Free Electricity, will I need to repay?

NeoDude

Bit of a strange one this.

Last year we had a lot of building work getting done, and the electrician damaged the Comms Box on our electricity meter while running a cable. We informed our supplier (Octopus Energy) who came out and replaced it, free of charge.

A week or 2 later I noticed that none of my Smart Home electricity history was showing and my In Home Display was showing no electricity use. Again I phoned Octopus Energy, who tried remote resets of the comms unit on the meter. Over the next couple of weeks there was multiple phone calls and emails to and from Octopus Energy trying to get my In Home Display to work. We eventually got to the bottom of it. The Electricity Meter was not actually recording usage, it showed the same reading as it had at my last meter read. Octopus Energy said they would get us booked in for a Meter Appointment to get it fixed. 

Over the next few weeks, there was again multiple phone calls and emails chasing them up to get this fixed. They insisted that they had escalated it to the metering department, and that somebody would be in touch. This was last September, and the only emails I've had from them since have been automated ads.

So, my account is now in credit by a couple of thousand pounds, and they've reduced my DD from £400 to £200.

And this reveals my question, lol. Am I liable to pay this back? The way I see it is that I've made all reasonable efforts to contact them to get this fixed, and they've basically ignored us. So if they want to give us free electricity, who am I to argue?

If they did want repayment, how would they calculate this? During the building works that caused this issue we swapped from Gas Central Heating to Electric Underfloor Heating for a large part of the house, as well as added a sizeable extension, so surely any estimates would be way off? 

TroubledTarts

Nothing has stopped you sending in a manual reading and as it was your electricians fault I think you know deep down.

NeoDude

TroubledTarts said:

Nothing has stopped you sending in a manual reading and as it was your electricians fault I think you know deep down.

How can I send in a manual reading, when the reading on the meter isn't actually changing?

I've contacted Octopus multiple times, so It's not like I've intentionally tried to get away with this. They're the one that have chosen not to act.

Keep_pedalling

You will have to pay and they will estimate you usage based on historical usage. 

t0rt0ise

Could you send in a gas reading and get that sorted at least? The elec they will estimate and you will be able to argue about it.

NeoDude

t0rt0ise said:

Could you send in a gas reading and get that sorted at least? The elec they will estimate and you will be able to argue about it.

Gas readings are working fine, and I'm being billed normally for them.

matt_drummer

NeoDude said:

Bit of a strange one this.

During the building works that caused this issue we swapped from Gas Central Heating to Electric Underfloor Heating for a large part of the house, as well as added a sizeable extension, so surely any estimates would be way off? 

Once you sort your meter out your problems will really start!

Any estimation of your electricity use by Octopus is likely to be significantly lower than your actual use.

Have you really swapped gas heating for electric underfloor heating in a large part of your home?

NeoDude

matt_drummer said:

Have you really swapped gas heating for electric underfloor heating in a large part of your home?

Yes we have, why?

QrizB

NeoDude said:

If they did want repayment, how would they calculate this? During the building works that caused this issue we swapped from Gas Central Heating to Electric Underfloor Heating for a large part of the house, as well as added a sizeable extension, so surely any estimates would be way off? 

They will estimate. Usually the problem is that people think the estimates are high, so they argue to make them lower. You are unlikely to have that problem.

matt_drummer said:

Once you sort your meter out your problems will really start!
Have you really swapped gas heating for electric underfloor heating in a large part of your home?

I agree with matt that it's an odd choice to switch away from gas CH to electric underfloor heating. What was your reasoning for this? Were you aware that it's likely to triple your heating costs?
Or, when you say "electric underflor heating", do you mean wet underfloor heating driven by a heat pump?

NeoDude

QrizB said:

NeoDude said:

If they did want repayment, how would they calculate this? During the building works that caused this issue we swapped from Gas Central Heating to Electric Underfloor Heating for a large part of the house, as well as added a sizeable extension, so surely any estimates would be way off? 

They will estimate. Usually the problem is that people think the estimates are high, so they argue to make them lower. You are unlikely to have that problem.

matt_drummer said:

Once you sort your meter out your problems will really start!
Have you really swapped gas heating for electric underfloor heating in a large part of your home?

I agree with matt that it's an odd choice to switch away from gas CH to electric underfloor heating. What was your reasoning for this? Were you aware that it's likely to triple your heating costs?
Or, when you say "electric underflor heating", do you mean wet underfloor heating driven by a heat pump?

No, I mean electric underfloor matting. Reasoning is mainly that we wanted rid of the radiators tbh, but the longer term plan is to install PV Panels and Batteries in order to offset the cost difference.

QrizB

NeoDude said:

QrizB said:

NeoDude said:

If they did want repayment, how would they calculate this? During the building works that caused this issue we swapped from Gas Central Heating to Electric Underfloor Heating for a large part of the house, as well as added a sizeable extension, so surely any estimates would be way off? 

They will estimate. Usually the problem is that people think the estimates are high, so they argue to make them lower. You are unlikely to have that problem.

matt_drummer said:

Once you sort your meter out your problems will really start!
Have you really swapped gas heating for electric underfloor heating in a large part of your home?

I agree with matt that it's an odd choice to switch away from gas CH to electric underfloor heating. What was your reasoning for this? Were you aware that it's likely to triple your heating costs?
Or, when you say "electric underflor heating", do you mean wet underfloor heating driven by a heat pump?

No, I mean electric underfloor matting. Reasoning is mainly that we wanted rid of the radiators tbh, but the longer term plan is to install PV Panels and Batteries in order to offset the cost difference.

It's your choice, obviously, but I hope you don't mind huge energy bills once Octopus fix your meter!

@matt_drummer has done the PV-and-battery thing but with a heat pump and he's happy that his heat is costing around 2p/kWh. Direct electric heating is closer to 25p/kWh.