meter has stopped!!please help!

merchantofvenice

Hi, I just got my quarterly gas/elec bill and I have not been charged for using any gas. My last meter reading, in October was 1999A and today it remains the same. It has a digital display. I rang Scottish Power and somebody is coming next week to have a look.

Does anyone know how they will find out what amount they will charge me. Is there a record anywhere of the gas units i have actually used? I am pretty careful with my consumption and i don't want to pay an inflated "estimated" cost.
am actually a bit worried now...please help, thanks:o

chuckles1066

merchantofvenice wrote: »

Hi, I just got my quarterly gas/elec bill and I have not been charged for using any gas.

You lucky thing

It's their equipment; if it's faulty (as it seems to be) don't let them try and fob you off with an estimation of your usage.

Their loss.........and I take my hat off to you for telling them about it :rotfl:

merchantofvenice

lol! i'm hoping that honesty is the best policy. Also i'm a bit of a control freak and just like to know that all the boxes are ticked with my budget. As much as i'd love my gas bill to be £0, i wouldn't be able to sleep for fear of the big bill eventually coming in when they realise.:eek:

Cardew

With most digital meters, I understand that a faulty display does not prevent the actual consumption being recorded within the meter and they can extract that information.

Of course it is almost certain that it stopped reading before your Oct reading.

Assuming that it is possible to get an accurate readout, they may give you a goodwill rebate.

merchantofvenice

omg! i hadn't thought of that..before Oct! This is going to hurt my wallet!:(

molar

Was your bill in October unusually low then?

merchantofvenice

it just gets worse.... I have looked over all my previous bills, from the 01/08/06 till the present day i have only been charged for 44 units of gas!! This has to be very, very wrong. The elec. units add up to 2356 over the same period. I am very, very worried.

call me dumb for not noticing, but since DH and i moved in 18m ago this is the first time we have had our own gas bills. The gas and elec come together so i just used to see the cash figure and pay that.
DH knows about todays bill , but he is going to freak out if i tell him we could owe hundreds of pounds.if not more
i'm actually crying now. how could i be so stupid?

G-G_4

Oh No! Don't cry... xxx

At the end of the day they can't say how much gas / electric you used, so they can't make you pay a penny..

xx

space_rider

Generally they would change your meter then arrange to get another reading either a week or 2 weeks later. I would use as little gas as possible. Not too sure what the procedure is for Scottish Power but I would ring and ask them how they are going to charge you for the units that haven`t been recorded.

looby-loo_2

This happened to my electric meter a few years ago. They fitted a new one and came back to read it after two weeks. They worked out the bill from that reading ie close to current consumption and and time of year.

Cardew

G-G wrote: »

At the end of the day they can't say how much gas / electric you used, so they can't make you pay a penny..

Have you read post #4?

With most digital meters, I understand that a faulty display does not prevent the actual consumption being recorded within the meter and they can extract that information.

Whilst the spirit behind your words of comfort are understood, of course they can make you pay!

Although it obviously hasn't happened in this case, if a damaged or sabotaged meter excused payment - there might be a few more damaged!!!

Even in the unlikely event they cannot extract the information(consumption) from the meter, they can still make you pay an estimated sum - although then it becomes a matter of negotiation!!!

Check with energywatch for confirmation of the position.

44 units -say 500kWh is approx £12 for 18 months and 2 winters?

M of V, You should be able to negotiate a good reduction on what you owe and pay over a period of time