Thx Luke!

​@Tazzyy74 the latest SMETS2 Smart Meters are 1,000% more reliable than that piece of junk one you’ve currently got. Luke has fitted tons of them and what he doesn’t know about them isn’t worth knowing.

Doing the upgrade will result in accurate readings being submitted from the date that the new meter is installed but it can take a few weeks to fully establish itself, six weeks is the industry average.

The Forum Moderators have been informed about everything you’ve said as you’ve said multiple things that are quite concerning with regards to your welfare. As you’re on Octopus rather than OVO it might be more difficult for them to assist, but I can still ask the question anyway.

The Fire Service that I volunteer with also has Winter Warmer packs that you can get - these help a ton (I’ve tested them!) and I think others have them too. Reach out to their Prevention team and you can arrange a home visit - they may be able to bring one of those packs along too. If you can tell me which county you’re in, I’ll locate the right contact details for you.

It could also be worth uploading some statements from the past year with any personal details omitted so we can have a look through these?

It's the estimated bills I've been charged with that are worrying me how can my reading come back at 56.00 but their estimated comes back at ridiculous prices from 200 to 400 when I've nothing that a normal house has running .

Why does the meter keep going solid red ?  I know it flashes  when the kettles on etc but a few times a day it's solid red.

I think the sooner I get an electrician out the better then I can proceed from their .

The meter I've sent in keeps showing a debt on it which is almost £1000 and that's been going up since I've been in here but the meter isn't connected so they've said , they even said it wasn't a smart metre,.

I just feel like their ignoring the main problem as to why I'm been billed like iam because its 100% not me using that amount of electric and their reply was do you want an electric blanket or the samaritans.... I'm disgusted. 

Solid red? On the same LED that usually flashes? Now that’s interesting…

That suggests a critical meter fault. Could you do that Creep Test for us? Make sure to kill ALL the power otherwise it corrupts the test.

You have a meter that was once a Smart Meter, but it ran on very old systems that no longer exist - it won’t ever work as a Smart Meter again.

Even the gas I don't have gas in my house bar my gas hob my gas bill has just come back estimated at 7.12p and I barely use my hob .

EIGHT HUNDRED POUNDS???!!!

I'd be interested to see the £800 bill. 

The light can go solid red when you are using no power through the meter at all.

There's no switches that I know of left to turn off  everything is off the only things plugged in and on are the freezer , the oven and microwave as their integrated and the TV when it's on 

The switch for the heating system is off as shown in above picture down the side of unit .....  the shower flashes like a bat outta he'll when that's on and we literally jump in jump out and then its turned of at the mains ...... but I have to switch off 2 switches for the shower the red switch and the one on the meter 

Hey ​@Tazzyy74,

Glad to see so many offers of support over the weekend. 

I know the money side of it must be quite frightening for you and I understand you’d be alarmed. As suggested it could be estimated readings that are causing a large bill each month and there are ways to fix that. Could you let me know if you’ve been supplying Octopus with meter readings and if so have they been monthly/every few months/once a year? 

​@Lukepeniket_OVO has made a great point if you can get a smart meter installed that would allow the readings to be finalised and then you could ask them to review the readings/billing as you feel they’re overcharging you based on the size of your property. 

Please if you can stay warm and with some lighting even if it’s just the one room. Your safety is important and there is help available. You can also share this thread with Octopus if you speak with them and they can have a read through the comments and suggestions and see the photos that you’ve attached. 

We’re all here to support you the best we can and reach out if you need anything. 

The dates in your screenshot are from two years ago. Is that the latest you’ve had? If so, there’s something really wrong with the way you’re being billed.

The high figure for electricity could be a catch-up if the reading for 24 June was artificially low compared with the one for 22 October. 

That's how it started I owed 398.00 June 2022 due to family issues but I always paid anyway then I got a bil for 812.00 then Oct was as stated and ever since its been 300 , 300 110 ,60 but more the higher side I complained and sent readings in sent one in November 2022 can back around 60.00 so I knew something wasn't right .

Christmas 2023 I was at my mums dye to it been so cold and my bill came back 180 how ?? 

I've so many emails even emails where I've lost the plot with them and all I got was do you need the samaritans,  it has mentally exhausted me .

As stayed my neighbour left and a few times I could smell the illegal smell anyway he started asking questions anyway can't accuse without proof.

He move out Feb this year and my bills have gone lower but still not lower enough bearing in mind this chap comes back every other wk .

I'm just thinking of all sorts that it could be , maybe I'm been stubborn and proving a point that it's bloody freezing in here.

You can even see cold from my dogs mouth wen he barks .

I've said to energy about estimated bills and surely I've sent enough readings in missed the odd month or so but enough to compare and see I'm not using I think my last bill was 56.00 for the month so I've no idea what's going on I feel like a headless chicken right now .

Occasionally when I wake the lights solid red and nothings been on as no need were asleep and It doesn't it a few times in the day like I said in previous comments nothings on and when I tell octopus they just ignore me .

