Deliberate Low Meter Readings

imeach

bottletop said:

Well, I've been with Bulb for over four years now and I've never seen a single meter reader in all that time, so I can well understand how this could arise.

Do they not have some kind of duty in this area?

Morrison Data Services read for Bulb

They obviously only read whatever the supplier asks them to

Maybe yours hasn't been requested or they have tried and you weren't home

They may not have had cards to leave so you may not have been aware they visited

elsien

I realise it's a different question to the one you are asking, but was the parent (or the person managing their finances) paying extra towards the heating costs? If the heating is higher purely for their benefit I can't see an issue with them being asked to pay proportionately more to cover the costs, up to the point they moved out. 

QrizB

bottletop said:

Well, I've been with Bulb for over four years now and I've never seen a single meter reader in all that time, so I can well understand how this could arise.
Do they not have some kind of duty in this area?

IIRC Ofgem used to require a verified meter reading at least every two years, but they changed this rule a few years ago so that customer readings would count for this.

ELUH1508

elsien said:

I realise it's a different question to the one you are asking, but was the parent (or the person managing their finances) paying extra towards the heating costs? If the heating is higher purely for their benefit I can't see an issue with them being asked to pay proportionately more to cover the costs, up to the point they moved out. 

Unfortunately, parent only gets state pension which, has been £123-130 a week for the past two years, this covers food, and also I've sourced a carer for if/when we need some respite as a family just in case so it has covered that too. They also asked right at the start if they could save their spare money to leave for our DD when they die 🥺 I feel like I can't go against that

Petriix

If they stay again, invest in a split air to air heat pump so that they can heat the room more efficiently. 

Thrugelmir

bottletop said:

Well, I've been with Bulb for over four years now and I've never seen a single meter reader in all that time, so I can well understand how this could arise.

Do they not have some kind of duty in this area?

Knowingly submitting false readings isn't going to form any basis to deflect responsibility elsewhere.  

SAC2334

imeach said:

bottletop said:

Well, I've been with Bulb for over four years now and I've never seen a single meter reader in all that time, so I can well understand how this could arise.

Do they not have some kind of duty in this area?

Morrison Data Services read for Bulb

They obviously only read whatever the supplier asks them to

Maybe yours hasn't been requested or they have tried and you weren't home

They may not have had cards to leave so you may not have been aware they visited

I Used to work for them .People can go years and years without getting meters read .Even if an occupier has outside meter boxes more and more owners are taking extra security by locking all gates and side gates to the properties with even more people routinely denying access to check meters even if they are these what we call safety checks which are sometimes now only 5 year gaps 
.Call back cards have stopped now with Morrisons D. S . new sytem of one visit calls, and many meter readers have stopped going inside properties because of Covid risk and will only take readings from outside boxes 

Swipe

I'd make sure you have a photo because when someone sees the huge reading they'll think you are trying to pull a fast one before the rise tomorrow

markin

ELUH1508 said:

elsien said:

I realise it's a different question to the one you are asking, but was the parent (or the person managing their finances) paying extra towards the heating costs? If the heating is higher purely for their benefit I can't see an issue with them being asked to pay proportionately more to cover the costs, up to the point they moved out. 

Unfortunately, parent only gets state pension which, has been £123-130 a week for the past two years, this covers food, and also I've sourced a carer for if/when we need some respite as a family just in case so it has covered that too. They also asked right at the start if they could save their spare money to leave for our DD when they die 🥺 I feel like I can't go against that

Only the money left after paying this bill will be spare money, The price rises have been in the news long enough that you could have started paying it back the last 6 months rather than waiting till the last day.

Chrysalis

On the fraud issue, I think as long as you are honest moving forward and make it clear you will pay the debt, the company wont pursue it.  Their only concern will be getting the bill paid.

For reference my electric meter wasnt checked for a while, the reason was it was in a locked cupboard which I didnt have the key to, so I expect there is many people around the country who may have meters not read for long periods of time, likely a big part of the reason smart meters are been pushed out.