Gas meter not workkng

mac.d

That's exactly what I thought when I heard that explanation, it makes no sense?

There has been a single unit recorded on the gas meter (they got a bill a week or so after the new smart meters had been fitted) with an opening read of 00000 and closing read of 00001. The IHD just shows no details for gas, and when I had a look at their gas meter, the display is blank, no button presses make the screen light up or show anything. To me that suggests its faulty and needs replaced.

Shell were told all of this, but the "needs a new part that I don't have with me" was apparently what the engineer told them. I'll be interested to hear what happens when the next one visits in February.

[Deleted User]

mac.d said:

That's exactly what I thought when I heard that explanation, it makes no sense?

There has been a single unit recorded on the gas meter (they got a bill a week or so after the new smart meters had been fitted) with an opening read of 00000 and closing read of 00001. The IHD just shows no details for gas, and when I had a look at their gas meter, the display is blank, no button presses make the screen light up or show anything. To me that suggests its faulty and needs replaced.

Shell were told all of this, but the "needs a new part that I don't have with me" was apparently what the engineer told them. I'll be interested to hear what happens when the next one visits in February.

Your friend might like to read out this section of the Smart Meter Installation Code of Practice to the supplier:

5.1.Procedures for Handling Faults

It is each Member’s responsibility to ensure that;

5.1.1.If a fault is identified with the Smart Metering System during the Installation Visit, the Customer is made aware of the problem, what the resolution is likely to be, who will be resolving the fault, and the approximate timescales of the resolution;

5.1.2.The Customer is provided with contact details for additional information related to the Smart Metering System fault, for example should they wish to check progress;

5.1.3.It is made clear to the Customer that they will not be charged for rectifying the Smart Metering System fault;

5.1.4.Information is provided as to who the Customer is to contact if they identify a fault with the Smart Metering System;

5.1.5.If the IHD, if provided, is found to be faulty within 12 months of Installation, the IHD is either repaired or replaced; and

5.1.6.The Customer is informed about their rights in relation to components of the Smart Metering System that are identified to be faulty.


The latter sub-para is important as the supplier should provide details on how they will bill for unrecorded energy use.

john080347

I've noted all these comments, and in the absence of a working IHD the obvious way of determining gas consumption is to check the meter reading. In our case, we have a problem in this regard. The actual location of the meter is very low down in an inaccessible cupboard situated in a cramped downstairs loo; just getting down to it and pressing a button is incredibly difficult for an arthritic 76-year-old like myself, let alone read the numbers. British Gas recently told me to take a photo of the meter reading, and it took about 20 minutes before I had my camera phone in position, set a timer, and take a poorly focussed picture. And after sending this picture to them? No help at all. I still feel quite frustrated by all the shenanigans they've put us through!

imeach

john080347 said:

I've noted all these comments, and in the absence of a working IHD the obvious way of determining gas consumption is to check the meter reading. In our case, we have a problem in this regard. The actual location of the meter is very low down in an inaccessible cupboard situated in a cramped downstairs loo; just getting down to it and pressing a button is incredibly difficult for an arthritic 76-year-old like myself, let alone read the numbers. British Gas recently told me to take a photo of the meter reading, and it took about 20 minutes before I had my camera phone in position, set a timer, and take a poorly focussed picture. And after sending this picture to them? No help at all. I still feel quite frustrated by all the shenanigans they've put us through!

Tell BG you can not physically read it.
Ask to go on Priority Services Register and they will send a meter reader to read it for you

imeach

On a normal day I can come across up to 5 gas or electric meters with blank screens
Some have been like it for years
Reported by the customer and the meter reader but nothing gets done a lot of time.

I did have one once where the customer went barmy at me for trying to read it, when he was expecting someone to fix it.
As I was walking away, I bumped into the guy on his way to try to fix, and wished him good luck.
More often than not, the meter is replaced but he said they could do a sort of reflash and sometimes that got them going again

mac.d

Shell were told all of this, but the "needs a new part that I don't have with me" was apparently what the engineer told them. I'll be interested to hear what happens when the next one visits in February.

Latest update to this is that the guy came and apparently 'fixed' the meter, and said the gas reading should appear on the IHD within an hour and if not just to switch it off and back on again, but don't worry he said, we are getting readings from it.

The gas meter is still completely dead.
The IHD can't be switched on/off due to it having an internal battery and no on/off switch.

In saying that, I got them to check their usage online and for some reason the gas is showing usage on a monthly basis. I'm thinking it's just an estimate though, as you can't click on the monthly totals to get the daily readings the same way you can for the electric, does this sound likely?

I'm not sure whether they should wait on their next bill just to check its still estimated, or just help them go ahead with a complaint? It's pretty ridiculous to me that they've just went through the winter with the highest energy prices ever and Shell have mucked about and expect them to pay on estimates due to their incompetence. 

liviboy

The graph means smart readings are being received.

it sounds like your read frequently is monthly though.

You can change this in the shell app by clicking account then preferences then changing the reading to 30-minute.

liviboy

Your IHD will have an on/off switch.

mine is on the back and is a little round button (also with shell).

mac.d

Thanks but their meter readings for both gas and electric are set to daily, so it's not that. Also, all their bills from September (when the smart meter was installed) to January have estimated gas readings. 

I'll check the back of the IHD when I'm next there but I couldn't see any obvious switch/button anywhere. 

mac.d

Just to add to this weird saga of the gas smart meter install with Shell. Found the on/off button on the IHD, so thanks @liviboy, but that made no difference (not surprisingly as the gas meter was still seemingly dead). But a week later the gas meter suddenly appeared on the IHD, and the gas meter now lights up and shows a reading when you press the buttons. It's showing a reading of 8 units, so has clearly not been working and recording usage up to now. It will be interesting to see what happens with their estimated bills now considering the last estimated reading is 600.

A complaint was submitted last week, strangely and not very helpfully Shell have responded to the complaint today by saying sorry you're having problems with your IHD and asked for it to be turned on & off so they can send a command to it to get it back working again.