Hello: Are there readers of this posting that, in these busy times, go to the trouble of checking the charges on their gas and electricity usage statements, as I do? If so, this may be of interest to you. If not, it will be just a bore. By the way, this is being posted in the UK.
Because I am an old man, I have been receiving gas and electricity bills for many, many years. It just seems to be my nature to check things — it’s not that my nature is untrusting. In all the years that I have been receiving and checking my fuel bills, never once have I found any inaccuracy in my bills/statements. (I know that the amounts — so many units, at so many pence per unit — are rounded up or down to the nearest penny.)
At a guess, it must be four or five years since my supplier (Co-operative Energy) was taken over by a bigger firm. In (approximately) four years of receiving statements from my latest supplier, the statements from them (the one that took over Co-op Energy) had always been “spot on”, when I have checked the arithmetic with my calculator.
Yet, about six months ago, I noticed small inaccuracies in a statement (they are quarterly). The inaccuracy was only about two pence, and the discrepancy simply puzzled me. Even after a double and a third check, the inaccuracy showed. On the statement that arrived three months after this, there were two more inaccuracies, of about five and seven pence (I’m typing this from memory). All of the inaccuracies were in favour of the supplier. Now, I must confess that it did occur to me that, if a supplier were crafty, conceivably, they could make small “mistakes” like this with many, many customers, many of whom would be too busy, or to little interested, to check their statements. Further, it occurred to me that, even if these customers did check their bills, the amounts would be so paltry that they would not dream of taking the matter up with the supplier. Suddenly, it became rather more important for me to take notice of these differences.
So, I wrote to my supplier and pointed out these errors, asking how it could possibly be that a computer-generated bill could be in error. I pointed out, in passing, that I could not help noticing that all of the erroneous amounts were in favour of the supplier! The reply that eventually came was ludicrous, and could not hold water for a moment. Further, after that, another error showed on the next statement (about 8p) that was in favour of the customer. “Ha!” I thought, “they are being crafty!” And this reasoning was all very natural, was it not?
When I persisted in asking for a reason for the anomalies, about two more “reasons” were advanced, and these seemed to be more ridiculous than the first one. It certainly did seem as if I was being played for a fool. Either that, or that the office staff themselves were idiots, in thinking that their "explanations" were rational. In all, I think I received three statements that, unlike those received for many years, contained arithmetical errors of a very few pence. Whether this will continue is uncertain, but it certainly is a change from the dead-accurate statements previously received by any supplier, the latest one included.
Fairly recently, the meter reader called, and asked to read both meters at my home, which he did. As always, I myself read the meters immediately he left, and wrote down both readings on paper.
The next statement that arrived showed that only one meter (the electricity) had been read, whereas the gas meter reading was stated to have been provided by me, the customer. The figure had been altered — by one unit — from the reading taken on that day, and the difference was in favour of the supplier.
Immediately, I challenged what I saw to be deliberate dishonesty on the part of the meter-reader, the supplier, or both. And, after all the to-ing and fro-ing, and the nonsensical replies, about the small inaccuracies, I was furious. I demanded that my queries be taken to the next level (which is the procedure, where this supplier is concerned).
Finally, I received what seemed, at least, as if it might be a rational explanation about the minor errors. There was also an admission that, on their original document (which I never saw, of course), the meter reading was stated to be by, not the customer, as had previously been stated, but by the meter-reader. They offered me £30.00 if I would declare the matter closed (from the context, presumably, they meant the matter of the inaccuracies). I have not accepted this, because it would have taken from me the moral right to discuss this entire matter in public. It seemed like an offer of “hush money”.
The explanation finally given for this was that their charges are calculated (by them) to FOUR decimal places, whereas (they say) the statement that is printed and sent to the customer is worked out to only TWO decimal places. Hmmm! They also say that this is not a new procedure (I asked them whether it was), but that this has always been their way of doing things. Even if they are telling the truth, strangely, this difference had never produced any discrepancies, large or small, in all the previous time that I had dealt with this supplier. So, my question is: are there others reading this posting that have noticed minor anomalies in their statements? Are there readers that can say, with confidence, that they have never found any arithmetical anomalies in their statements? The supplier in question is Octopus Energy.
