N Power Charging on Incorrect Meter

Melissa78

HI - not sure if anyone can help. It's come to light recently that Npower have been charging me for years on an incorrect meter in my flats. looks like at some point the property management or someone has numbered them incorrectly. In October it came to light when my neighbour had a new Smart meter fitted on 'number 28' and left the lever down, this in turn made all the electric in my flat (number 30) go off and therefore have discovered that we've both had each others meter readings for years. So firstly I notified NPower who sent an engineer out to verify, however said engineer has only taken a meter reading (for the one numbered 30 again which it turns out isn't mine) - anyway after several months on Jan 7th an engineer came out whilst I was there so I could ensure everything was explained to him (again he'd not been notified what he was there to check) and he clarified that yes the wrong meter has been being read. My dilema now is - after another two months of back and forth, and several different account handlers - my account handler is saying that although a smart meter is fitted incorrectly, that Npower have actually been taking readings from this incorrect meter all along (this is not the case as my neighbours Bill's relevant to what is my meter is actually 20k units less for daytime which makes sense as I'm at work all day every day for years. They are now advising they don't owe me anything as this is the meter they were taking readings from all along - yet when the first engineer came out he clearly took the reading from the old one because the new one has a smart meter on it that's down to zero and he never questioned it so he must've gone to the old meter.

Is there any way I can independently prove how much electricity has been used on a meter for all time (bearing in mind this smart meter is fitted now so can't actually tell what it was previously other than my neighbours old bills which they won't accept.  

Robin9

A letter headed COMPLAINT and request for a procedure to agree a consumption figure.  Come October you will have 12 months data to argue with - note if its high you may catch a cold.

Have you been with nPower for ever ?

niktheguru

Also, if your neighbour is willing, get her bill from one year ago and the latest meter reading before it was changed to a smart meter (this should be written on a tag next to the meter, or sticker on the meter) That way you will have proof to send of what the charges should be.....if as you say they are much less then you should state you should only be paying for what you used.

Though I can sympathise with the utility company, as this was a fault/error from the property developer who originally labelled the meters.

[Deleted User]

Sadly, this occurs on far too many new builds including my own. My meters were installed some 5 months before the completion of the build. Often the Local Authority hasn’t agreed a postcode for the build and builders tend to think in plot numbers. Hence No 14 (Plot 6) is registered with the DNO as No 6, and No 5 (Plot 14) is registered as No 14. My development has only got 14 homes: it took SPEN nearly 6 months to get the registration issues resolved.

Trying to resolve it incorrectly will just add to your problems. On installation, meters are allocated to a property which has both a MPAN and MPRN (if there is gas). Before doing anything, you need to ascertain the correct MPAN for your property from the builder. Where people go wrong is that they try and identify the meter serial number and they then ask the supplier to change the meter serial number on the National Database(s). This may give you a correct bill but it leaves other flat owners in a state of limbo as the link between the property; the MPAN and the meter serial number has been broken.  What needs to be changed is the National Database property address so that it is then linked to the correct MPAN and with it comes the correct meter serial number.