the ceiling which may have been moved) ,in someone else s flat , behind a panel in the kitchen where a new kitchen has been built around it. Kitchen fitters seem oblivious to the need to examine the meters and put mdf panels in front of it .Look for the wires leading to it.
If there are quite a few flats in the building then a communal cupboard is the best place, behind that locked door downstairs and some owners seem to have a paranoia at keeping tenants from accessing the meters and will just allow one key with a trusted tenant .Also look in downstairs understairs hall cupboards. That is a common spot.. If your meter is found surrounded by a few others please do the boiling kettle test and do not go by a flat number written on the meter

hairypitz

Hi Macnan.
I've realised that the meter I can see is a separate timed economy 7 meter for the immersion heater. That's why there s a pipe coming from it. I had it switched off last night and the digital display didn't move
I'm now of the belief that the electricity meter proper is behind a locked door on the ground floor. If this is the case I have been no idea how I can read it and get my reading.
I've also had another text from Ittria this morning

"Hi Purple Bricks here. We've noticed you've not had a chance to set up your energy account for your new home. Please click the following link to ensure you're on the best tariff for your needs"

Like hell Purplebricks aren't trying to pressurise me into using the overpriced Ittria tariff.

hairypitz

Sorry Hobara. I didn't see your response just then. On my mobile as no internet yet.
I'm in a big block of apartments, maybe 25 in this block and my landlady does have the ability to read the meter because she came the night before I arrived, supposedly cleaned the place and took a meter reading. I just think by withholding the name of the supplier and the ability to get a reading that I'm being pressured by Ittria and Purplebricks. I think that's immoral. I don't know if it's illegal. As Ive already said, if I am with Octopus presently as a provider I'm happy enough. I can change if I want in the near future to a cheaper one. What I'm not willing to do is be out on the Ittria Octopus tariff so that the landlady and/it Purplebricks can squeeze more commission from me. I'm paying them enough. Rent and letting fees. I'm even paying £25 towards the landlady's service charge, which wasn't advertised in any of Purplebricks online marketing. Another little stealth tax. And what do I get back? Stress,
ineptitude,repugnantt knickers, old tights a condom and assorted grime.
I think I should have been treated better.

macman

What makes you think there are two meters? If you have an E7 meter, that is perfectly normal for a property with an immersion heater and NSH's. It will not have its own meter unless it's a very odd set up.
A meter is not a timer, although an old E7 meter may have a clockwork timer. And a timer does not have a kWh display. Post a picture if you want more help, or tell us what the meter is called. A standard E7 meter has a dual register. Does yours?
I rather suspect that you have already found what you are looking for.

hairypitz

The meter I can see is made by RossWeiner. There is one digital display that hasn't moved as I haven't had the immersion heater on yet.
Separate to this, also in the utility cupboard is a water heater timer. It's by Horstmann and says economy 7 quartz.

I've now joined the residents Facebook group and one of my neighbours has confirmed I can't read the meter myself.. Apparentky renters dont get to access the meter but owners do? Someone from the building management team does a reading each month. I can put my name down for that. But I can't do the kettle check that the meter I'm paying for is mine and I can't get a moving in read.
Sorry I would put up a photo of the meter in my utility cupboard but I have no idea how to on a mobile.

macman

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-meter-Rossweiner-HEATplus-1285101101/dp/B00OTUC2NK
A heat meter is not an electricIty meter, it measures heat energy drawn from a heat exchanger, which is generally fed from a commmunal boiler system serving the whole block. In which case, you will be billed by the operators or management company, and you have no choice of suppliers. This would also explain why the meter has pipes, not wires, coming from it.
However you should still have an individual meter for your other electrical usage, such as the immersion.
How is the property heated, in your understanding?

hairypitz

Macnan you're a genius!
It's not exactly the same but there's underfloor heating which is part of a building service charge I've been asked to pay £25/month towards. So that's it!
So to answer other questions, the heating is underfloor and the meter is somewhere locked away that I can't get to.

amie.harkins

My agent put me in touch with a company called Tenant Shop. The best thing ever! They were basically a comparison site but I did my Sky, energy and insurance with them. So many companies to choose from. It was 3 phone calls but they were so nice and I verbally accepted my deals over the phone and I got a free TV and a £50 voucher!!

WhoIsThat

^^^

How much cashback did they give you for your energy switch?

They only use EnergyHelpLine to compare energy suppliers & tariffs, and if you were instead to have used the MSE link to EHL, you could have earned yourself a possible £17 cashback per fuel switched :money:

They must have been earning mega bucks off you if they gave you a free TV and a £50 voucher for your sky & other insurance you bought via them.

I suggest you keep an eye out for the MSE guidance on how to save money on those costs too.