I've been to the ombudsman and it was rejected and I can't understand why I sent all my readings in sent all their bills times dates etc and couldn't see anything wrong .

My friend pays 110 for dual I'm been charged 800 +  just for electric I just don't get it.

These are some bills ove had for example my gas I don't use I only have  hob now my gas is no different but the charges are outrageous to what I use I mean I'm puzzled 

​@Tazzyy74 is it possible that the neighbour could be using your electricity ? You mentioned that you will be getting an electrician to come and check your wiring. Can they check that your meter is only supplying your property.

That's what I've always thought but again can't accuse but I could smell something in my kitchen so I mentioned it to him then his reply was can I come smell it ao I replied surely you know what it smells like ... the day after he knocked on saying come in mine is it these candles you can smell .which I thought was weird 

It says if solar panels are used it can cause a meter to go solid red which mines been doing lately never used to but does now and he has solar panels but it also says its when theirs not enough electric going to the meter.

My house is 11°c inside its freezing imagine my bills if I put the heating on and it's been like this since 2022 .

I paid 68.00 for 16 months then boom my bills went through the roof and now their slowly getting lower but nit low to what I'm not using which is nothing .

Hi, ​@Tazzyy74 

Personally I don’t think there has been any tampering here.

That last set of bills that you posted show me what is most likely happening.

The older bills there I can't really comment on, bills from 2021 and 2022 are just too far back to meaningfully comment on without seeing more, but I wouldn’t be worried about them.
The best that I can say is that they look like very high estimates, which would have later been corrected (reversed) and credited back.

Then you also show us a couple of more up to date ones which show better what has been happening.

The one for Gas with three billings from Nov 2023 to June 2024 shows what has been going on.
They were ‘way too high’ estimates.
But they were corrected (reversed) at the bottom and credited back so you were only actually charged £18.48 for that 7 months of gas.

Getting more up to date:

The billing for July to August 2024 is based on actual meter readings, and you have been charged:
£15.88 for gas usage.
£58.68 for electricity usage.
A total of £74.54 for both electricity and gas - (which is quite a bit less than your friends £110)

Those are quite normal low usages for that time of year.
As a comparision: I live alone in a 1-bed flat and mine for July-August were £27.03 for gas and £52.95 for electrcity.
(A total of £79.98, so £5.44 more than yours was and I only have a small flat).

So your current usage is normal. It is on the low side and not unusual at all.

It is only when you get an estimated bill that it looks too high, for some reason Otopus are estimating much too high for you.
One reason that that can happen is if/when you don’t regularly send enough meter readings in.
They do get corrected one actual meter readings are available, and credited back later just like those gas estimates from Nov 2023-June 2024 were credited back.

So what should you do?

I would say that you need to be sending meter readings in more often than you are, possibly/probably as often as every week.
Send regular readings for both electricity and gas.
I would set a day each week to do that (eg. every Monday morning?), setting yourself a regular day like that will make it easier to remember to do it.
It doesn’t matter what day it is, as long as it is regular.

Doing that each week should mean that your bills are always done to readings and not estimates.
Doing it over a long time (months) will also mean that if they do have to esitimate then it will not be too high.

Better still - If you can get new, working, smart meters fitted then they will send the readings for you.

I hope that all that makes sense to you, and helps put your mind at ease.

Yet I've a bill for 4000 so how can that be if my bills are so low , they keep sending estimated and I've sent in readings 

Ive sent in readings for a week 2 weeks ago and no reply back that's what I'm arguing te estimates but they only reversed them because I questioned I had meter readings and sent them so why am I getting estimated.... 

It really does feel as if you need the meter(s) replaced for new ones. That will force Octopus to accept the Final Reading from the existing meter as being an Actual Reading. The new Smart Meters should then resolve this once they auto-submit on your behalf - I’d strongly recommend you set them to Half-Hourly Mode so that you can see more about what’s going on.

Since August 22 I've had bills up and down higher and higher I live in a 3 bed house the bedrooms are empty we sleep down stairs I'm too scared to fully boil a kettle so yes I'm careful so since August 2022 4000 divided is 153.00 a month but my readings are coming back lower so how am I been charged 4000 

I'm 50 yrs old and I've had 4 houses and I've never had this issue even on a prepayment meter I'd put no more than 60 in a month and that's with me using everything now I'm living in an icebox with a meter that doesn't work and for them to come out and check it I've to pay 180.00 I'm struggling paying the 4000 because I refuse to pay estimated bills which anyone would I mean these estimated bills like you say are extremely high 

Did you do the Creep Test yet? If not, do that now as that’s free and will allow us to identify if the meter is faulty or not. It’s recommended to do this before booking a Meter Accuracy Test.

If the Creep Test indicates a problem does exist, your chances of getting this resolved in your favour massively increase.

I'll do it now do I turn all the switches off on the meter as the maina doesn't turn the sockets off ? 

You need to kill all the power in the house - turn off the additional sockets individually if you need to.

I've turned all switches of but the shower light still comes on and the meter has a solid red light again and everything is off 

Kill the shower too if you can, then do the test for 10 minutes