Elec Pre-Payment Meter Blank - Non-Smart meter.... Large afterbill

StuieUK34

Evening all,
Hoping to get peoples thought's on this, as have read some posts on here + other forums to try and get my head round where we stand with a scenario 9 months down the road...... 
 (its not my issue, but the person is close to me, so am doing my best to understand it all, and hope i can save her some overall money at the End Game)...

Setup:
Small 1st floor 1bed flat, Elec only, with 1 storage heater (storage heater never used).  Elec shower,  (non-vented water tank not used, or seldom heated, in terms of hot water from taps), usual small kitchen appliances and xbox/TV.

TaleXus electric meter (Old)  (the Non-Smart unit, where you insert the plastic key, of which you top up via the local shop).
In the spring-Autum 2024, the average top up was £30 a month (main usage was xbox/TV on the evenings).  Winter months was average £40 top up per month....

April 2025, power-cut, power come back on, but LCD is blank on the meter.
A call to EON to say the meter is blank, top-up was recent, so would have been maybe £27 or so credit in the meter (no debit to pay back, it was a rented flat with that meter).

EON rep says "Wait till the power runs out, call us back, and we get an emergency callout done to replace the unit which is faster than sending a normal callout engineer".
She says "can you just send an engineer anyway, be nice to a have smart meter".
EON rep says we'll log the engineer callout anyway, but when the power runs out, call us back for an emergency callout.


""""  Thats the simple issue:    Old-skool token meter fails on the LCD panel, end user reports the fault to the supplier, which is placing the ball in the supplier court to resolve the issue.  """""


ok, so into May, power not gone off, and still no display, and still no engineer to replace unit.
into June, same as above.
Into July, still nothing.
She had reported the issue as above, she is still waiting for the engineer to come out and fix/replace unit.
August, Sep, into Oct, still nothing.

In October, i fill out the form online for her to get a smart meter installed, and it lets me pick a date almost 2mths from then onwards.....  i pick end of Nov.
Into Nov, still no engineer, power still not gone off, and still no LCD display.
She moves back home (spends more time at ours then her own place anyway) 3rd week of Nov, tenancy ends 1st Dec 2025.


**Despite requesting a smart meter to be installed on the 24th nov, the date came and went, no engineer turned up ***
Informed EON moving out on the 1st Dec, advised was unable to give meter reading due to faulty meter. (got email from eon to say cheers for telling us your moving out, and £0 balance - token meter, no debt payments)....


Sooooooooooo...
EON just sent a bill (am guessing they finally upgraded to a Smart meter)

It shows:
Date:                 5 Jan 2024 - 4 Jan 2026    (keep in mind, plastic token was topped up from Jan 24 to April 25)  , and also moved out 1st Dec 25 ....

Other charges
(various dates) Meter balance transfers and
adjustments
£631.09  (DR)

So would appear for the 8 months of the meter not working, EON estimate she used £78 per month in Elec (when she averaged £30 usually)..
Or, cos the meter is old, and they got no way of collecting a meter reading from the dead unit, they have estimated a figure based on 2yrs usage, giving a figure of £631 , forgetting that she was "topping up" via the local shop on the token thing....

My thoughts are:
If EON said u owe us £30pm x8 , then so be it, she averaged that in terms of how she topped up (topped up even when not low, just did it monthly)....  So i would pay that figure..

Just not sure where she stands in the grand scheme of things, and is it most likely, EON are making a best guess of a meter read (on this bill they sent, there is no meter read info, other than the "Other charges" above.........

Happy to take any input.... 
Cheers

Ectophile

Ask them to explain where that figure came from.  If you don't like the answer, open a formal complaint.

Send them a Subject Access Request for all details they have regarding her account.

SwanJon

Could be that the meter still had an internal read that was passed on when the new tenants topped up and they've used that to close the account.
If they've estimated, it will be based on the kWh readings they got each time the key was used rather than the remembered average monthly payment.
It'll be hard to disprove any read they've used (within reason) - it's known that people tend to use more when moving from prepay to billed (which is effectively what happened), and changes in cost per kWh will need to be taken into account.
If she ended her tenancy on 1 Dec (rather than just moved out) I'd get them to change the bill, but if she was responsible for the flat until 4 Jan, then it's only the read you'd be able to quibble.

imeach

First time I have ever heard of a Bill from a blank screen prepayment meter, and there are probably many thousands of them. 
All it takes is any form of surge, as in this case a power cut, or even thunder storm. 

Push it back to Eon, she advised them of the fault when it happened, they should have replaced it.
As above ask them to prove where those figures have come from. 

