Is my energy supplier reading my gas meter incorrectly?

Hi all,

Moved in Feb 2018, spent the first year with OVO Energy - they installed smart meters and we spent £850 for the whole year on G&E combined. After the first year OVO wanted to start charging us more so we then got a better deal and switched to Octopus Energy; we've been with them for 10 months and our G&E combined usage is already £1,200. I have phoned them and they say our consumption is pretty average and that I don't need to worry (2 adults, 3 bed semi - heating is on for an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening plus the hob is gas - we have a back boiler and the house was built in the 50s)

I decided to go through my old OVO and current Octopus energy statements in detail, I have found that Octopus rates are actually more expensive but not to the cost of several hundred pounds! After much reading, I believe that Octopus are converting our usage as though we've got an imperial meter but we do indeed have a metric meter. I am now lead to believe that Octopus are using our old meter to calculate the costs despite me informing them that we have a smart meter.

I have attached photos of both bills which show the meter calculations used (OVO used metric and Octopus are using imperial, I think?) and pics of the meter.

Before I ring Octopus again telling them where they've gone wrong; can anyone reassure me or even put me straight?

Thank you,
Emma


https://ibb.co/S31zv2m
https://ibb.co/dpcZ0NX
https://ibb.co/61F31dG
https://ibb.co/X2kY5zZ
https://ibb.co/NpyRjCG
https://ibb.co/CBXR2x0

Comments

  • victor2
    victor2 Posts: 7,558
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    Octopus are indeed charging you for an imperial meter, inflating the cost by a factor of about 2.83.
    Where are they getting the readings from? Do you supply them because the smart meter turned dumb when you switched?
    What Meter Point Reference Number do Octopus have and where did they get it from? All the Octopus statement shows is "Meter 0000080"

    The OVO statement is presumably correct.

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  • Carrot007
    Carrot007 Posts: 4,534
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    Yes it appears so if https://ibb.co/NpyRjCG is your current supplier and you have a metric meter. (which the dirty thing appears to be ;-) )
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
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    edited 10 January 2020 at 8:47PM
    Yes you are correct. You have a metric meter - for which OVO correctly charged.


    Octopus have taken your gas meter units as Imperial. 272 metric(m3) gas units should be approx 3,050kWh
  • weston800
    weston800 Posts: 54
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    edited 10 January 2020 at 8:58PM
    victor2 wrote: »
    Octopus are indeed charging you for an imperial meter, inflating the cost by a factor of about 2.83.
    Where are they getting the readings from? Do you supply them because the smart meter turned dumb when you switched?
    What Meter Point Reference Number do Octopus have and where did they get it from? All the Octopus statement shows is "Meter 0000080"

    The OVO statement is presumably correct.

    Thank you, I thought so! I used OVO's calculation in comparison and my gas should have been around £73 for the 7 week period not £295 they're charging me.

    Yes, I have to supply readings which I generally do on a monthly basis - you're right, they cannot connect to the smart meter for the gas but they can for the electric weirdly..

    I also have no idea where they got the 0000080 Point Reference Number from as this is clearly incorrect, even the old meter number (yellow sticker) is different to this although it does end in '80'
    Carrot007 wrote: »
    Yes it appears so if https://ibb.co/NpyRjCG is your current supplier and you have a metric meter. (which the dirty thing appears to be ;-) )

    That is my current supplier yes and haha I'm sorry it is very filthy, it's outside :rotfl:
    Cardew wrote: »
    Yes you are correct. You have a metric meter - for which OVO correctly charged.


    Octopus have taken your gas meter units as Imperial. 272 metric(m3) gas units should be approx 3,050kWh


    Thank you, I will call them in the morning! :D
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 14,416
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    weston800 wrote: »
    Thank you, I will call them in the morning! :D

    Follow it up with a letter headed "Formal Complaint" and get the ball rolling. If they fail to resolve the problem promptly, you can then take it up with the ombudsman.

    Toto had tried to pull the same stunt with me after Solarplicity installed a smart meter. The meter clearly stated consumption in Cubic Metres, but Toto (after taking on Solarplicity customers) insisted on using Cubic Feet. The issue still hasn't been resolved, and they have now gone bust. Just waiting to see what the administrators try to bill me for....

    When I eventually managed to get away from those clowns, any meter readings I give to my new supplier are accompanied by the question "What units are you recording usage as ?".
    Bills are showing correct units of measure.
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