Electric meter faulty

[flameport]

they had chosen to use our night rate as a day rate.

If they did that with all their customers, that's probably why they went bust.

 

[Sureitsoff?]

take screenshots of the chat you have with them as evidence when you talk to them. as regards the swopping of day/night rates MIL has had that happen twice anf it takes them forever to admit they are wrong and refund overpayments

 

[Bodgedbuild]

EDF called us today to advise their course of action is also to swap out night and day rate readings over as our meter is recording the rates at the wrong time. This is exactly what the last provider did without our knowledge. The problem is without being able to see the time that the meter "thinks" it is, we do not know how much overlap or variation there is from real time so it would be very inaccurate. We are now trying to escalate but they are not being very cooperative!
I'll see how we get on with them tomorrow!

 

[JohnW2]

EDF called us today to advise their course of action is also to swap out night and day rate readings over as our meter is recording the rates at the wrong time. This is exactly what the last provider did without our knowledge.

I can't for the life of me understand why they don't just replace the meter with one which works correctly.

However, it has occurred to me that if, for some reason, they decided not to do that, maybe what they are doing is deliberately tweaking the way in which they charge you so as to avoiding your being overcharged - with the resultant under-charging which makes you nervous, but which they may 'know about' and do not intend to ever attempt to recover.

That might 'explain', even if it is seemingly crazy from the point-of-view of their interests!

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

night and day rate readings

Do you actually use any substantial amount of electricity overnight?
If not, it may be cheaper to just have a single rate tariff, as 'day' rate on a dual tariff is often more expensive than the equivalent 24h rate.

 

[JohnD]

Don't forget your confirming letter.

Keep it short.

 

[Bodgedbuild]

Thanks all.
At the moment we are just trying to convince them that we believe the clock is incorrect (it definitely is!)
We do not really want a smart meter, simply because people we know have had them and for some reason end up paying more?
It seems odd that our last supplier and this one see the solution as just swapping the rates over but we will insist on either a repair or replacement.
We do use a fair amount of electricity at night and during the day with about 25% night, 75% day as our heating system is an air source heat pump and we try to use the night rate for the dishwasher/tumble drier etc.
It is looking likely that the most simple course of action would be to request a smart meter but Mrs Bodged is stubborn and wants to get a reset or repair or indeed a replacement standard meter.
A concern that I do have is that our change to Airsource heating from Oil occurred as part of the extension/renovation project and for that reason we do not really know what our correct usage really should be apart from our total energy cost being slightly less than it was when we were using oil. This latest revelation that the meter is recording a part (or all) of the night rate during the day made me assume that cost reduction was because of that, however I have no idea at what actual time the rate actually changes. Maths was not my best subject so it has occurred to me that it might even be possible that I could be paying more than I should?
JohnD, we are indeed taking screen shots of live chat and Whatsapp conversations!

 

[JohnW2]

.... We do use a fair amount of electricity at night and during the day with about 25% night, 75% day as our heating system is an air source heat pump and we try to use the night rate for the dishwasher/tumble drier etc.

You may regard that as "a fair bit" but, as flameport implied, it could well be costing you more than a single-rate tariff - since the break-even point is generally at 30%-35% night usage with most suppliers.

I generally manage to achieve 45%-50% night usage with my E7 tariff, and that saves me around £250 per year as compared with a single-rate tariff. However, if I only used 25% at night rate, it would cost me more than a single-rate tariff.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Chunky19]

Push the cycle button 5 times it will display the time in the meters memory. It will be GMT. Can only be reset by the meter operators infra red programmer. As has been said it’s near the end of its certified life.

 

[flameport]

We do not really want a smart meter, simply because people we know have had them and for some reason end up paying more?

A meter just records what's used, that doesn't change because it's smart or not.

However meter changes can often cause apparent increases in what people pay for one or more reasons, particularly where they are paying monthly.

1 - The old meter hadn't been read for months/years, and bills had been based on estimates which were too low. Replacing the meter meant the proper reading from the old meter was obtained, and they then had to pay for the extra usage that hadn't been billed, so the monthly amount went up.

2 - The smart meter sends readings to the supplier all the time, and as a result they know what the real usage is all the time, and may have increased the monthly amount to allow for that. Traditionally the monthly amount was only changed every year or so, or when someone actually showed up to read the meter, which was infrequent.

3 - Some suppliers bill on actual amounts every month with smart meters installed, so the monthly amount will change every month, rather than being a fixed amount over the year. If the meter was installed towards the end of the summer, it's inevitable that the price goes up over the winter using that arrangement.

There are other factors, such as people not actually knowing how much electricity they use, or how much it really costs, but once the smart meter was installed that info was readily available, and they may well have only taken notice of how expensive electricity is for the first time. That's supposedly how they can save people money, by making them aware of what they are actually using.

Others include the tariff changing with the new meter being installed, especially when they have just moved to a new supplier, which may be a different price, or E7 customers not having E7 any more, and so on.

Then there are all the usual things which apply at any time, such as people claiming they haven't used any more electricity since last year, but have forgotten that new hot tub and patio heater in the garden, or that when the gas boiler broke a few months ago they turned on the electric immersion heater and left it on even after the boiler was repaired, or that by working from home for the last year or two they are now using far more electricity than before as they are at home all day rather than the house being unoccupied for hours.