incorrect meter reading - now triple the charge

Uffy64

After having a new meter fitted, the meter reading on leaving EDF was incorrect and the start reading for Scottish Power were incorrect. So when i left them after a year i was shocked when i gave the final meter reading and then received a bill for over £700. I've disputed the bill with both Comapines and heard nthing back from EDF & i spoke with someone from SP, who said yes it looks wrong, and i've given them several meter reading from the start of the year upto now, so we can get the average daily usage that i have used. They said they'd pass it back to their bill team to resolve, i paid £100 off the bill (because obviuosly i something but i also paid by monthly DD.) They said it would be looked into. Since then i'm getting daily emails stating extra charges will be added.....what do i do?

Gerry1

Much more info needed.

Have you kept records of your meter readings, your EDF bills and done the sums?  If so, it should be easy t see how much you really owe.  There should be no need for them to have to admit defeat and resort to working out your average consumption to guesstimate what your opening reading might have been.  How do you know the EDF closing reading was incorrect?  A label should have been left near the meter when it was changed - what does it say?

Was the same figure used by both companies when you moved from EDF to SP?  The Mysterious Third Party can reject your reading and dream up a figure they prefer.  But if the figure is the same in each case it doesn't make very much difference, it can go in your favour and be challenged if it's above a threshold.  It's very, very unlikely to have caused an error of £700 which is presumably the amount you are being asked to pay on top of your DDs.

As they are trying to establish your average consumption, it's much more likely that your opening reading was wrong for some unknown reason and / or you haven't been submitting meter readings, your SP bills have all been estimated and this is just a catch up bill.

Ask for a prompt resolution or a deadlock letter and go to the ombudsman after eight weeks if it's not resolved by then.  But do think in terms of exact kWh meter readings and hard evidence, not just a vague 'bill for over £700' with no evidence of overcharging.

SuperMeteor

Well... £700 is about how much (extra) I'll be charged if I submit a meter reading to my new supplier, British Gas.  I was with Robin Hood Energy, buying Gas and Electricity from them, and they went bust.  I was migrated to British Gas, who promised we'd be almost as well off.  I got an estimated bill from British Gas, and checked it.  Apart from anything else, they billed only for electricity, and claimed to have performed a reading... (they didn't) The electricity reading I took (I haven't done one since we had "Smart" meters imposed upon us a few years ago. (My wife fell for the !!!!!!. I preferred doing my own readings, at least until the next generation of meters arrive)  The actual reading I took was over 5,000kWh greater than the one upon which our first British Gas bill was based... About £700 worth of power. 

Now... I can't, with a house heated (space and water) by gas, have used 5,000 kWh of electricity in four months, (Even though all the LED christmas lights were on during this billing period) so... If I was undercharged, it was by a now defunct company, but if I give British Gas my current readings, I'll get a big bill, at current rates, for energy supplied in the past by Robin Hood... But I can't sort it out, because British Gas are effectively incommunicado...

Trying to speak to anyone at British Gas is impossible.  I've spent ages on hold, listening to muzak, only for the call to drop off.  I've tried the online chat, only to be asked if I tried their FAQs...  Like I'd have waited ages listening to muzak if I could have solved my problem quickly on line...I've Tweeted (I'm no good at that)  Nothing gets through.

Gerry1

Send a formal letter headed COMPLAINT via snail mail to the Managing Director of British Gas - Residential Energy, backed up by email as well.  You can find all the contact info at the very useful ceoemail site (search for it).

If no luck, ask for a deadlock letter and go to the Ombudsman upon receipt or after eight weeks if they don't send one.

Petriix

I don't think you're going to have much success claiming that you actually owe the money to a previous supplier. You're responsible for ensuring that an accurate reading is used when you switch suppliers but it ultimately doesn't make much difference (just the difference in unit price between the suppliers); you still need to pay for the usage.

SuperMeteor

You're responsible for ensuring that an accurate reading is used when you switch suppliers.

We had Smart Metering.  Once that was installed, I stopped reading manually.  I've only just learned how to read the new ones.

I had emails (of which I've kept records) assuring me my billing from Robin Hood was accurate.

greatcrested

SuperMeteor said:

You're responsible for ensuring that an accurate reading is used when you switch suppliers.

We had Smart Metering.  Once that was installed, I stopped reading manually.  I've only just learned how to read the new ones.

So you agreed to have a smart reader installed (one benefit being touted being better user information), but then chose to ignore it.

SuperMeteor

May I remind you that I questioned the accuracy of my billing with Robin Hood.  Their response was that it was accurate, I needn't worry.  Now, Ofgem permit an energy supplier to backcharge for one year's worth of undercharging when they discover such a situation, and I'd happily have gone down that road, paying one year's worth of their undercharging, but... I've only been with British Gas, migrated to them by Ofgem, for four months... My previous experience with British Gas renders me reluctant to hand them my hard earned for energy they didn't supply... And... I'd certainly not countenance paying British Gas for energy supplied by a previous supplier at British Gas' current rates.

And, it's all the more galling that I made a voluntary payment of £350 over three years ago, hoping to soften the blow of a big bill when they worked out they were wrong, and they just used it as credit for my subsequent bills...

When Robin Hood handed over the energy supply gig to British Gas, did they not hand over the means to read meters remotely?  It's not as if it was a conventional change of supplier...

The remote reader is, as the meters are, made by, or badged as "Secure"  Now, if it possessed a decent memory, it might just have been useful, but I can only read back eight days, but no further. It's ugly, too, and hidden from sight...  I knew how to read my analogue meters...

Being pedantic, I didn't allow the meter installation, my wife did.  I was waiting as long as I could to benefit from the latest technology possible.  The SMETS1 meters were destined to need replacement through going dumb on change of supplier. See Paul Lewis' article on the subject as a newbie, I'm not permitted to post a link... Fascinating, and the reason I tried to avoid installation.  They were being rolled out to meet government targets, under threat of financial penalty, in an £11bn programme.  I stonewalled Robin Hood, they phoned my wife when I was out, and it was she who agreed to the installation.