Sneaky energy company trick

Mojisola

Some relatives have been with the same energy company for over ten years on a tariff they were happy with (I know - switching would probably have been worth it). 

When their meter started playing up, they had a smart meter to replace it.  They've just realised that after the new meter was installed their energy company registered them as a new customer and automatically put them on the most expensive tariff.

A trick worth looking out for if you have a new meter (smart or otherwise) installed.

Verdigris

If they'd just done nothing for 10 years they'd have been on the, most expensive, SVT anyway.

Hermann

Always take a meter reading from the old meter at time of replacement as well 
It's not unknown for a very wrong reading to be recorded substantially increasing your bill.

Mojisola

Verdigris said:

If they'd just done nothing for 10 years they'd have been on the, most expensive, SVT anyway.

No, they weren't. 

FreeBear

Hermann said: Always take a meter reading from the old meter at time of replacement as well 
It's not unknown for a very wrong reading to be recorded substantially increasing your bill.

Better still, take a photo of each meter.

It is not unknown for "them" to replace an old gas meter that was reading in cubic feet (new ones always use cubic meters) and fail to update the national database. End result is you pay ~3 times as much for gas until the meter details are updated correctly.

So, not only check meter readings, but also check the bills to make sure they are using the correct units/conversion factors.

MoJoeGo

FreeBear said:

Hermann said: Always take a meter reading from the old meter at time of replacement as well 
It's not unknown for a very wrong reading to be recorded substantially increasing your bill.

Better still, take a photo of each meter.

It is not unknown for "them" to replace an old gas meter that was reading in cubic feet (new ones always use cubic meters) and fail to update the national database. End result is you pay ~3 times as much for gas until the meter details are updated correctly.

So, not only check meter readings, but also check the bills to make sure they are using the correct units/conversion factors.

...er, HOW many cubic feet in a cubic metre?

(about 35...)

Aylesbury_Duck

MoJoeGo said:

FreeBear said:

Hermann said: Always take a meter reading from the old meter at time of replacement as well 
It's not unknown for a very wrong reading to be recorded substantially increasing your bill.

Better still, take a photo of each meter.

It is not unknown for "them" to replace an old gas meter that was reading in cubic feet (new ones always use cubic meters) and fail to update the national database. End result is you pay ~3 times as much for gas until the meter details are updated correctly.

So, not only check meter readings, but also check the bills to make sure they are using the correct units/conversion factors.

...er, HOW many cubic feet in a cubic metre?

Indeed.  35ish.  3.3x for each dimension.

jimjames

MoJoeGo said:

FreeBear said:

Hermann said: Always take a meter reading from the old meter at time of replacement as well 
It's not unknown for a very wrong reading to be recorded substantially increasing your bill.

Better still, take a photo of each meter.

It is not unknown for "them" to replace an old gas meter that was reading in cubic feet (new ones always use cubic meters) and fail to update the national database. End result is you pay ~3 times as much for gas until the meter details are updated correctly.

So, not only check meter readings, but also check the bills to make sure they are using the correct units/conversion factors.

...er, HOW many cubic feet in a cubic metre?

(about 35...)

Except the meter doesn't normally measure in cubic feet but hundreds of cubic feet so the multiplier is approx 3 (2.83)

We had the same thing but round the other way, our meter was on system as imperial but was actually metric.

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/344390-npower-cubic-meters-vs-cubic-feet/
From here

•Multiply your units used by 2.83 to give you the number of cubic metres of gas used. (If you have a newer metric meter measuring gas in cubic metres you do not need to do this).

•Multiply by the temperature and pressure figure (1.02264).

•Multiply by colorific value (39.25)

•Divide by 3.6 to get the number of kilowatt hours (kWh)

 

You should find all these figures laid out on your gas bill.

MoJoeGo

Ah then I stand corrected - well sort of because as you say, the impact would be 3 times less when moving from imperial to metric; rather than the 3 times more that freebear mentioned (assuming there aren't any circumstances where you would go the other way with a meter, from metric to imperial)