Problem with SSE meter overcharging

Artyboy1973

I don’t have a smart meter as of yet. I still have the old PAYG meter which was installed 15 years ago. I have had no issues with SSE until recently when I got home and found the electricity was off. I then inserted the key into the metre to give me £10 emergency credit and I managed to switch the electricity back on. Anyway I had to go away for a week and everything in my flat was switched off including the fridge. 

However, a week later when I got back I was horrified to find the electricity switched off and on the meter display it displayed that I am in debt of £14.41 so I had to pay £15 into my meter which I wasn’t happy about as I was baffled why I should be going through £15 in only a week with all my appliances and everything else switched off from the mains. This gave me a credit of 59p but the 59p only lasted 20 minutes until it went back into emergency credit. I then put it back on emergency credit but I am away from the flat at the moment. 

I phoned SSE but they were no help but they gave me a free £10 token as a good well gesture. I am now having my suspicions that someone may be using my electricity in my neighbourhood. Is this possible and how can I find out if this is the case.

Robin9

Where is your meter - actually in the property, in an outdoor meter box or in a communal cupboard. ?

There have been some substantial increases in charges recently - do you know what rate you are paying ?

Artyboy1973

Robin9 said:

Where is your meter - actually in the property, in an outdoor meter box or in a communal cupboard. ?

There have been some substantial increases in charges recently - do you know what rate you are paying ?

My meter is installed in my flat in the hallway. According to SSE I am around 52p a day on standing charges which I find shocking.

MWT

This is probably related to the standing charges which of course are charged daily regardless of if you are there and using energy, or not. .

While you are using the emergency credit, the standing charges are not deducted from the credit, but they are building up as a debt.

You will need to clear the accumulated debt which incudes both the emergency credit you have used and the standing charges, before you return to normal use where the standing charges are deducted daily.

QrizB

Artyboy1973 said:

Robin9 said:

Where is your meter - actually in the property, in an outdoor meter box or in a communal cupboard. ?

There have been some substantial increases in charges recently - do you know what rate you are paying ?

My meter is installed in my flat in the hallway. According to SSE I am around 52p a day on standing charges which I find shocking.

I'm no expert on PAYG meters but you should be able to press a button or two and get it to display the rates you're currently paying. Can you let us know what they are?

If you're on the standard variable tariff it will be similar to EDF's one as shown in this PDF. 52p/day standing charge sounds like North Wales and Merseyside?

This gave me a credit of 59p but the 59p only lasted 20 minutes until it went back into emergency credit.

59p should buy you around 2kWh. Do you have an immersion heater? Might you have left it on?

Artyboy1973

MWT said:

This is probably related to the standing charges which of course are charged daily regardless of if you are there and using energy, or not. .

While you are using the emergency credit, the standing charges are not deducted from the credit, but they are building up as a debt.

You will need to clear the accumulated debt which incudes both the emergency credit you have used and the standing charges, before you return to normal use where the standing charges are deducted daily.

That could most probably be a possibility as I got a warm home discount of £140 in December of last year and I’m thinking maybe the build up of the standing charges is due to me to not paying it as usual every week as there was no need to with getting the £140 warm home discount out into my meter. However, I’m still baffled why I went through 59p in 20 minutes.

Artyboy1973

QrizB said:

Artyboy1973 said:

Robin9 said:

Where is your meter - actually in the property, in an outdoor meter box or in a communal cupboard. ?

There have been some substantial increases in charges recently - do you know what rate you are paying ?

My meter is installed in my flat in the hallway. According to SSE I am around 52p a day on standing charges which I find shocking.

I'm no expert on PAYG meters but you should be able to press a button or two and get it to display the rates you're currently paying. Can you let us know what they are?

If you're on the standard variable tariff it will be similar to EDF's one as shown in this PDF. 52p/day standing charge sounds like North Wales and Merseyside?

This gave me a credit of 59p but the 59p only lasted 20 minutes until it went back into emergency credit.

59p should buy you around 2kWh. Do you have an immersion heater? Might you have left it on?

I am not at home yet but when I get home I’ll check.

