Elderly Parents getting Ripped Off

matelodave

Stop arguing about the tariff - work out the consumption and the anomalies in that - what happened in January to suddenly use 4000kwh of leccy. Onec the it's understaood what is using it all and whether the readings are correct then you can decide what is a decent price.
As we've always said - do the kwh sums first to establish your consumption and then decide the cheapest way to pay for it

Gerry1

It would be helpful to post photos of the meters.  Have you checked that the serial numbers match those on the bills, and that the readings stay the same when the supply is switched off at the meter for a few hours?

bsms1147

Going back to the meter readings, do you know what each of the 5 readings is for?
0045322.1
0000846.8
0003571.9
0045322.135
0041529.2

I want to focus on the last two.

A reading in January was given as 39032, a reading in February was given as 43214; 4182 units were used that month. Is there any chance that up until January that last reading - the one that currently reads 41529.2 and could plausibly have read 39032 six months ago (~416 units per month) - was being given, but since February the "0045322.135" reading has been given (which plausibly could have been reading 43214 six months ago?

Talldave

I think @bsms1147 is onto something - the difference between those two is 3793, add in 400 for a month's consumption and you get close to 4182.  Not in front of a PC right now so can't crunch the numbers....

xlnc99

matelodave said:

Stop arguing about the tariff - work out the consumption and the anomalies in that - what happened in January to suddenly use 4000kwh of leccy. Onec the it's understaood what is using it all and whether the readings are correct then you can decide what is a decent price.
As we've always said - do the kwh sums first to establish your consumption and then decide the cheapest way to pay for it

Nothing happened in Jan. If you read my earlier posts i talked about this in more detail. Its bizzare and totally unwarranted charge. £500 for the month! Two elderly people living alone would not have used that much electricity. I have spoken to them and they have done nothing that much, just the same as every month. How is this possibble?Gerry1 

It would be helpful to post photos of the meters.  Have you checked that the serial numbers match those on the bills, and that the readings stay the same when the supply is switched off at the meter for a few hours?

Ile get pictures tomorrow for you of the meters. Ile also check the serial numbers - i am not sure what you mean by the readings staying the same if the supply is switched off. bsms1147 said:

Going back to the meter readings, do you know what each of the 5 readings is for?
0045322.1
0000846.8
0003571.9
0045322.135
0041529.2

I want to focus on the last two.

A reading in January was given as 39032, a reading in February was given as 43214; 4182 units were used that month. Is there any chance that up until January that last reading - the one that currently reads 41529.2 and could plausibly have read 39032 six months ago (~416 units per month) - was being given, but since February the "0045322.135" reading has been given (which plausibly could have been reading 43214 six months ago?

I have no idea what i am doing - i am just following instructions from everyone on here. I pressed 9 on the electric meter and those are the first 5 numbers that i saw and noted. Those numbers are in order. If you tell me how to read this and look for what you are saying - please let me know and i will follow instructions

xlnc99

Another thing that does not add up is the amount paid to the Company my parents should be in credit by a huge amount (this is not including the absurd charges for Jan and Feb which i believe is wrong) - But when according to them they are only in credit for £100 (according to the bill) or £450 (according to their website), I calculate at least £1000 including the high charges they did.

Is this company trying to do something dodgy? Alot does not make sense, even after i showed the screenshots and some figures do not make sense, including Gerry pointing out October 2019.

Robin9

Going back to the meter readings, do you know what each of the 5 readings is for?
0045322.1
0000846.8
0003571.9
0045322.135
0041529.2

The others relate to other facilities that the meter provides that are not relevant to the domestic market. 0045322 relates very well to those on the bills.

Gerry1

xlnc99 said:

 i am not sure what you mean by the readings staying the same if the supply is switched off

There have been examples of modern meters meters going 'rogue' and wrongly recording energy usage none is being used, although this is more common with gas meters when the battery is failing (it may also display a low battery 'b' symbol).

If you switch the supply off for a few hours at the consumer unit (fuse box) for electricity or the stopcock lever for gas, the reading(s) should stay exactly the same.

xlnc99

Robin9 said:

Going back to the meter readings, do you know what each of the 5 readings is for?
0045322.1
0000846.8
0003571.9
0045322.135
0041529.2

The others relate to other facilities that the meter provides that are not relevant to the domestic market. 0045322 relates very well to those on the bills.

No - i went to the electric meter and pressed 9. These are the first 5 numbers that i noted down, they didnt come at once, there were gaps and sometimes writings before the numbers. If you let me know how to figure out what the numbers mean, i,e what i need to look for (any signs, markings etc) then i will do it againGerry1 said:

xlnc99 said:

 i am not sure what you mean by the readings staying the same if the supply is switched off

There have been examples of modern meters meters going 'rogue' and wrongly recording energy usage none is being used, although this is more common with gas meters when the battery is failing (it may also display a low battery 'b' symbol).

If you switch the supply off for a few hours at the consumer unit (fuse box) for electricity or the stopcock lever for gas, the reading(s) should stay exactly the same.

Ile try to do this on the weekend

bsms1147

xlnc99 said:

Another thing that does not add up is the amount paid to the Company my parents should be in credit by a huge amount (this is not including the absurd charges for Jan and Feb which i believe is wrong) - But when according to them they are only in credit for £100 (according to the bill) or £450 (according to their website), I calculate at least £1000 including the high charges they did.

Is this company trying to do something dodgy? Alot does not make sense, even after i showed the screenshots and some figures do not make sense, including Gerry pointing out October 2019.

Do you have screenshots of the bills from June 2019 onwards too? Between June 2019 and Jan 2020, debits totalled ~£1350 and credits totalled ~£1900 (so should have been in credit to the tune of £550), but the bill Jan-Feb showed a credit of only £60.45 at that point. That same bill also doesn't show any payment made that month either.