I've known of people who were putting the money aside that they would normally top up with as they were worried of a bill. 
Supplier eventually changed meter after a few years and no bill, they had a great holiday. 

Some have even had the free electricity and then compensation too

StuieUK34

Hey guys

Cheers for the replies.
She sent me the "final bill(s)" from EON...
Sooooooooooo....
From April, it shows 1st April - 30th June
Estimated Day billing & estimated night rate

Then July to Sep
Then 1st Oct - 30th Nov (when she moved out week before)

All are estimates...

The meter is a (made in 2007)  non-smart meter:   ACE9000 KBD

If she averaged £30 or so top-ups in the spring-autum months,  how would EON know what to estimate ?  cant imagine the shop where she topped up the token would report readings to EON, and given the meter died end of March, my theoretical guess would be that EON looked at meter readings collected twice a year by contractors who read meters ??   and then worked a best guess average/estimate from that ?

My plan is to email EON, and i say i dispute the "estimated" costs, due to the estimate's out-weighing the average used throughout the year of 2024...
Not sure where i stand though, in terms of what EON can do against her, etc ?

SAC2334

StuieUK34 said:

Hey guys

Cheers for the replies.
She sent me the "final bill(s)" from EON...
Sooooooooooo....
From April, it shows 1st April - 30th June
Estimated Day billing & estimated night rate

Then July to Sep
Then 1st Oct - 30th Nov (when she moved out week before)

All are estimates...

The meter is a (made in 2007)  non-smart meter:   ACE9000 KBD

If she averaged £30 or so top-ups in the spring-autum months,  how would EON know what to estimate ?  cant imagine the shop where she topped up the token would report readings to EON, and given the meter died end of March, my theoretical guess would be that EON looked at meter readings collected twice a year by contractors who read meters ??   and then worked a best guess average/estimate from that ?

My plan is to email EON, and i say i dispute the "estimated" costs, due to the estimate's out-weighing the average used throughout the year of 2024...
Not sure where i stand though, in terms of what EON can do against her, etc ?

Prepayment meters record all kWh hours used ( on screen G ) since the meter was installed and the current total ( on screen H)  of the latest occupier so it's easy to get very accurate annual total of your friends usage each year . So any estimated monthly usage can be accurately used. This is how all annual usage monthly billing is worked out be it prepayment or credit meter . 
Eon should be happy to explain this method of estimated billing to you . 
The standing charges alone on electricity amount to approx £25 a month ( varies per region ) .

SwanJon

StuieUK34 said:

If she averaged £30 or so top-ups in the spring-autum months,  how would EON know what to estimate ?  cant imagine the shop where she topped up the token would report readings to EON, 

The chip on the key token carries lots of information (including reads and all that SAC mentions)  from the meter to the system in the shop, which then sends it on to Eon. 
These, along with the payments are used to create a statement on Eon's billing system, and the final bill you've seen. The are based on kWh used, not remembered average top up amounts.
When she 'moved out' (either in November or December) - is that when the lease ended, or did she move out before the end of her lease (Jan?). They may get readings from the new tenant or LL using the key and use them to estimate the read on the change of tenancy day.

SAC2334

imeach said:

First time I have ever heard of a Bill from a blank screen prepayment meter, and there are probably many thousands of them. 
All it takes is any form of surge, as in this case a power cut, or even thunder storm. 

Push it back to Eon, she advised them of the fault when it happened, they should have replaced it.
As above ask them to prove where those figures have come from. 

I've known of people who were putting the money aside that they would normally top up with as they were worried of a bill. 
Supplier eventually changed meter after a few years and no bill, they had a great holiday. 

Some have even had the free electricity and then compensation too

I was same as you when meter reading with lots of people loving a blank screen and doing their best to keep it that way for years .It's quite easy not to open the door when any meter fitter comes round or make an excuse to not allow access . When I called they would just tell me .." no change still a blank screen " for years .
ok supplier can t record true usage and so they get an estimated monthly bill but then they got a free hand to use as much electricity as they want  to use which means not using gas central heating and using electricity heaters around the house . 
Free winter heating ammounts to prob half the years energy costs 

StuieUK34

I looked a little closer at the bill, but in short:
Lease ended 30th Nov, she handed keys back on 30th...
No meter read could be done remember, as the unit had failed.....

the final bill from EON shows:
Actual Read on 18th March (guess they did a read once a year or once every 2years, meter is outside the flat).
Then it estimates from 18th March to 31st march.
The estimates as below, kinda act the same right upto 30th Nov, giving a total of over £600

The meter is old (2007  ACE9000 KBD) , and i dont know if there was an RTS unit in the cupboard...
The reading of the meter prior to moving in, in Jan 2024, has a number "H" meter read number which corresponds with the Day readin gbelow, along with ""1"  at the end of the reading which is believe is the rate.
She didnt use storage heaters, and didnt heat the non-vented hot water tank either, was out all day and weekends, hence minimal use.....  (averaging like £35pm in token top-ups)

Final bill states she did x2 top ups of £30 each (in Feb & March, she spent her time with us due to work pattern change), so am assuming they are looking at top-ups in Feb & March...
And the "Night" rate, from the inventory, could'nt see that reading, only a reading which was a lot higher, starting with "G" .....

