Smart Meter from British Gas

FineJane

My smart meter is not working and this past six months I have tried unsuccessfully to get British Gas to do something. I am now considering using the Utility Ombudsman to get help. Do you think this is a good idea

victor2

FineJane said:

My smart meter is not working and this past six months I have tried unsuccessfully to get British Gas to do something. I am now considering using the Utility Ombudsman to get help. Do you think this is a good idea

In what way is it not working and what have British Gas said?

If you are having to provide manual readings, but it is still recording usage, then that is not an uncommon problem. If the smart meter is quite old and was not installed by BG, it may need remotely updating or replacing if that can't be done. You'll then be on a long waiting list for that to happen.

[Deleted User]

FineJane said:

My smart meter is not working and this past six months I have tried unsuccessfully to get British Gas to do something. I am now considering using the Utility Ombudsman to get help. Do you think this is a good idea

You may get a small amount of goodwill money. The Energy Ombudsman has no statutory enforcement powers and given that there are known industry problems with smart meters BG cannot be forced to do something which is not technically possible.

A smart meter system comprises of 2 smart meters; a communications hub and an in house display (IHD). What makes you think that your smart meter isn’t working?

Keep_pedalling

Do you mean the actual smart meter or in in home display? 

Robin9

How do you give the readings to BG ?   Phone or the online account?  

Keep_pedalling

Are the BG readings estimated ones?

CSI_Yorkshire

FineJane said:

the readings on the meter do not match the readings on my bill. I have to submit readings to BG and they are not always corrected on the bill.
my anxiety is that I do not actually know how much I owe BG because the bills are incorrect. I have been on to them about this since April of this year. All I get is reassurance that they are looking into it. I have explained that I am a pensioner and need to know my finances

Does the serial number on the meter match the serial number on the bill?

[Deleted User]

OP - how long have you been with BG? Were you ever on the tariff that offered you a Saturday or Sunday’s worth of energy for free? The most likely explanation is that at sometime in the past your meter was recording usage on 2 of its 4 meter indexes, and you are providing an incorrect reading.

With respect, you still haven’t answered the initial question. Has BG confirmed that there is a fault with your electricity smart meter?

CSI_Yorkshire

If the meter is working but just isn't sending readings back to BG, then the Ombudsman will likely do nothing at all.

victor2

Does your online account show reading history? If so, does it show customer readings and smart readings. Are they estimating based on the last reading logged before the bill date or just seemingly ignoring the readings altogether?

Can you show us a suitably redacted bill page with the readings on it?

victor2

FineJane said:

On this bill the gas figure is correct but not the electric despite my online submission

It's weird that all the electricity readings are the same. Is 00064 what you submitted? It appears you used no electricity at all in June! What did the previous bill say? Were the refunds due to them over estimating readings before this bill?