Bill Eon for my time?

shagzdan

Hi there,
Not sure if anyone has ever billed their energy company for giving meter readings but am thinking I might have a crack.


Background info.

We moved into a brand new house Jan 2018 (complete with Elec/Gas smart meters) and in March we received a massive bill for the first quarter.

When I questioned the bill, E.on said the bill was a combination of actual and estimate! I frowned and sent an email questioning why I should be paying for energy before I moved in to the property but nobody could answer.


Shopping around for a better tariff I was unable to switch to a smart meter option because of a meter issue at our property.

I called E.on and told them that of the two smart meters fitted only one was giving a proper reading, they concurred this and said there was nothing to be done as the readings relied on local phone coverage so their hands are tied until it gets better.

They told me that they can get an electric meter reading from my house but not a gas reading! even though the meters are next to each other, umm..


This raises the question of legitimacy of the readings provided by combination and I can't help feeling that I am being diddled somewhere.

Obviously I feel a bit peeved as I can't seem to get on to a cheaper tariff so am locked in with E.on for the time being.

My question is, who's responsible for the meter sending the readings? and if I am to give meter readings as customer is there any reason I can't bill E.on for me effectively doing their job to ensure that they are billing me correctly?


Quick tip re customer services..

After several roundabout / passed / dropped calls, I decided to communicate through Resolver. Eventually after nearly 2 months my questions have been partially answered.


Thanks in advance.

Robin9

shagzdan wrote: »

.......................

....................l questioning why I should be paying for energy before I moved in to the property but nobody could answer......................

This is down to you. Did you contact Eon when you moved in and give them readings ?

shagzdan

Robin9 wrote: »

This is down to you. Did you contact Eon when you moved in and give them readings ?

Hi and thanks for the reply.
I gave them a set of readings, one from my landlord and one from the actual meters, they varied quite a bit and adjustments were made in my favour

My point is, if E.on can only part guess at what I am using, how can I be billed fairly.

More to the point,because they cannot provide a smart meter reading for which I am forced to do, I feel I am effectively being denied a tariff open to other E.on customers, as my supplier's lack of provision for my Dual fuel tariff (contract) isn't being fulfilled by them.

Hmm.

societys_child

Many of us don't have smart meters. I just send a reading every month. It takes me 5 minutes and usually fits in with other things I'm doing.


If I charge for this, do I round it up to the nearest hour, and what hourly rate do I charge? tia.




It doesn't affect my Dual fuel tariff . .

waamo

Not sure if anyone has ever billed their energy company for giving meter readings but am thinking I might have a crack

It's a bit early to have been to the pub isn't it?

shagzdan

waamo wrote: »

It's a bit early to have been to the pub isn't it?

Not sure whats being implied here as I don't drink. Hmm..

Anyway, what's so wrong with the idea of billing a company to do what is effectively their job of accountancy and / stock taking.

After all.
The energy firms who don't employ people to read meter are saving huge sums of cash by making their customers responsible for their data collection!, that is a billable service in the public sector so, why not?

shagzdan

societys_child wrote: »

Many of us don't have smart meters. I just send a reading every month. It takes me 5 minutes and usually fits in with other things I'm doing.


If I charge for this, do I round it up to the nearest hour, and what hourly rate do I charge? tia.




It doesn't affect my Dual fuel tariff . .

In the UK on average A data collector can make an easy £8.50 per hour (min)


5 mins x 12 (months) =70p per read so £8.40 per year
then to send the data to supplier, another 10 mins of your time per visit + phone bill or electricity for computer email, so


10 mins x 12 (readings) =£17.00


And that's just one meter!
You probably get my assumed maths and point.

Takmon

shagzdan wrote: »

Not sure whats being implied here as I don't drink. Hmm..

Anyway, what's so wrong with the idea of billing a company to do what is effectively their job of accountancy and / stock taking.

After all.
The energy firms who don't employ people to read meter are saving huge sums of cash by making their customers responsible for their data collection!, that is a billable service in the public sector so, why not?

The fact that they are saving money by customers providing readings has already been priced into their tariffs.

Are you also planning to send bills to companies in these scenarios:
-Using the self checkout/ scan as you shop in a supermarket instead of a manned till
-Buying tickets online/at automated terminals for things like the cinema or train instead of going to a manned desk
-Using pay at pump at a fuel station

waamo

To be fair it's not the most stupid idea mooted here. I recall late last year there was one that really made me laugh. This ones just an mild tut and eye roll.

KatrinaWaves

shagzdan wrote: »

In the UK on average A data collector can make an easy £8.50 per hour (min)


5 mins x 12 (months) =70p per read so £8.40 per year
then to send the data to supplier, another 10 mins of your time per visit + phone bill or electricity for computer email, so


10 mins x 12 (readings) =£17.00


And that's just one meter!
You probably get my assumed maths and point.

If it takes you 15 minutes to read a meter and send the info you would not be paid as a data collector.

Maybe get a a bit quicker at it.

powerful_Rogue

shagzdan wrote: »

In the UK on average A data collector can make an easy £8.50 per hour (min)


5 mins x 12 (months) =70p per read so £8.40 per year
then to send the data to supplier, another 10 mins of your time per visit + phone bill or electricity for computer email, so


10 mins x 12 (readings) =£17.00


And that's just one meter!
You probably get my assumed maths and point.

I'd pay £17 to not have a meter reader come round.