Solved

My Economy 7 meter has stopped clocking usage on one of my registers - what should I do?


We have just (today) switched over from another provider and when I entered our electricity meter readings into Ovo. I checked this with old electricty bill and it came to light that the night time electricty reading had not changed since September 2018. As we are not high users of night time energy it was not somthing that had been picked up on. I notified our previous provider as it was the day before we were switching and they promised to call me back and look into this. We have heard nothing. Any suggestions on what to do. There is obviously a problem somewhere with the meter. I was going to do the boil a kettle test during economy 7 hours to see if this is recorded. We do not have storage heater and the economy 7 hours only work for us when I use the washing machine or dishwasher. Also will my economy 7 hours be the same as my previous providers hours. Thank you.
icon

Best answer by Eva_OVO 13 May 2019, 11:37

View original

34 replies

Userlevel 5

Updated on 28/06/23 by Abby_OVO

 

Welcome to OVO!

 

Well done for spotting that your night reading hasn’t been clocking your usage correctly. It sounds like your Economy 7 meter has a faulty time-switch meaning all of your usage is being measured on a single register rather than switching over to an off-peak register.

 

We’ve got a full guide to meter faults, including potentially broken time-switches here:

 

Broken Time-switch

  • If you have a two-rate meter, sometimes the time-switch that controls the timing of when the registers clock can break. Normally one register stops clocking resulting in all consumption clocking on the other register. In some cases however both registers clock consumption but at the incorrect times.
  • In order to resolve this issue reach out to our Support Team to request a faulty meter exchange - good news is that we’ll be able to replace your faulty meter for a sparkly new SMETS2 smart meter. Once the meter exchange goes ahead, we redistribute the removal reading across the two registers using either your annual averages prior to the fault or new meter consumption depending on which is most appropriate. Redistribution is not required if you’ve been charged the same prices for both registers the whole time. 

 

If your meter fault occurred before a switch, it may affect the accuracy of your opening reading. In order to get this amended we’d need to check whether we’re able to raise a ‘Meter Reading Dispute’ to make sure your account is opened to a reading that fairly reflects your usage. We’ll need at least 2 sets of readings at least 2 weeks apart, taken when the meter was functioning, in order to work out what the reading should have been on the date you switched. Read more about the ‘Meter Reading Dispute’ process here.

 

Your peak/off peak times won’t change when you switch but may change when we install the replacement smart meter. Find out how to work out the peak/off peak times of your meter here. As you’ve no longer got storage heaters installed you may decide you’d prefer to switch your replacement smart meter to a single rate function, check out this related topic for more advice on how to go about this.

 

Hope this helps get things sorted!

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

 

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

Thank you for your assistance. I have since spoken to the Customer Service team and this has all been resolved.

many thanks
Madi
Userlevel 6
Great to hear, @Madison208!

Thanks for letting us know ☺️
Hello!

Having resolved our previous concerns with respect to our initial meter readings, it's come to our attention that our gas meter is not in fact working...

Only, having been asked to provide this month's readings earlier last week, it's now apparent that our gas meter reading hasn't actually changed in a month! Indeed, double-checking the device since having submitted the latest reading it's clear that, whilst we still have a gas supply, the meter simply isn't turning to any new reading.

As it happens, we received a courtesy call from OVO just the other day with regards to getting a pair of latest generation smart meters installed - and we're very much looking to doing that in June - but in the meantime we thought it probably best to try to let them know the current situation.

Of course, we'd like to do so without losing our self-service reward, but perhaps this constitutes an appropriate reason for direct contact? In any case, any advice as to how we might best go about all this would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!
Userlevel 4
@VagrntSol I've moved your message here as you should find the info you need!

To elaborate though, you certainly wouldn't lose your Self Service Reward (SSR) for reporting this to us, as you aren't able to do this using the app.

Here's further info on the SSR terms: https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/self-service-reward

Thanks,
Ed
I suspect that the gas meter is broken, the small red dial is not rotating.How do I arrange a replacement
Hi guys quick question, my gas meter has decided it not longer wants the display to turn on so im not able to get any meter readings? Any clue what my next steps should be?
Ive tried holding down the button for 10 seconds
Holding down the b button
Holding down both buttons
All to no avail, and no response or beeps from anything.
I get ssr and dont want to lose that but also want accurate bills.
Many thanks
Userlevel 6
I've moved your post here, @Reesfamily,

It sounds like the meter is faulty - just to be sure I would recommend doing a burns test.

