Gas Smets2 not recording usage.

kayeb

Has anyone else had a similar problem to our’s & got it sorted please?

We had a new gas Smart meter fitted 3 weeks ago.  We only had a gas meter fitted as our electricity meter had been upgraded to a smart meter several years ago.

The engineer left it all in good working order.  We’ve been able to monitor both the gas and electricity usage on our IHD.

However I noticed last week the gas usage had started showing as nil on the IHD.   It has been very mild and we have turned the heating off to save money, but there should be some usage (pilot lights etc).  Our boiler powered hot water is still on so some usage should be showing.  The only gas cost being shown is 28 p per day which is the standing charge.  

On looking at the outside actual wall mounted gas meter, the usage appears to be stuck on 138m3.  It’s been thst for nearly a week now.  This ties in with what’s shown on the IHD.

I visited So Energy’s help page and I have pressed the various buttons, including holding down the buttons on the actual gas meter for 5 seconds, but nothing can jolt it to move on.

I have also looked at the electric meter and all the lights are flickering as they are supposed to (the WAN & HAN etc).  Both meters are communicating with the IHD.  And to reiterate, our electric meter is working perfectly, showing usage and when we put lights/cooker on etc.

So in summary, our new gas smart meter dues not appear to be showing any usage.

I’ve emailed So Energy customer services but I haven’t had a reply yet.

[Deleted User]

This can only be resolved by your supplier. There are a number of reasons why your meter may not be updating usage. Suppliers are obliged under the Smart Meter Installation Code of Practice to resolve issues such as yours. This section is worth a read:

kayeb

Thanks for the reply & info Dolor.  I see there is a very similar post raised by someone else also.  I’ll wait & see what So Energy come back with, the meter is clearly faulty, but having been so careful with usage this last year, the last thing I want is a big overestimated bill!

kayeb

Update Aug 2023:
So, after raising this query about 10 times with So Energy that the gas smart meter isn’t recording usage, raising a formal complaint (8 weeks after is next week), I finally had a visit from a smart meter engineer today.  He said he was here just to check it was working, & after looking at it, then exchanging texts with So Energy, he said as far as they are concerned it’s all working perfectly!
I really did question this, pointing out that the meter doesn’t move on despite heating the water & the CH. I offered to demonstrate by turning our gas fire on, but the engineer said it wouldn’t make any difference & he citified only act in what So Energy said.  
I feel like I’ve been gaslit!  The meter reading hasn’t moved since Feb 2023!  All our gas bills for the last 6 months have been nil (just standing charge).   Are they stupid?  Am I going mad?

In a fit of picque I’ve requested return of our considerable credit balance which they seem quite happy to return.  I know one day we’ll have to pay something, but So Energy don’t care!
I’m staggered by the incompetence, this could drag on for years.  I’ve tried really really hard to resolve this.  

Because they are receiving meter readings they think it’s all fine, they don’t seem to mind that the reading has not moved on since Feb (we’ve definitely been using gas).

Any suggestions?
I think I’m just going to have to escalate to the ombudsman next week, but I’m oh so sick of this. I feel like I’m a madwoman!  

The really annoying thing is my husband had an important eye appointment today & we had to cancel (he needs me to drive him as his eyes will be affected) as the meter man appointment was harder to rearrange than the hospital appointment.
Just speechless.

QrizB

Most people would be happy with a gas meter which reads zero use and a report from their supplier's engineer stating that the meter is working perfectly!

If you're worried about back billing, keep a year's worth of bill money in an interest-bearing account just in case.

MeteredOut

kayeb said:

Update Aug 2023:
So, after raising this query about 10 times with So Energy that the gas smart meter isn’t recording usage, raising a formal complaint (8 weeks after is next week), I finally had a visit from a smart meter engineer today.  He said he was here just to check it was working, & after looking at it, then exchanging texts with So Energy, he said as far as they are concerned it’s all working perfectly!
I really did question this, pointing out that the meter doesn’t move on despite heating the water & the CH. I offered to demonstrate by turning our gas fire on, but the engineer said it wouldn’t make any difference & he citified only act in what So Energy said.  
I feel like I’ve been gaslit!  The meter reading hasn’t moved since Feb 2023!  All our gas bills for the last 6 months have been nil (just standing charge).   Are they stupid?  Am I going mad?