Regarding the 59p only lasting 20 minutes that is baffling me I am trying to think if I had the washing machine on which would explain 59p only lasting 20 minutes.

MWT

Artyboy1973 said:

MWT said:

This is probably related to the standing charges which of course are charged daily regardless of if you are there and using energy, or not. .

While you are using the emergency credit, the standing charges are not deducted from the credit, but they are building up as a debt.

You will need to clear the accumulated debt which incudes both the emergency credit you have used and the standing charges, before you return to normal use where the standing charges are deducted daily.

That could most probably be a possibility as I got a warm home discount of £140 in December of last year and I’m thinking maybe the build up of the standing charges is due to me to not paying it as usual every week as there was no need to with getting the £140 warm home discount out into my meter. However, I’m still baffled why I went through 59p in 20 minutes.

The standing charges would have been deducted daily while you were using up the WHD credit, it is only when run out of credit, or you go into the emergency credit that the standing charges build up.

Re the 59p getting used quickly, I wonder if the daily standing charge was applied leaving you with only 7p...

Even if the washing machine was on, it wouldn't have used 2kWh that quickly.

Artyboy1973

MWT said:

Artyboy1973 said:

MWT said:

This is probably related to the standing charges which of course are charged daily regardless of if you are there and using energy, or not. .

While you are using the emergency credit, the standing charges are not deducted from the credit, but they are building up as a debt.

You will need to clear the accumulated debt which incudes both the emergency credit you have used and the standing charges, before you return to normal use where the standing charges are deducted daily.

That could most probably be a possibility as I got a warm home discount of £140 in December of last year and I’m thinking maybe the build up of the standing charges is due to me to not paying it as usual every week as there was no need to with getting the £140 warm home discount out into my meter. However, I’m still baffled why I went through 59p in 20 minutes.

The standing charges would have been deducted daily while you were using up the WHD credit, it is only when run out of credit, or you go into the emergency credit that the standing charges build up.

Re the 59p getting used quickly, I wonder if the daily standing charge was applied leaving you with only 7p...

Even if the washing machine was on, it wouldn't have used 2kWh that quickly.

MWT said:

Artyboy1973 said:

MWT said:

This is probably related to the standing charges which of course are charged daily regardless of if you are there and using energy, or not. .

While you are using the emergency credit, the standing charges are not deducted from the credit, but they are building up as a debt.

You will need to clear the accumulated debt which incudes both the emergency credit you have used and the standing charges, before you return to normal use where the standing charges are deducted daily.

That could most probably be a possibility as I got a warm home discount of £140 in December of last year and I’m thinking maybe the build up of the standing charges is due to me to not paying it as usual every week as there was no need to with getting the £140 warm home discount out into my meter. However, I’m still baffled why I went through 59p in 20 minutes.

The standing charges would have been deducted daily while you were using up the WHD credit, it is only when run out of credit, or you go into the emergency credit that the standing charges build up.

Re the 59p getting used quickly, I wonder if the daily standing charge was applied leaving you with only 7p...

Even if the washing machine was on, it wouldn't have used 2kWh that quickly.

Hmm, so there is a problem that is worrying because I have never ran out of credit since getting the £140 WHD and the only time I had to switch it into £10 emergency credit was when I got back home last week and found the electricity had turned off then again a few days ago when I had to put it back on emergency credit which baffled me becasue everything was turned off at the mains.

Gerry1

Check whether any debt is being reclaimed.

Prepayment Electricity Meter Codes

Prepayment Electricity Meter Codes

MWT

Artyboy1973 said:

Hmm, so there is a problem that is worrying because I have never ran out of credit since getting the £140 WHD and the only time I had to switch it into £10 emergency credit was when I got back home last week and found the electricity had turned off then again a few days ago when I had to put it back on emergency credit which baffled me becasue everything was turned off at the mains.

The £14.41 makes sense because that would have been the £10 emergency credit plus the standing charges from the day the meter first ran out so that sounds about right.

Do you happen to recall how much of the £10 emergency credit was left on the meter when you went away for the week?