meter readings wrong

kevilson

Hi newbie here but I need serious help. My wife has just found out she has been giving the electric meter readings the wrong way round . she has given the night rate as day rate and given the day rate as the night rate . When she realised she wrong up straight away . This looks like its been going for over a year so we are really worried now that the energy company Scottish Widows can back bill us . can anyone help in any advice .
kevilson

[Deleted User]

Hi,


I think you mean Scottish Power.


If you have the readings back to when the mistake first happened, then you can calculate what the correct bills should've been, and if you have storage heating, then it could be that they owe you money, as you will probably have used more night rate than day.


Either way you will need to contact them and provide correct readings.

Biggus_Dickus

Have the meters been read by an official ‘meter reader’ in the last 12 months?...presumably that would have corrected the balance at some point.
However, ScottishPower will adjust your bills when you supply the correct readings,...it may work in your favour, but perhaps not. Either way it’s probably wise to address this issue sooner rather than later.

My daughter did exactly the same thing for a few months when she moved into an all electric dwelling with an E7 meter;...if I remember rightly it was the electricity supply company that highlighted the problem after a few months though.

[Deleted User]

Biggus_Dickus wrote: »

Have the meters been read by an official ‘meter reader’ in the last 12 months?...presumably that would have corrected the balance at some point.
However, ScottishPower will adjust your bills when you supply the correct readings,...it may work in your favour, but perhaps not. Either way it’s probably wise to address this issue sooner rather than later.

My daughter did exactly the same thing for a few months when she moved into an all electric dwelling with an E7 meter;...if I remember rightly it was the electricity supply company that highlighted the problem after a few months though.

The meter readers are just as likely to muck up the readings as the OP.
You can t trust Scottish Power meter readers. They are MDS, formerly G4S, who read for Scot Power, EDF and BG. They are renowned for transposing Eco 7 meter readings due to the way their handheld data collectors are set up with rate 1 night, rate 2 day...This is usually the other way round on most digital meters

kevilson

Sorry i do mean Scottish Power . We are trying to find out if it is over a year if so will they go further to check ? My wife told them as soon as she found out . At a glance they have gone back to march 2018 ( a year a go ) . They have paid all the money from the last year as in credit and now recalculating from the last year . No sign of yet if they are going further , that's the part we really worried about . I`am sure the meter has been read by them in the past but when my wife asked about that they said they dont really use that which i find hard to beieve.

Biggus_Dickus

kevilson wrote: »

Sorry i do mean Scottish Power . We are trying to find out if it is over a year if so will they go further to check ? My wife told them as soon as she found out . At a glance they have gone back to march 2018 ( a year a go ) . They have paid all the money from the last year as in credit and now recalculating from the last year . No sign of yet if they are going further , that's the part we really worried about . I`am sure the meter has been read by them in the past but when my wife asked about that they said they dont really use that which i find hard to beieve.

I’m not sure how far energy suppliers can go back to rectify previous errors,...possibly some of the gurus on here can answer that question for you.

I guess there is little else you can do at the moment but sit tight and see what ScottishPower come up with;...hopefully everything comes out on the right side for you. Good luck.

zerog

kevilson wrote: »

My wife has just found out she has been giving the electric meter readings the wrong way round . she has given the night rate as day rate and given the day rate as the night rate

Well, suppose someone wants to defraud an energy company by deliberately giving the wrong readings. If the energy company doesn't notice for more than a year, should they be able to get away with it?

[Deleted User]

There is a code of Back Billing which comes into play when the energy company has made billing mistakes and the consumer has been active in getting the company to correct errors.

Scottish Power are part of this scheme

DOES SCOTTISHPOWER ADHERE TO STANDARDS SET OUT IN THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ACCURATE BILLS?
Yes, as part of our commitment to providing you with a quality service, we fully support the independently audited Code of Practice for Accurate Bills.

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/customer-services/bills-payments/bill-issues

The OFGEM site states how the code works and provides a link to the Citizens Advice Bureau if needed
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/who-contact-if-its-difficult-paying-energy-bills/energy-backbilling-your-rights

Takmon

gsmlnx wrote: »

There is a code of Back Billing which comes into play when the energy company has made billing mistakes and the consumer has been active in getting the company to correct errors.

In the OP's case they have actively caused the problem by providing incorrect readings. So they will be entitled to correct the billing all the way back to when the mistake was confirmed to have started.

[Deleted User]

Given that this is Scottish Power, I would say any bets are off as to how it would be handled. Their IT systems are rubbish (and I'm being very polite here). So they may just treat it as back billing code compliant.
BUT I would err on the side of it not being covered by the code and that they may come asking for more money.
At which point the OP needs to make sure that all the regenerated bills are correct and if being chased for more money then get help from the CAB about paying back over a period of time.
I've personally had issues with Scottish Power bills being regenerated and being worse afterwards (worse means more incorrect) so any demand from Scottish Power needs to be looked at very carefully.

[Deleted User]

In defence of the OP the digital meters are absolutely rubbish when they do not give proper information as to what is night and day.
No one could mistake the old analogue meters with their clearly displayed Low/Norm or Night/Day After 20 years involved in reading these things I have every sympathy with the OP.
They fit a cheap and nasty little £10 digital meter and expect everyone to understand a cursor blinking away under a number. They even have the cheek to add a "t " for one of the three readings.
If at any time in the past Scottish Power meter readers have graced your property then they would also most likely have mucked up the readings too.
Roll on smart meters to end this farce
This question has come up many times over the years and most of the time the suppliers will back down from demanding a full repayment , of up to 6 years back bill, because it would mean admitting their own meter readers are hopeless. If Scott Power demand too much back ask for it to go to the Energy Ombudsman for their view