EDF GAS Meter broken no readings Can i be charged anything other than the standing charge?

seaburn68

Hi,  my gas "smart" meter is broken and has not recorded any meter readings , an engineerfinally called last week and  advised me its kncekered and it needs to be replaced . I had contacted EDF over the last month of so advising them it was not showing any readings( either on the meter itself or on the home hub).

The current bills are based on estimates , this doesn't seem fair, currently two adults have left the household, warm weather and being extremely careful about our usage dues the price of energy( radiators turned off in parts of household not used and kids who took 30 min showers etc have left home)  .

Can i be charged anything other than the standing charge? 

[Deleted User]

Yes, you can be charged for estimated use.  You don't get free gas.

If you think the estimated use is wrong (based on some actual readings) then you can challenge it - either now based on past use or in the future based on new actual readings from when it's fixed.

SAC2334

On the positive side you can now forget about being frugal and watching usage .I wish my gas meter would pack in .

 Warm weather ! its coming up to really cold weather .This freaky mild Autumn will soon be over and thats a certainty .

As for the meter being broken or knackered  it will just be another SMETS 1 gas smart meter  flat battery  which can last as short as 6 years to 10 years 

Suppliers seem to want to exchange the meter rather than just stick in a new £15 Lithium battery  which is what we did whenever a gas prepayment meter ran out of battery .

[Deleted User]

SAC2334 said:

On the positive side you can now forget about being frugal and watching usage .I wish my gas meter would pack in .

 Warm weather ! its coming up to really cold weather .This freaky mild Autumn will soon be over and thats a certainty .

As for the meter being broken or knackered  it will just be another SMETS 1 gas smart meter  flat battery  which can last as short as 6 years to 10 years 

Suppliers seem to want to exchange the meter rather than just stick in a new £15 Lithium battery  which is what we did whenever a gas prepayment meter ran out of battery .

They do seem strangely terrified about changing batteries.  I wonder if they're put off by some of the odd available chemistries, or because the battery is sometimes soldered on rather than being easily changed. 

macman

If you couldn't be charged for a period when the meter was broken, then there would be a much higher incidence of unfortunately 'broken' meters...
Your bill will be estimated based on previous consumption, which takes into account seasonal weather conditions, and invariably works in your favour.

seaburn68

the meter is smets 2 and has only been in for a few months 5-6  and has given reading for 1 or 2 months. The engineer an his manager are repalcing because its totally broken its no a battery issue . Theres no chance according to them or recovering any reading as its broken.

 Deleted_User said:

Yes, you can be charged for estimated use.  You don't get free gas.

If you think the estimated use is wrong (based on some actual readings) then you can challenge it - either now based on past use or in the future based on new actual readings from when it's fixed.

[Deleted User]

seaburn68 said:

the meter is smets 2 and has only been in for a few months 5-6  and has given reading for 1 or 2 months. The engineer an his manager are repalcing because its totally broken its no a battery issue . Theres no chance according to them or recovering any reading as its broken.

 Deleted_User said:

Yes, you can be charged for estimated use.  You don't get free gas.

If you think the estimated use is wrong (based on some actual readings) then you can challenge it - either now based on past use or in the future based on new actual readings from when it's fixed.

But there will be readings in the future from its replacement.

Still doesn’t mean you get free energy.

elsien

We have been having a similar conversation with eon.who have said they will try to see if they can get any readings from the unit and if not will bill us on estimates. 

We have yet to have the debate about parent thinking that this year’s usage should be less than last year’s because she was trying hard to be careful ( before we realise the meter was broken).

[Deleted User]

elsien said:

We have been having a similar conversation with eon.who have said they will try to see if they can get any readings from the unit and if not will bill us on estimates. 

We have yet to have the debate about parent thinking that this year’s usage should be less than last year’s because she was trying hard to be careful ( before we realise the meter was broken).

It’s a complicated process, but please have the debate and push your argument.  You can always take next year’s readings and ask them to back-calculate if you don’t reach a satisfactory conclusion in the short term.

seaburn68

Am i better that dont fix it for now ? I wonder if they will negotiate in the meantime. Just seems wrong in law they can charge for basically a made up ammount .   Deleted_User said:

seaburn68 said:

the meter is smets 2 and has only been in for a few months 5-6  and has given reading for 1 or 2 months. The engineer an his manager are repalcing because its totally broken its no a battery issue . Theres no chance according to them or recovering any reading as its broken.

 Deleted_User said:

Yes, you can be charged for estimated use.  You don't get free gas.

If you think the estimated use is wrong (based on some actual readings) then you can challenge it - either now based on past use or in the future based on new actual readings from when it's fixed.

But there will be readings in the future from its replacement.

Still doesn’t mean you get free energy.

[Deleted User]

seaburn68 said:

Am i better that dont fix it for now ? I wonder if they will negotiate in the meantime. Just seems wrong in law they can charge for basically a made up ammount .   Deleted_User said:

seaburn68 said:

the meter is smets 2 and has only been in for a few months 5-6  and has given reading for 1 or 2 months. The engineer an his manager are repalcing because its totally broken its no a battery issue . Theres no chance according to them or recovering any reading as its broken.

 Deleted_User said:

Yes, you can be charged for estimated use.  You don't get free gas.

If you think the estimated use is wrong (based on some actual readings) then you can challenge it - either now based on past use or in the future based on new actual readings from when it's fixed.

But there will be readings in the future from its replacement.

Still doesn’t mean you get free energy.

No, because you know about it.  And they know you know about it.  This means that you can't get any benefit from things like back-billing rules.  And the law actually specifically says they can do this, so no help for you there either.

They are more likely to over-estimate than under-estimate, so getting it fixed is more likely to benefit you than benefit them.