In a fit of picque I’ve requested return of our considerable credit balance which they seem quite happy to return.  I know one day we’ll have to pay something, but So Energy don’t care!
I’m staggered by the incompetence, this could drag on for years.  I’ve tried really really hard to resolve this.  

Because they are receiving meter readings they think it’s all fine, they don’t seem to mind that the reading has not moved on since Feb (we’ve definitely been using gas).

Any suggestions?
I think I’m just going to have to escalate to the ombudsman next week, but I’m oh so sick of this. I feel like I’m a madwoman!  

The really annoying thing is my husband had an important eye appointment today & we had to cancel (he needs me to drive him as his eyes will be affected) as the meter man appointment was harder to rearrange than the hospital appointment.
Just speechless.

I'd recommend looking at your previous years' usage, and setting aside an approximate amount of money you think you have used and will use over the past/future monthts. So Energy will likely come knocking at some point. But, you've done more than enough to notify them of the issue, so hope that they'll eventually run out time and won't be able to claim back all that you "owe".

As for taking your husband for an eye appointment, I hear Barnard Castle is a nice alternative

kayeb

Thanks both for your suggestions.  I was ranting out of frustration of wanting to do the responsible thing & being gaslighted by lazy staff in the metering department who can’t be arsed to get a new meter fitted.  Strong words I know, but if I was the boss or shareholder of a company whose staff were saying everything is working ticketty boo when it’s not, & losing revenue, I wouldn’t be very happy.  I’ve estimated my usage & shall put it aside, along with the threads of emails, letters and complaints ready for when they wake up!  

Mstty

The good news is you can get some decent interest on that money as well.

SAC2334

The "gas engineer " will be a mere meter reader employed by Morrisons who has just been sent to check if the meter screen is not blank screen .Because the meter screen is live when he pressed the wake up button , in his view it is working because they never sit around watching to see if the hundreths digit is rolling round.
Easy mistake to make if he s not been told the full story . 

As others have said , many would be happy as larry that their gas meter is stuck on the same reading . 

A common enough sight for me with old electric meters which I knew were stuck ,I gave them  a good thump on the top or side and  always got them moving again. Somehow I don t think that trick will work on the LCD gas meter screen
.
Now all you will get is estimated gas meter bills which go on for years and years, as it has with many blank screen electric meters I found . The blank screen electric occupiers loved that because they could use as much electric as they like but in your case I think the reading could be recording in the background .

kayeb

Thanks for your insight.  The “engineer” was a fairly dopey youngster from AES metering.  I did give him the full story (installed late Jan, then got stuck in 138m3 2 weeks later where it’s been ever since, despite using the CH, gas fire & hot water & bills since then show nil usage, s/c only).  He reported what he saw to So Energy & they said it’s all fine & working.  I did stress to him that it’s not!  And offered to turn on the gas fire to demonstrate, but he just wasn’t interested.  I asked him if the correct reading could be extracted from the meter “I don’t know, I just install them”.  I also pointed out the 30 minute update intervals on the gas meters, “Oh, I don’t know about that”!  TBH I’m staggered that someone who knows so little about how they work & is so uninterested is installing & removing them.  Yes I am happy to be able to use as much gas as I like without charge, but I know it’s wrong.  The level of incompetence in So Energy’s metering department is staggering.  They lied last month and say they’d extracted the correct readings, but those monthly bills still keep coming showing zero usage. 

I was posting this update as I think the problem with our meter isn’t that uncommon, & sharing my experience might help others experiencing similar issues.  

I’m still undecided whether to escalate the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman, or whether to just get on with life 🤷‍♀️.

rp1974

kayeb said:

I’m still undecided whether to escalate the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman, or whether to just get on with life 🤷‍♀️.

Most definitely escalate to the Ombudsman,then just get on with life.
Doing so will leave a paper/email trail showing that you've made a reasonable effort to resolve this,getting nowhere.
If nothing happens maybe re-raise the issue now and then with the supplier,again it will show you've done your bit to sort it out.