Electric turned off inside flat but meter still running

MaggieSimpson
MaggieSimpson Posts: 1 Newbie
edited 24 April 2018 at 1:54PM in Energy
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  • S0litaire
    S0litaire Posts: 3,535
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    Personally

    I'd get E-ON out to check the meter. Tell them of your circumstances and stress it's causing, you can ask them if it's possible to spread the call out fee over a few months if you need to pay it!

    For one thing if it's a faulty meter then they will sort it and you can haggle for a refund ;)

    If it's not a meter issue then you have proof to take to the housing association and get them to fix it at their cost.

    Either way, getting someone out ASAP will save you money in the long run once the problem is identified and fixed.


    Others will hopefully give you some more advice.
    Laters

    Sol

    "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,586
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    You should be able to identify the cables between your meter and your fuseboard.

    The meter usually has four cables going into the bottom of it. The two on the left should go to the elctricty company's main fuse. The two on the right should go directly into your fuse box.

    If you've got more than that then you may have e7 with electric heating. If not then it needs investigating

    The cabling between the company fuse and the meter is the responsibility of the power company. That between the meter and the fuse box belongs to the housing association.

    If the main fuse is switched off and it's correctly wired then no current can flow and the meter should not increment. If it does it's the power company who should come and check it although if you can get someone to remove the front of your fuse panel to ensure that only the two thick cables go straight to the bottom of the main switch it should eliminate that as a possible problem.
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
  • PaschalFun
    PaschalFun Posts: 241 Forumite
    Hi I was wondering if anyone can help, I moved into a 1 bed new build flat (rented) a month ago. I!!!8217;ve just received my first bill from Eon and it said I!!!8217;ve used 383 kWh in the space of a month! I knew this was impossible so I made sure all plugs were turned off, then I turned off the electric by the main fuse box. Took a meter reading. In the morning the meter had jumped up by about 6 kWh even though I had no electricity coming into my flat.
    How do I know whether it!!!8217;s Eon responsibility to check this out or my landlords? Eon say if they come out and the fault isn!!!8217;t with the meter itself, but the wiring to it they won!!!8217;t refund the £64 charge for testing. My housing association is saying if they come out and the fault lies with the meter and Eon, not themselves, then they!!!8217;ll charge me £100. I!!!8217;m ill and on a very low income right now and the added stress of this is making me suicidal. Every day my bill is being added to through no fault of my own and I need to get it sorted but don!!!8217;t know who to get to come out and look.
    Could anyone please advise me as I!!!8217;m desperate. Thank you
    P.s communal hallway lights in the flats are still coming on so they aren!!!8217;t hooked up to my meter...but something not inside my flat is running up the meter

    Disgusting attitude by your housing association, especially as this is a brand new property you only moved into 1 month ago. Presumably they (or their builder) arranged for E.ON to install the meter in the first place.

    Ask your lanlord for details of their "designated persons" to help you further with your complaint. This could be a tenant panel, local councillor or MP. :)
  • If you can see the cables from the meter to the fusebox as matelodave describes, and the fusebox is off, then it's time to call Eon. If you can't see them, then you need to double check and make absolutely sure you can't find any other fuse boxes anywhere, but then it still makes sense to call Eon first, because their charge is cheaper. If it turns out that someone else's installation is running off your meter, you will have a good case to get the housing association to refund the Eon charge.
  • poppellerant
    poppellerant Posts: 1,932
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    Sorry me again, is it possible to upload pictures from my phone on here?
    As you are a new poster, you can't post images just yet. But if you post the URL, missing out the dots from the obvious places, people will be able to put the code in their post so the image works.

    So if the image URL was http://www.tinypic.com/picture123, just change it to http :// www tinypic com /picture123

    We'll figure it out in the end. :D
  • notbritishgas
    notbritishgas Posts: 2,304
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    At a guess I would say you are looking at a meter that is not supplying your flat.i say this as you say when you switch ooff the switch at the meter your electric stays on.
    This appears to be quite common with flat conversions.
  • D_M_E
    D_M_E Posts: 3,008
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    I agree with the above - if the meter is still racking up usage then it's most likely you are looking at someone else's meter, not yours.

    Is there another meter nearby which is not moving when you cut your power switch - if so then that one is more likely to be yours.

    Also check the meter serial number against what it says on the bill - if you don't yet have a bill call your supplier and ask them what meter serial number you are being billed against.
  • Willow92
    Willow92 Posts: 2,186
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    Sounds like mixed meters, have E.On investigated this? It sounds like the meter you're looking at isn't yours and they may ask you to do a test to determine which meter is yours and get it sorted. For electric what they'll do is ask you to switch everything off and take a meter read, then turn on something that uses a lot of power i.e. a full kettle. Then you'd go back to the meters and see which one the usage has been recorded on and that will usually determine which meter is yours.
    Savings £8,865.22 £/15,000 Aiming to save enough for a house deposit.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976
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    I can't be of practical help, MaggieSimpson, as it has all been said by people more knowledgeable than me but I just wanted to wish you luck and wonder where Malc and Helena, the Eon reps on here, are at? They are usually very helpful.

    Good luck with it all.
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,586
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    It's easy, if you've turned off those switches and you've still got leccy in your flat then you've turned someone else off. It can't be your meter.

    The unit inside your flat could be communicating with any one of the meters in the cupboard - you need to see which one has the same kwh reading to establish which meter it's reading. It may even be able to tell you the serial number of the meter it's communicating with (mine does)

    Say you live in flat 1, you could have turned off flat 2 but be reading flat 3's meter on the in home device. So you need to do the checking at the meter not on the IHDto establish which one is actually yours.

    Have you had a bill yet, have you checked that the serial number on the meter is the same as that on your electricity account.
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
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