I wrote to EON today on her behalf, EON said they passed it to another team to investigate. (They want £636 which includes a £30 good will gesture due to the busted meter).   I offered £35pm x8 as a final payment, although i would feel thats high (she topped up £30 almost every 4 weeks, without getting low on credit, was more a habbit thing)
Will keep u all posted with the end result.

SAC2334

StuieUK34 said:

I looked a little closer at the bill, but in short:
Lease ended 30th Nov, she handed keys back on 30th...
No meter read could be done remember, as the unit had failed.....

the final bill from EON shows:
Actual Read on 18th March (guess they did a read once a year or once every 2years, meter is outside the flat).
Then it estimates from 18th March to 31st march.
The estimates as below, kinda act the same right upto 30th Nov, giving a total of over £600

The meter is old (2007  ACE9000 KBD) , and i dont know if there was an RTS unit in the cupboard...
The reading of the meter prior to moving in, in Jan 2024, has a number "H" meter read number which corresponds with the Day readin gbelow, along with ""1"  at the end of the reading which is believe is the rate.
She didnt use storage heaters, and didnt heat the non-vented hot water tank either, was out all day and weekends, hence minimal use.....  (averaging like £35pm in token top-ups)

Final bill states she did x2 top ups of £30 each (in Feb & March, she spent her time with us due to work pattern change), so am assuming they are looking at top-ups in Feb & March...
And the "Night" rate, from the inventory, could'nt see that reading, only a reading which was a lot higher, starting with "G" .....

I wrote to EON today on her behalf, EON said they passed it to another team to investigate. (They want £636 which includes a £30 good will gesture due to the busted meter).   I offered £35pm x8 as a final payment, although i would feel thats high (she topped up £30 almost every 4 weeks, without getting low on credit, was more a habbit thing)
Will keep u all posted with the end result.

Screen G  on an old prepayment meter is total units used since meter installed .Screen H is total used for the present occupier . If a new occupier takes over this will start again at zero 

For economy 7 it's screen J for units used at day/peak  rate and screen I (I) for units used in off peak / night rate . these are the two screens on the prepayment meter of most concern to you .total  the two together should equal screen H reading 

you can try checking these screen s on BG websight or other suppliers like EDF .
Bear in mind the standing charges are not included in these screens . That is totalled ..I think on screen A .

My standing charges ammount to £25 a month  for electricity .

WiserMiser

SAC2334 said:

StuieUK34 said:

I looked a little closer at the bill, but in short:
Lease ended 30th Nov, she handed keys back on 30th...
No meter read could be done remember, as the unit had failed.....

the final bill from EON shows:
Actual Read on 18th March (guess they did a read once a year or once every 2years, meter is outside the flat).
Then it estimates from 18th March to 31st march.
The estimates as below, kinda act the same right upto 30th Nov, giving a total of over £600

The meter is old (2007  ACE9000 KBD) , and i dont know if there was an RTS unit in the cupboard...
The reading of the meter prior to moving in, in Jan 2024, has a number "H" meter read number which corresponds with the Day readin gbelow, along with ""1"  at the end of the reading which is believe is the rate.
She didnt use storage heaters, and didnt heat the non-vented hot water tank either, was out all day and weekends, hence minimal use.....  (averaging like £35pm in token top-ups)

Final bill states she did x2 top ups of £30 each (in Feb & March, she spent her time with us due to work pattern change), so am assuming they are looking at top-ups in Feb & March...
And the "Night" rate, from the inventory, could'nt see that reading, only a reading which was a lot higher, starting with "G" .....

I wrote to EON today on her behalf, EON said they passed it to another team to investigate. (They want £636 which includes a £30 good will gesture due to the busted meter).   I offered £35pm x8 as a final payment, although i would feel thats high (she topped up £30 almost every 4 weeks, without getting low on credit, was more a habbit thing)
Will keep u all posted with the end result.

My standing charges ammount to £25 a week for electricity .

Do you have six or seven homes??