Disputed final bills

wild666

I just thought, what if you dispute your final bill from a supplier that's ceased trading what is your meter, analogue, SMETS1 or SMETS 2? 

Some posters are disputing final bills, but what type of meter do they have? IMO it should only be those with the analogue meters that dispute the readings, The SMETS meters can give daily readings so the final readings should be from somewhere that they can get those readings daily on the last day that the ceasing supplier traded. Analogue meters will be different in that they have to go off historical usage, sometimes where the occupants of the home has changed several times and the yearly usage has changed, sometimes only slightly but sometime substantially.  

Sometimes landlords at a property, if the last tenant doesn't provide a closing reading, puts on the heating to stop the property getting mould or damp and the new tenant then gets a disputed bill using the reading when the last tenant left the property, unlikely but could happen, when the firm ceases trading, this could run into hundreds of pounds.

I remember a letting agent trying to say the meter readings were one figure when I moved into a flat but when I called the supplier and gave the readings they asked if they were correct and I said YES I'm reading the figures from the meter now, the readings were different to what was on the agreement and the serial numbers matched what they had, the letting agent wasn't happy when I dropped in a bill for electric and gas that wasn't in my name.

Am I correct in thinking that most, if not all, disputed readings are for analogue meters? 

[Deleted User]

Not all smart meters actually work; a number have yet to added to the DCC Network and a number of of the smaller suppliers have yet to develop or lease the secure software needed for them to access the smart meter network.

Smart meter disputes can arise because consumers are not aware of what registers are being used (there are 4 in a SMETS meter) and they provide the wrong reading on switch. For example, BG used to offer a free Saturday or Sunday: to do this the supplier used 2 of the 4 registers. When it stopped the tariff, it started billing on register R01 only but the total index reading shows the total of all the registers. When customers switched suppliers they were providing the total index reading and they suddenly found themselves with a first bill that charged for the free units.

PS And some people have been providing their supplier with kWh gas readings rather the Cubic metres or feet.