Gas meter reset when replaced

spanner2022

I bought a house 6 months ago and it had a kitchen refurbishment done before I moved in during which the gas engineer found the gas meter was leaking and he switched it off and eventually fit a new one. I’m with EON and have had a nightmare getting them to actually register my gas account in my name. Have been paying bills based on estimates addressed to the “occupier” until today when they finally registered the gas account. Not sure why this took so long as my electricity was registered in my name and they provide both. 

I tried to provide a meter reading today but it is telling me it is too low and it looks like the readings on the meter changed when the meter was replaced. 

I didn’t realise that this would happen and wasn’t advised by the gas engineer regarding this. They are a proper company - not dodgy - so I’m not too worried but I don’t even know where to go regarding this issue. Do I tell EON or contact the gas engineer first and how is it resolved? I don’t want to be paying estimates the entire time I own the property. 

DullGreyGuy

The engineer should advise them the closing reading for the old meter and the opening reading for the new meter, if not 0. Once that's been done your new reads should be reasonable against the opening reading

spanner2022

Do you know what happens if the engineer hasn’t informed them of both readings? I’m quite concerned that they haven’t so there is going to be a huge anomaly. I’m hoping if they haven’t that they have kept records 

[Deleted User]

There should be a card inside your meter box that has the serial number of both old and new meters, the reading of the old meter when taken out, and the reading of the new meter when put in (probably zero).

[Deleted User]

It can take a few weeks for the supplier to update the National Database. It will remove the old meter serial number from your address/MPRN and it will link the new meter serial to your MPRN.

You mention a ‘gas engineer’: who actually carried our the meter switch? Was he/she working on behalf of E.oN? 

Clearly, something has gone awry. In my experience, the energy supplier is pretty quick to raise a Final Bill for the old meter as it doesn’t have to wait for the database update. The Final Bill will be based on the reading showing on the meter when it was removed. I am surprised that you thought that the new meter would be set to anything but 00000.

A further thing to check. New meters tend to record gas volume in cubic metres: many old meters used cubic feet. Suppliers can get this wrong when they set up the new meter gas account.

Alnat1

There should be a sticker on the new meter that shows the reading of the old meter that was replaced and the starting read of the new meter. My new one was 9999. The installer should check each gas appliance in the house (fire up boiler, each ring on hob etc) and this is without cost to you until the meter is at 0.