Gas usage mega increase

rjmiller

All good points re when the issues started.

Having had the new meter in place for 2 months does provide a benchmark for usage prior to that.

I've used 0.9 units a day since it was installed, which includes a particularly cold snap of weather. So the November 2021 reading of 87 units (over 2 per day), for example, is excessive.

I don't think it's feasible that I used 31 units in May either, on the same principle.

rjmiller

pochase said:

You state in your first post

My gas usage has always been low and steady. For example, in November 2021 the reading was 82 units. December it was 98. March this year was 76, April was 67.

So if the problem only started this year why do you think you need to contact previous suppliers?

At the start of all this I thought 67 units in April was "low and steady". Having seen what I actually use, courtesy of the new meter, I now realise that wasn't "low and steady" at all.

December 2021 was 98 units. This year it was  third of that.

I've gone over my statements in 2019, when I joined Bulb, and all have similarly high readings. I think it's worth asking previous suppliers if they have any old statements I can look at.

[Deleted User]

rjmiller said:

pochase said:

You state in your first post

My gas usage has always been low and steady. For example, in November 2021 the reading was 82 units. December it was 98. March this year was 76, April was 67.

So if the problem only started this year why do you think you need to contact previous suppliers?

At the start of all this I thought 67 units in April was "low and steady". Having seen what I actually use, courtesy of the new meter, I now realise that wasn't "low and steady" at all.

December 2021 was 98 units. This year it was  third of that.

I've gone over my statements in 2019, when I joined Bulb, and all have similarly high readings. I think it's worth asking previous suppliers if they have any old statements I can look at.

Trust me: your previous suppliers are not going to be at all interested as you failed to raise an issue with them at the time. They are unlikely to accept a complaint as you are no longer on supply, and you have no right of escalation other than through the Courts. The onus would be on you to prove it. Comparing your usage this month with a year ago is not a sound comparison. There are too many unknowns/variables.

rjmiller

[Deleted User] said:

rjmiller said:

pochase said:

You state in your first post

My gas usage has always been low and steady. For example, in November 2021 the reading was 82 units. December it was 98. March this year was 76, April was 67.

So if the problem only started this year why do you think you need to contact previous suppliers?

At the start of all this I thought 67 units in April was "low and steady". Having seen what I actually use, courtesy of the new meter, I now realise that wasn't "low and steady" at all.

December 2021 was 98 units. This year it was  third of that.

I've gone over my statements in 2019, when I joined Bulb, and all have similarly high readings. I think it's worth asking previous suppliers if they have any old statements I can look at.

Trust me: your previous suppliers are not going to be at all interested as you failed to raise an issue with them at the time. They are unlikely to accept a complaint as you are no longer on supply, and you have no right of escalation other than through the Courts. The onus would be on you to prove it. Comparing your usage this month with a year ago is not a sound comparison. There are too many unknowns/variables.

Good to know, ta.

Zandoni

[Deleted User] said:

rjmiller said:

pochase said:

You state in your first post

My gas usage has always been low and steady. For example, in November 2021 the reading was 82 units. December it was 98. March this year was 76, April was 67.

So if the problem only started this year why do you think you need to contact previous suppliers?

At the start of all this I thought 67 units in April was "low and steady". Having seen what I actually use, courtesy of the new meter, I now realise that wasn't "low and steady" at all.

December 2021 was 98 units. This year it was  third of that.

I've gone over my statements in 2019, when I joined Bulb, and all have similarly high readings. I think it's worth asking previous suppliers if they have any old statements I can look at.

Trust me: your previous suppliers are not going to be at all interested as you failed to raise an issue with them at the time. They are unlikely to accept a complaint as you are no longer on supply, and you have no right of escalation other than through the Courts. The onus would be on you to prove it. Comparing your usage this month with a year ago is not a sound comparison. There are too many unknowns/variables.

There is an official test certificate that states the meter is unreliable, so you could argue that the onus is on the gas supplier to say when the fault started. In my day there was a length of time that they usually went back to, unfortunately I can’t remember how long it was. At the end of the day there is no way of knowing when the fault started, so it’s down to negotiation.

markin

Was the the old one Ft and the new M3 are you converting to compare?

ariarnia

i dont think theres any harm in asking for copies of old statements and readings. and you wouldn't have to go to the court i dont think. i think you could escalate tot eh ombudsman. if you have some evidence and can make an argument id be tempted to go to the ombudsman just to get there view on whats a reasonable time to go back. but you would need the evidence.  

and one year to one year is difficult. one month to one moth even worse. especially if your arguing it got worse over time and as your now paying careful attention to your use so for this last month you could have just been being very careful. have you turned down the thermostat or insulted the house better. or cut the number of hours you heat every room? 

not saying that your not right. just that you will really need to put a bit of work into pulling all the data into a spreadsheet accounting for all the variables you can and actually see if you can make an argument. not just put it all on your old suppliers as they'll just say no. 

rjmiller

markin said:

Was the the old one Ft and the new M3 are you converting to compare?

Both m3 I think.

rjmiller

ariarnia said:

i dont think theres any harm in asking for copies of old statements and readings. and you wouldn't have to go to the court i dont think. i think you could escalate tot eh ombudsman. if you have some evidence and can make an argument id be tempted to go to the ombudsman just to get there view on whats a reasonable time to go back. but you would need the evidence.  

and one year to one year is difficult. one month to one moth even worse. especially if your arguing it got worse over time and as your now paying careful attention to your use so for this last month you could have just been being very careful. have you turned down the thermostat or insulted the house better. or cut the number of hours you heat every room? 

not saying that your not right. just that you will really need to put a bit of work into pulling all the data into a spreadsheet accounting for all the variables you can and actually see if you can make an argument. not just put it all on your old suppliers as they'll just say no. 

Thanks for this. To my mind I haven't been particularly using the heating any less since the new meter was installed. 

I can see that it might be a battle with previous suppliers but I've contacted both so will gauge their response. I had a crossed meter (electric) issue a few years ago and, although I know this is different, the old providers were responsive.

Re the Ombudsman, typically the 'comments' bit of my complaint closed the day before the certificate came through or I would have added this update.

rjmiller

Brief update.

For a few weeks Bulb have been saying that they haven't yet received a copy of the certificate proving that the meter was defective.

I took it upon myself to check with SGS who confirmed that they had sent the certificate at the same time as they sent a copy to me. I relayed this to Bulb who then "found" their copy. A miracle, I know.

As of yestetday the latest person that I'm dealing with has re-billed me going on 'estimates', which leave me circa 400 quid up.

I'm not being grabby, and I know that some may take issue with my thinking, but I genuinely believe I've overpaid to a larger extent, as recent readings would suggest.

Bulb said that to re-bill me using current readings would take longer to calculate as they'll need more readings over the coming weeks (months?).

I'm fine with that and have asked for a timescale.

Meanwhile a previous supplier are having a look over my old statements to compare with current usage and see if they may need to compensate.

Another previous supplier weren't interested.

Not that brief an update, on reflection.