I should be most interested to read what others may have to say about this entire matter, and thank readers in hopeful anticipation.
L.L.
Because I am an old man, I have been receiving gas and electricity bills for many, many years. It just seems to be my nature to check things — it’s not that my nature is untrusting. In all the years that I have been receiving and checking my fuel bills, never once have I found any inaccuracy in my bills/statements. (I know that the amounts — so many units, at so many pence per unit — are rounded up or down to the nearest penny.)
At a guess, it must be four or five years since my supplier (Co-operative Energy) was taken over by a bigger firm. In (approximately) four years of receiving statements from my latest supplier, the statements from them (the one that took over Co-op Energy) had always been “spot on”, when I have checked the arithmetic with my calculator.
Yet, about six months ago, I noticed small inaccuracies in a statement (they are quarterly). The inaccuracy was only about two pence, and the discrepancy simply puzzled me. Even after a double and a third check, the inaccuracy showed. On the statement that arrived three months after this, there were two more inaccuracies, of about five and seven pence (I’m typing this from memory). All of the inaccuracies were in favour of the supplier. Now, I must confess that it did occur to me that, if a supplier were crafty, conceivably, they could make small “mistakes” like this with many, many customers, many of whom would be too busy, or to little interested, to check their statements. Further, it occurred to me that, even if these customers did check their bills, the amounts would be so paltry that they would not dream of taking the matter up with the supplier. Suddenly, it became rather more important for me to take notice of these differences.
So, I wrote to my supplier and pointed out these errors, asking how it could possibly be that a computer-generated bill could be in error. I pointed out, in passing, that I could not help noticing that all of the erroneous amounts were in favour of the supplier! The reply that eventually came was ludicrous, and could not hold water for a moment. Further, after that, another error showed on the next statement (about 8p) that was in favour of the customer. “Ha!” I thought, “they are being crafty!” And this reasoning was all very natural, was it not?
When I persisted in asking for a reason for the anomalies, about two more “reasons” were advanced, and these seemed to be more ridiculous than the first one. It certainly did seem as if I was being played for a fool. Either that, or that the office staff themselves were idiots, in thinking that their "explanations" were rational. In all, I think I received three statements that, unlike those received for many years, contained arithmetical errors of a very few pence. Whether this will continue is uncertain, but it certainly is a change from the dead-accurate statements previously received by any supplier, the latest one included.
Fairly recently, the meter reader called, and asked to read both meters at my home, which he did. As always, I myself read the meters immediately he left, and wrote down both readings on paper.
The next statement that arrived showed that only one meter (the electricity) had been read, whereas the gas meter reading was stated to have been provided by me, the customer. The figure had been altered — by one unit — from the reading taken on that day, and the difference was in favour of the supplier.
Immediately, I challenged what I saw to be deliberate dishonesty on the part of the meter-reader, the supplier, or both. And, after all the to-ing and fro-ing, and the nonsensical replies, about the small inaccuracies, I was furious. I demanded that my queries be taken to the next level (which is the procedure, where this supplier is concerned).
Finally, I received what seemed, at least, as if it might be a rational explanation about the minor errors. There was also an admission that, on their original document (which I never saw, of course), the meter reading was stated to be by, not the customer, as had previously been stated, but by the meter-reader. They offered me £30.00 if I would declare the matter closed (from the context, presumably, they meant the matter of the inaccuracies). I have not accepted this, because it would have taken from me the moral right to discuss this entire matter in public. It seemed like an offer of “hush money”.
The explanation finally given for this was that their charges are calculated (by them) to FOUR decimal places, whereas (they say) the statement that is printed and sent to the customer is worked out to only TWO decimal places. Hmmm! They also say that this is not a new procedure (I asked them whether it was), but that this has always been their way of doing things. Even if they are telling the truth, strangely, this difference had never produced any discrepancies, large or small, in all the previous time that I had dealt with this supplier. So, my question is: are there others reading this posting that have noticed minor anomalies in their statements? Are there readers that can say, with confidence, that they have never found any arithmetical anomalies in their statements? The supplier in question is Octopus Energy.
I should be most interested to read what others may have to say about this entire matter, and thank readers in hopeful anticipation.
L.L.
