Dealing with a Nightmare: Energy Supplier and Ombudsman Frustrations

Stuart_

Hello all,

I'm writing to share my exasperating journey with a faulty gas meter, a failed energy supplier, and the subsequent complexities involving the supplier of last resort and the energy ombudsman. It has been a process that has tested my patience and trust in the energy sector and I believe it's crucial to share my experience, as I suspect I am not alone in these struggles.

In short, my energy supplier, Utility Point, went out of business and EDF Energy took over as my Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR). My issues began with a faulty gas meter while I was with Utility Point. However, this issue was never rectified, as Utility Point went under before it could be resolved.

Upon Utility Point's collapse, EDF Energy took on the task of billing me for my gas usage. This included the disputed period of time when I had a faulty gas meter. Despite presenting evidence of the faulty meter, EDF has pursued the debt. Unfortunately, attempts to resolve the issue through the Energy Ombudsman have proven less than fruitful.

The Energy Ombudsman has claimed that they are unable to investigate the issue as they cannot hold an energy supplier responsible for the actions of another supplier. However, EDF, acting as SoLR, is seeking payment for a debt that pertains to a period when I believe my gas usage was inaccurately recorded due to a faulty meter. The paradox here is alarming.

On top of this, Ofgem has stated that any disputes related to the debt from the failed supplier (taken on by the SoLR) should be taken to the SoLR. This essentially leaves me, the consumer, in a perplexing and stressful situation where I am being pursued for a disputed debt by the SoLR, but have no means of dispute resolution through the Ombudsman.

Adding to the complexity, it seems that EDF will retain any funds collected in respect of my debtor balance. In essence, EDF has potentially profited from this situation, pursuing a debt for energy they never supplied.

This is all because I was a victim of a faulty gas meter which was incrementing on it's own without any gas being consumed. I recived a £7000 bill for gas from Avro Energy just as I moved to Utility Point.

I'm sharing this here in the hope that it might serve as a cautionary tale and raise awareness about potential gaps in consumer protection in the energy sector. This experience has cost me a significant amount of time, money, and peace of mind. It seems clear to me that there is a need for greater scrutiny and regulation of the industry to ensure such paradoxical situations do not continue to happen.

Does anyone else have similar experiences or advice on how to navigate this? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Stuart

MorningcoffeeIV

If you genuinely believe you have a faulty gas meter, then you can get it checked.

Be aware that very few are, though.

Stuart_

I asked EDf to check it, they sent it away to be OFMAT tested, but it got lost on the way so it was never tested. Luckily I had videos showing the meter units moving up on their own and the amount of gas they said I was consuming was impossible.

EDF refused to look into the secondary evidence, and the ombusman ruled in my favour that it was likely the gas meter was faulty and told EDF they should refund me.

However what is not covered by the Ombudsman is the the backbilling EDF are sending me for the time I was with Utility Point, this is when the gas meter was also faulty.

EDF never supplied the gas while I was with utility point but are somehow able to backbill me for it without giving me any option to dispute this amount with the energy ombudsman.

Stuart_

The common belief that faulty energy meters are rare could potentially be a narrative circulated by the government to instill confidence in the accuracy of these devices. However, considering there are millions of energy meters in operation, many of which are exposed to diverse weather conditions and are in varying states of wear, it's reasonable to suspect that many might not be as accurate as we'd hope.

The only viable method for a consumer to suspect meter inaccuracy is when there's a significant spike in reported energy usage. Unfortunately, there's a lack of thorough, compulsory checking to ensure meter accuracy across the board. For instance, the government's voluntary spot-check program discovered that 60% of meters tested were over-reporting usage, albeit within the accepted 2.5% margin of error.

What's more, information on which makes and models are prone to this over-reporting or have a history of faults is conspicuously absent. The lack of transparency around this issue can be disconcerting for consumers who trust in the fairness and accuracy of their energy billing. The situation, therefore, necessitates a more in-depth investigation and a higher level of scrutiny to protect consumer rights and ensure fair billing practices.

CSI_Yorkshire

Stuart_ said:

The common belief statistically demonstrated fact, reported by an independent testing laboratory, that faulty energy meters are rare could potentially be is not a narrative circulated by the government to instill confidence in the accuracy of these devices, because the government do not do the tests or produce the statistics. 

FTFY.  It's not a conspiracy.

Dolor

Stuart_ said:

The common belief that faulty energy meters are rare could potentially be a narrative circulated by the government to instill confidence in the accuracy of these devices. However, considering there are millions of energy meters in operation, many of which are exposed to diverse weather conditions and are in varying states of wear, it's reasonable to suspect that many might not be as accurate as we'd hope.

The only viable method for a consumer to suspect meter inaccuracy is when there's a significant spike in reported energy usage. Unfortunately, there's a lack of thorough, compulsory checking to ensure meter accuracy across the board. For instance, the government's voluntary spot-check program discovered that 60% of meters tested were over-reporting usage, albeit within the accepted 2.5% margin of error.

What's more, information on which makes and models are prone to this over-reporting or have a history of faults is conspicuously absent. The lack of transparency around this issue can be disconcerting for consumers who trust in the fairness and accuracy of their energy billing. The situation, therefore, necessitates a more in-depth investigation and a higher level of scrutiny to protect consumer rights and ensure fair billing practices.

