Gas Meter Still Increasing Whilst Gas Isolated (Siemens/Landis+Gyr E6S)

MeteredOut

samn9 said:

I am going to try and set up a webcam with a long cable through a crack in my window to capture the meter.

Octopus have got back to me, they just said they have issued me an £85 refund, which in my view barely covers the overcharge. They've not admitted a fault with the meter , or explained how they calculated the refund. And they want me to book in for a smart meter but not mentioned testing. Not overly impressed with them so far, they don't seem to engage with what I am actually saying or explain what they are doing.

Similar to my encounters with EDF. They are more concerned with getting the case closed than resolving the issue. The first 2 or 3 layers of people you speak to will not be able to resolve the issue. It's only AFTER the Ombudsman issued their final result that I spoke to someone at EDF who sounded like they had at least reviewed the evidence I provided. 

samn9

MeteredOut said:

samn9 said:

Many thanks for your comment.

I will be firm on the OFMAT test.

 I don't have any record of when it started showing C unfortunately. I used to take photos each time I took a meter reading but they've all been deleted which is a pain as I've no firm proof of when the big jump occurred.

Any tips on procuring/setting up the camera would be welcome, if there's a cheap way to get this setup. Maybe a dashcam off Amazon? It's in a visible spot in the front garden so nothing too high value although in my area it's unlikely it would be stolen.

Octopus have asked for a photo so they can start investigating. I have heard mixed reviews on their customer service, they are rated highly but comments on other forums say they drag their feet for months/years on sorting meter issues, and also that their customer service has plummeted over winter. I guess I will see.

I bought a cheap mini-tripod (similar to the below) and used the free (and very good) Lens Buddy app to do a time-lapse video, but I'm lucky in that we have an enclosed garden so I could leave it outside with no risk of it being stolen.



It is only C you're seeing on the digital display?. I saw that quite a lot, an E on 1 occasion, but mostly saw b and d.

Yes, only seeing C at all times.

I like your setup. For me I think it will have to be a cheap webcam with a long cable into the house. Maybe a bike light to keep the screen lit up! I have a hedge in the front garden which keeps it partly concealed from view. 

I just realised why Octopus have issued me £85. They're refunding me the ELECTRICITY bill from yesterday! Just clueless.

Gerry1

You need to shut the gas off using the lever next to the meter.  If the reading then changes it's proof positive that it's faulty.

samn9

Just tried that - 

So I shut the gas off with the lever, while recording on my phone. Moments later, the reading crept up. 

In case this was a fluke, or caused by moving the lever, I carried on recording for another 20 minutes until I saw another increase.

Hopefully this is sufficient evidence!

Gerry1

Welcome to the 'Overcharged By My Smart Meter' club !

samn9

This one isn't even a smart meter Gerry!

I still have the delights of smart meters to come, once they replace this one.

MeteredOut

samn9 said:

Just tried that - 

So I shut the gas off with the lever, while recording on my phone. Moments later, the reading crept up. 

In case this was a fluke, or caused by moving the lever, I carried on recording for another 20 minutes until I saw another increase.

Hopefully this is sufficient evidence!

You'll need to record it for a while. EDF engineers claimed the boiler would still "draw through" gas even when the meter was isolated from the mains gas (which I believe is technically true, for a small amount of gas).

But, I pointed out to them that with volume of gas recorded as used by the meter, there would have to be a run of 750 metres of pipe between the isolator/meter and my boiler for that to be the case. I didn't get a response to that, but was continually still told thereafter by the complaints handler that it was the boiler pulling through the gas sitting in the pipes. Afterall, their engineer had said it, so it must be true. Very frustrating.

So, I'd definitely have it recorded as incrementing for at least 30 minutes - which is why I went for a time-lapse rather than a video, as EDF could not accept large files. I ended up uploading them to YouTube and sending them the link, which is how I know whether they looked at them, via the YouTube analytics viewing figures.

samn9

Thanks for that, EDF sound awful.

In total it increased by 0.415 m3 over 20 mins. So assuming a 35mm diameter pipe, that would be 431m of pipe I think.

I will see if they give in after showing this video, if not I will be back to gather longer evidence!

Spoonie_Turtle

Gerry1 said:

Welcome to the 'Overcharged By My Smart Meter' club !

As pointed out before when the OP was having their problem, this type of meter isn't a smart meter.

samn9

A question for further down the road, once I get Octopus to agree the meter is faulty.

How would I calculate the money I'd want back for previous high readings?

 I moved into this place in Aug 2020 so have potentially been having faulty readings for 3.5 years. The only other month it's obviously wrong was June 2023, but it seems probable there have been many months where my gas reading has been higher than it should be. Obviously it's not possible to know exactly when the fault developed, or what impact it has had on my bills. So what would be a reasonable approach?