Meter mix up

MrsOs

Houbara wrote: »

Personally, as a meter reader for 4 of the big 6 for 20 years I think you should have a go at just switching away from Scot Power. They re hopeless ! You have nothing to lose but to just switch to one of the more incompetent smaller suppliers ( not Bulb ) because we read for them too. .Plenty to choose from.
I agree its not your fault they are so incompetent , but this has been going on since the dawn of the cheap and nasty digital meter which is a fraction of the price of a proper analogue meter, .suppliers can buy one for around £10 each. There was never any transposed Eco 7 meters with the old correctly labelled analogue meters .Even the most untrained agency employee could nt get it wrong with Night/day or Low and normal writ large on every meter instead of 1 and 2

thank you.. but switch to what as I don't want to end up in the same situation.. a standard tariff? what if it is questioned after I move? what do I do then?? could it be argued that I knew and therefore face being back billed for the full amount??

MrsOs

I've just looked at Green Network Energy.. they have a tariff that I could switch to that would allow my two readings to be added together to pay one standard charge. Shall I try switching to them. Presumably they will get the readings from the old supplier, and won't know anything is amiss and I will then be paying what I should be paying.. which is what I want.

Robin9

MrsOs wrote: »

.................... Presumably they will get the readings from the old supplier, ......................

No. As part of the switching process they will ask you for the readings and these will be agreed with SP via an independent organisation.

You don't contact SP at all.

MrsOs

Robin9 wrote: »

No. As part of the switching process they will ask you for the readings and these will be agreed with SP via an independent organisation.

You don't contact SP at all.

so this is a possible solution do you think? switch to Green Network Energy. They are saying I can still give them the two readings and they will just add them together and bill me at a standard rate so I don't need to change the meter.

Robin9

Yes - go for it

MrsOs

will they ask me what is night and which is day? when I give them the readings 1 and 2?? I 'm just thinking that is how they would find out ... oh crumbs.

[Deleted User]

MrsOs wrote: »

will they ask me what is night and which is day? when I give them the readings 1 and 2?? I 'm just thinking that is how they would find out ... oh crumbs.

Yes they will, but don t go on a single rate tariff, stick to Eco 7..... They can t find out without sending one of their meter readers round to check the meter, and then he/she has got to be half awake to at least get it . right..unlikely...Some digital meters do display the night rate as 1 .In my area in South Yorks its quite common ..Just do what you ve been doing with R1 and R2 .Unlikely that Green Energy will send any meter readers round. The small suppliers keep the supplier meter readings to a minimum.
Don t panic.. I remember correcting a transposed Eco 7 with a BG customer entering the correct rates for the time period.. The following week BG billed him an extra £800 catch up bill.
Customer complained and they immediately reversed the decision and cancelled the payment.
It was plain and obvious that his readings were transposed for a long time as he had a gas account with BG paying a normal full central heating amount so no night storage heating was ever used..Suppliers are basically thick and can believe that someone without night storage heating could use so much electricity in the night but only a few in the 17 hrs day hours..Hopefully smart meters will stop all this stupidity from meter readers, suppliers and customers as well

Quentin

MrsOs wrote: »

will they ask me what is night and which is day? when I give them the readings 1 and 2?? I 'm just thinking that is how they would find out ... oh crumbs.

Again, no-one can give you a definitive answer to your question that you can rely on.

Best to go into this fearing the worst then no shocks if that's how it pans out

(If you go on a single rate tariff rather than the current economy 7 tariff then you won't get the benefit of cheap night time usage which may be a consideration for you if you should want to get cheaper electricity at night)

MrsOs

If I don't go onto a standard tariff I'm basically just taking the problem with me though and I still have the stress of getting found out and now I know about it I am deceiving new suppliers, wouldn't I be best to stay where I am and just fixing into another tariff? but then presumably I need to fess up at some stage?? when will it ever get found out?

[Deleted User]

MrsOs wrote: »

If I don't go onto a standard tariff I'm basically just taking the problem with me though and I still have the stress of getting found out and now I know about it I am deceiving new suppliers, wouldn't I be best to stay where I am and just fixing into another tariff? but then presumably I need to fess up at some stage?? when will it ever get found out?

Come clean with new supplier, eventually , say after a month or so then start submitting correct details. Suppliers are not in league with one another, they re in competition..Green Energy won t be informing your old supplier of any mix ups.
Eventually they will fit a smart meter and this problem should end for all.
Its not your fault that the digital Eco 7 meters are hopeless, along with meter reading companies like G4S and MDS compounding the problem.
Not once in all the years I ve worked as a meter reader have management ever done any training on recognising the day/night on Eco 7 meters, despite me complaining to them about it many times.