Electricity supplier issue - They claim I'm using more than I am..

Prophet

Prophet

Prophet

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Having an issue with EON who have been supplying my power for several years. They're claiming my yearly usage has gone up by 25% over the past 12 months which it clearly hasn't.

When my ex was living with me my monthly bill was £54. She was a power shower junkie who had to heat the bathroom for 10 minutes using the shower so I took the hit on the monthly bill. However, since she left just over a year ago I've been away from home at least 4 days a week (including all weekends) so my electricity consumption should have dropped massively, yet my bill has rocketed to £73!

I've tested the individual components using an industry standard power meter and when everything is on I'm using less than 300 Watts.

I called EON who instructed me to ready my meter twice a day for 5 days then report back. This highlighted the meter was reading higher than it should given the devices I have on (fridge/Microserver/Router) everything else is off when I'm not there. They dismissed my claim that there must be a fault with the meter as 'they don't lie' which leaves here asking what my next action should be.

EON are now refusing to come and test the meter so I'm looking for advice on what to do next. I'm happy to switch supplier but want to get the problem sorted so it doesn't happen again.
 
Burnsy2023 said:
So how much is your meter over reading by?

Have you put a clamp meter on the grid feed before the meter to verify?
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It's showing increased usage of around 30%. I have an EON branded energy meter (clamp) which shows I've used 189kWh over the past 30 days.
 
Are you billed to and from accurate readings?
Are you Gas central heating ot electric?
Do you have a hot water storage tank?
It it a digital or mechanical meter?
If its a mechanical meter what are the first 5 digits? (this will tell me whose meter it is and its year of manufacture)

Need as much info as you can abotu your useage and the electrics at the property.
 
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HybridX said:
Are you billed to and from accurate readings?
Are you Gas central heating ot electric?
Do you have a hot water storage tank?
It it a digital or mechanical meter?
If its a mechanical meter what are the first 5 digits? (this will tell me whose meter it is and its year of manufacture)

Need as much info as you can abotu your useage and the electrics at the property.

I work for said company and any opinions/advice/comments here are entirely my own and should NOT be used for you to base any arguments on and don't reflect the advice/comments or policies of my employer.
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Central heating is gas.
No storage tank. I have an A+ rated boiler (gas is £15 a month).
Digital meter installed around 2 years ago, possible slightly longer.

What I can state with absolute certainty is that my last 12 months of use is lower than the previous 12 months usage as a) my ex isn't draining the grid and b) I'm hardly ever there.

This is the first time is 9 years I've had bills this large and the first time in 9 years I've been out more than in (using less electricity).

Bit of a back story.. After the ex left EON put my monthly bill down to £22/Month which I said was too low so I did expect to pay slightly more to catch up, however what they're saying I actually use now is complete fiction.
 
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FYI don't switch to British Gas or Scottish Power at the moment... major system issues at these suppliers causing tonnes of billing problems especially when changing energy suppliers
 
A meter accuracy test can be booked and shouldnt require too much pushing to get done. IF you are unhappy about the situation make sure they raise a complaint and don't close it until you are happy. They should transfer you to a resolution manager will then be your focal and be able to help you more than joe bloggs on the call centre.

If the meter accuracy test is ok then the only other route is a check meter but this can get pricey. A Check meter will sit next to the current meter and for every 1 unit your meter records it should record 1 unit too. If your meter records 2 units but the check meter records 1 then its running at twice the rate and is faulty.

BEWARE.... This is the last resort option and if the meter is found to be recording correctly you will most likely have to pay for the check meter installation and removal. Costs vary from region to region. If it faulty though then there is no charge and they should remove the check meter and replace your faulty meter then recalculate you previous invoicing to take into account the difference in how fast or slow the faulty meter was recording


I work for said company and any opinions/advice/comments here are entirely my own and should NOT be used for you to base any arguments on and don't reflect the advice/comments or policies of my employer.

P.S. back to work now so wont reply until after 7pm
 
Also check that nothing is using more power than you think. An old fridge or freezer might become much less efficient and be switched on for longer. Some vacuum cleaners use far more power than others so if you have changed brands or clean more often this can have an impact. Likewise, the power used in standby in some equipment can vary a lot. Light bulbs is another thing, if you had a load of energy saving bulbs everywhere but have now cheaped out with standard bulbs, or gone form 60w to 100w bulbs etc then this will have a big impact. New computer? New TV?
 
D.P. said:
Also check that nothing is using more power than you think. An old fridge or freezer might become much less efficient and be switched on for longer. Some vacuum cleaners use far more power than others so if you have changed brands or clean more often this can have an impact. Likewise, the power used in standby in some equipment can vary a lot. Light bulbs is another thing, if you had a load of energy saving bulbs everywhere but have now cheaped out with standard bulbs, or gone form 60w to 100w bulbs etc then this will have a big impact. New computer? New TV?
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Everything I leave switched on has been tested (Fridge, microserver, router, switch, homeplugs etc)

I vaccum once every two weeks as I'm mostly away from home so can't see that sucking £20 of electricity every time I use it :p

All my light bulbs are low energy, except one security light which only activates when I open the gate and walk a few meters inside the garden. I had disconnected this to see if it was phantom triggering but no change in electricity use.

Nothing has changed for a few years which is why I know something is wrong elsewhere. I've practically moved into my gf's house now so my place is just a fridge and TV for when I'm not at hers.
 
Have you taken readings at set times of the day to see if there are any hotspots for the usage? Eg taking them when you get up, when you get home from work then before you goto bed? If so what usage was shown over what period?

It's fairly rare to have a faulty digital meter, the old mechanical ones can be fairly common to find faults.
 
If it's a start meter they cause horrendous billing problems according to a huge number of yanks complaining I've read online, there's a whole anti smart meter movement for a variety of reasons.

I won't have one until they legally force me to.
 
HybridX said:
Have you taken readings at set times of the day to see if there are any hotspots for the usage? Eg taking them when you get up, when you get home from work then before you goto bed? If so what usage was shown over what period?

It's fairly rare to have a faulty digital meter, the old mechanical ones can be fairly common to find faults.
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I've taken readings for two weeks morning and night. Very consistent readings for both night and day meters. I can't remember the readings so will post them later.

thep02 said:
If it's a start meter they cause horrendous billing problems according to a huge number of yanks complaining I've read online, there's a whole anti smart meter movement for a variety of reasons.

I won't have one until they legally force me to.
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I'll check the meter make and model when I get home..
 
I've just had a very similar issue with British Gas. Claiming I had used 6x as much as I had!

My 2 month £370 bill has just been reduced to £65 for gas and electricity. Eejits.
 
Dis86 said:
I've just had a very similar issue with British Gas. Claiming I had used 6x as much as I had!

My 2 month £370 bill has just been reduced to £65 for gas and electricity. Eejits.
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How did you progress to that resolution? Any tips on how to handle them?
 
Called them constantly. Accused them of fraud. Threatened them with legal action.

Sorry. Not much help! Lol
 
Prophet said:
I've taken readings for two weeks morning and night. Very consistent readings for both night and day meters. I can't remember the readings so will post them later.



I'll check the meter make and model when I get home..
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That was a typo so smart not start.
 
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