Do you seriously believe that to be the case? If you do, then we should all be worried as the Office for Product Standards and Safety is clearly not worth a penny of taxpayer money. 

Have a read of page 24 of this report:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1155246/opss-delivery-report-2021-22.pdf

Stuart_

Indeed, during the fiscal year of 2021/22, the In-Service Testing (IST) was conducted on 2,082 meters, representing a total installed population of 2.5 million meters.

However, details on which specific meter models were tested have not been disclosed. It's worth noting that the number of tested meters constitutes a minuscule fraction of the total.

Moreover, the test results have not been publicly released.Over the years, there have been multiple high-profile instances of significant meter-related problems.


"In the nineties we saw the introduction of ultrasonic meters manufactured by Eurometer and Siemens. The former British Gas pic had pioneered ultrasonic meters and financially backed an electronics company called “Gill Electronics” to develop a meter. Eurometer subsequently put this meter into production under licence to British Gas plc. There was undue haste with the installation of these meters for reasons best known to the former British Gas plc. The Eurometer soon developed serious faults in service and to a very much lesser degree so did the Siemens model. The faults were called “incrementing” which was a polite way of saying they could record gas that was not bein g used. Yet another overbilling problem. The “increments” were random and could be large or small. What was perhaps the most mystifying to gas consumers and gas engineers alike was the phenomenon of these meters registering when they were not connected to the gas supply! Modification to the design of these meters has eradicated this problem to the best of our knowledge and they now display an amazing level of accuracy—there is virtually no evidence of drift. It is unfortunate that the teething problems with ultrasonics has put them back years and possibly sidelined them for the foreseeable future. Transco no longer purchase them except for a small quantity of Eurometer semi-concealed meters and trial’s with the new Siemens prepayment meter."

This was the issue with my meter. This evidence was given to parliment in 2013!

and this...

"Millions of households are being overcharged for gas because of inaccurate meters, a leaked report has revealed.

One in six of National Grid’s older meters were over-registering and almost all of those tested had ‘accuracy problems’, according to the report.

An average customer affected by the problem would unwittingly pay £26 a year too much for gas - netting the industry millions of pounds each year.

The report showed that in the worst cases 88 per cent of a 1983 model of the U6 UGI Black Spot meter and 69 per cent of a 2000 model of the G4 Magnol Version 1 were over-registering – this is in excess of the tolerated 2 per cent leeway.

Sadly for customers, less than 1 per cent were undercharging. National Grid, which owns 75 per cent of the UK’s 23million gas meters, tested 4,882 of their oldest or least reliable meters in 2007 and found one in six was in breach of the regulations."

Certainly, it's easy to maintain trust in the accuracy of our meters, given that the OPSS has reportedly tested around 2,000 units and found no issues. However, it's important to remember that these tests represent only a small fraction of the countless meters in use across the country.

CSI_Yorkshire

So, to summarise, there is independent testing which finds no issue and almost everything they test is within the allowable tolerances.

You, unfortunately, experienced a single example of a fault and now conflate this with clickbait headlines to determine that there is a government conspiracy?

You can't say on one line "National Grid tested their 5000 oldest meters and found some were a bit off" to prove your point when you follow it by saying "OPSS test several thousand meters but that's only a tiny fraction".

There's a rant forum if that's what you want to do - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/praise-vent-warnings - I suggest moving.

Dolor

Millions of households are being overcharged for gas because of inaccurate meters, a leaked report has revealed.

One in six of National Grid’s older meters were over-registering and almost all of those tested had ‘accuracy problems’, according to the report.

An average customer affected by the problem would unwittingly pay £26 a year too much for gas - netting the industry millions of pounds each year.

The report showed that in the worst cases 88 per cent of a 1983 model of the U6 UGI Black Spot meter and 69 per cent of a 2000 model of the G4 Magnol Version 1 were over-registering – this is in excess of the tolerated 2 per cent leeway.

Sadly for customers, less than 1 per cent were undercharging. National Grid, which owns 75 per cent of the UK’s 23million gas meters, tested 4,882 of their oldest or least reliable meters in 2007 and found one in six was in breach of the regulations."

Source of the so called leak?

Stuart_

so are you saying that meter faults are rare?

The_Green_Hornet

Dolor said:

Millions of households are being overcharged for gas because of inaccurate meters, a leaked report has revealed.

One in six of National Grid’s older meters were over-registering and almost all of those tested had ‘accuracy problems’, according to the report.

An average customer affected by the problem would unwittingly pay £26 a year too much for gas - netting the industry millions of pounds each year.

The report showed that in the worst cases 88 per cent of a 1983 model of the U6 UGI Black Spot meter and 69 per cent of a 2000 model of the G4 Magnol Version 1 were over-registering – this is in excess of the tolerated 2 per cent leeway.

Sadly for customers, less than 1 per cent were undercharging. National Grid, which owns 75 per cent of the UK’s 23million gas meters, tested 4,882 of their oldest or least reliable meters in 2007 and found one in six was in breach of the regulations."

Source of the so called leak?

It looks like it is from a clickbait article published in the Daily Mail back in 2011.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356729/Inaccurate-gas-meters-lead-millions-paying-much.html