OVO charges for meter reading?

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Bradden said:

xxxxxxxx said:

To other replies,  the issue here is a legal one, (which not many of you seem to grasp), I have never been aware of any change in the UK energy market which removes the responsibility from the supplier to obtain accurate reading should THEY wish to, at their OWN expense.

Sorry.. can you point me to the legislation where it stipulates this please.

Hence why I came here. 

Can you say if 30 or 40 years ago an energy supplier could charge a customer to send someone round to take a meter reading.....  I never heard of such a thing, when meter readers were the norm.  

Do you know if and when the law changed in this and what legislation and Regulations gave that change?  i.e. the whole purpose of this thread.

EssexHebridean

When meter readers were "the norm" that was how readings were obtained. Things have changed, moved on. now meters are usually easier to read,  plus a lot of folk now have smart meters anyway and so there are less meter readers, and those there are are usually employed in reading the meters of those who are unable - rather than just unwilling - to read their own. As a result, it seems that some suppliers will now make a charge where someone is perfectly able to read their own meters, but simply doesn't want to. 

You seem to have overlooked my earlier comments by the way - the answer to the first paragraph here would help people to establish whether your position is reasonable or not, and so to advise you if you have grounds for any form of complaint. The second para makes a suggestion of how you can get around the problem in the future. 

EssexHebridean said:

So to establish whether this is reasonable or not, when did you last provide a reading, and when before that did you previously provide one? The supplier does have a duty of care to obtain regular readings, and there is I believe a set-point at which they MUST obtain a reading by one route or another.

If you are unhappy with reading your current meters, then by far the best way of dealing with the issue would be to ask for smart meters to be fitted as this would solve the problem. You would still have to take readings occasionally but purely for your own records to check your bills are correct. It is to be hoped that you are doing this already, so no change. 

So you are aware, all suppliers will want you to supply readings at least periodically, and most will prompt you to do so monthly. So yes, you could change, but that won't solve the issue of you not wanting to give readings. Without readings, your bills will still be estimated, and that in turn may well result in you paying a higher monthly amount than you otherwise would.

Bradden

xxxxxxxx said:

Bradden said:

xxxxxxxx said:

To other replies,  the issue here is a legal one, (which not many of you seem to grasp), I have never been aware of any change in the UK energy market which removes the responsibility from the supplier to obtain accurate reading should THEY wish to, at their OWN expense.

Sorry.. can you point me to the legislation where it stipulates this please.

Hence why I came here. 

Can you say if 30 or 40 years ago an energy supplier could charge a customer to send someone round to take a meter reading.....  I never heard of such a thing, when meter readers were the norm.  

Do you know if and when the law changed in this and what legislation and Regulations gave that change?  i.e. the whole purpose of this thread.

I'm not surprised others are struggling to grasp the issue here ... is there a legal issue? You state there is but I'm not so sure.

born_again

Try this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5612241/physical-meter-reading-frequency-and-the-law

MSE advice
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/meter-reading-day---what-you-need-to-know/

Ofgem

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/reforming-suppliers-meter-inspection-obligations

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Born Again,
Super reply, super grateful
Many Thanks

QrizB

I'm sure you will have read by now that, for accurate billing, you should be supplying meter readings each time your tariff changes. For a customer on the SVT, that's quarterly , on the 1st of January, April, July and September.

Failing to do so will result in estimated bills.

Jonboy_1984

I have consistently found every estimate from ovo has been excessive and my parents are finding the same. 

As an example since my electricity smart meter stopped talking to them I am back to giving a reading online and average 8 units a day. If I submit a reading on the day it is due around 6pm they will typically add another 12 units or so as their estimate to take it to the end of the same day….

There is no way I would let them run on estimates for any length of time.

(I am planning to move to Octopus shortly, but given the way ovo have managed the SSE migration and related frustration, I am seeing how they handle their current influx from Bulb and Shell before committing…)

SAC2334

Whats the problem ? they ve just given you £20 just for sending a reading in, what a bargain  .I send two a month , its absolutely no probelm nowadays. 

I was a meter reader for 20 years and I can tell you that the meter reader turning up was to do an independant "safety check " . These are to mainly to check if  , A , your readings are correct , and B , you are not fiddling the gas meter , and C there is no leaking gas at the meter or within the area .They take a reading to prove they have done the job correctly as its not usually used for billing purposes.
Safety checks have to be done periodically as every year there at least a few houses blowing up, taking the neighbours properties along with it sometimes  mainly through fiddling meters .
The meter reader would only have had the gas meter on his data collector and it would have been in his "Must Read " list. He could well return shortly to check the electric meter next month . Don t blame him for supplier inefficiency. 

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SAC2334 said:

Whats the problem ? they've just given you £20 just for sending a reading in, what a bargain  .I send two a month , its absolutely no problem nowadays. 

Dude, if they offered me £20 again, I would read them for them again, but that was about 18 months ago.  

Netexporter

Why not just request a smart meter if meter reading is too much trouble for you?