Start by turning off all your gas appliances and heating. Turn on one item, such as a single gas ring, and then watch the meter for a few minutes. For a single gas ring the meter should only clock a few kilowatt hours over the course of five minutes. Make a note of the amount the meter clocks up, and tell us the figures you’ve noted. We’ll be able to judge whether your meter’s working properly or not.

Please let our team on Facebook, know the out come.

Hope this helps!
Userlevel 6
Sounds like a faulty meter, @Csennett86, check out @Eva_OVO's best answer it will let you know the next steps.

Thanks!
We have just joined OVO and noticed when recording this months electric meter the numbers have gone backwards this month - I’m guessing this means our meter has died. Can I just request a smart meter? We will be penalised for not recording this month?
Userlevel 6
Welcome to the forum, @Madison208!

It sounds like the meter is faulty - just to be sure I would recommend doing the kettle test during your off peak hours.

If the meter doesn't clock any usage, you'll need to call our Customer Care team to arrange a meter exchange. The earliest they'll be able to arrange an appointment for will be 17 working days. You can call the team on 0330 303 5063, they're available Monday-Friday 8am-6pm. For the time being we'll need to estimate the readings, but these can be updated as soon as we've got readings from your new meter.

Switching suppliers won't affect your peak/off peak times! :)

Let us know how you get on with this.

Eva


Welcome to the forum @KatyBu, I'd say a smart meter is the best route to go down, please see the above answer by @Eva_OVO, and contact our team.

You would not be penalised for not recording a reading!

Thanks!
We have just joined OVO and noticed when recording this months electric meter the numbers have gone backwards this month - I’m guessing this means our meter has died. Can I just request a smart meter? We will be penalised for not recording this month?


Long shot, but have you by any chance had solar panels fitted, and is the electric meter a big old 'rotating disc' jobbo

I had a smart meter fitted in August. It’s never sent any readings to Ovo so I have to do these manually every few days for both day and night readings (economy 7).

 

For the past two weeks the night rate has not moved at all it’s been stuck on the same number. I reported it to Ovo a week ago and was told it would be looked into.

 

Any ideas how to get this fixed or how long it takes? 
 

Whilst the cheaper night rate is not moving does this mean I will be charged for the higher daytime rate all the time?  
 

I don’t have much hope in a manual bill as I’m still waiting for a manual bill calculation from June and can’t afford to pay the higher rate for 24 hours instead of 17 hours!

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Can you show us some photos please @UnhappyOvoCustomer27 ?

We’ll see if we can help with diagnostics.


Photos taken 3 days apart shows the rate 1 number going up more than it was previously and the rate 2 is exactly the same. not sure what’s going on with it but also when I try to input meter readings online it’s now only giving me the option for one rate rather than adding readings for two rates. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

I see.

You’re technically still in the commissioning process. Give this tool a try.

https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/

It just says there has been a problem checking your meter.

 

I guess it will be another call to Ovo with a long wait and no answers.

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Give it another month. It might still be in progress. If there’s nothing by the end of November, that’s when I’d recommend reporting it in.

This smart meter was installed in August so you’d think by now it would be sorted! But instead there are more issues. I really wish I hadn’t joined Ovo. It seems every two weeks I’m calling chasing or reporting something. 
 

thanks for your help and advice 😊

Userlevel 7

Hey @UnhappyOvoCustomer27,

 

Sorry to hear your meter’s stopped working.

 

If your meter is faulty and has stopped clocking consumption for one of your registers, your bill will be re-estimated after your meter is replaced. So if it’s clocking on just the day register this shouldn’t affect your billing. 

 

We have some guides which might be helpful to you:

 

 

 

My smart meter has not worked for months, now working again.  However, it has left me with hundreds of pounds worth of credit.  The tele advisor failed to understand and simply said to submit a reading but not to worry as I was in credit.  As the meter wasn’t working, there is no record of usage and my estimates have been over written by the (very low) actuals.  I don’t want to have a false rebate.  Any ideas?  Also my IHD has been saying “not commissioned” from the start (several months).  Again, any ideas?

Userlevel 7

Hi @jo soap and thanks for flagging this one. 

 

It’s very rare for a smart meter to not clock your usage at all, and far more common for the meter to fail in communicating your usage. Then once communication has been resumed an update to date reading corrects any under/overcharge. 

 

When the meter started working again, what were the readings? On the meter itself, it should show the final reading of the old meter and the first reading of the new meter on a yellow sticker on the front.

 

If the meter failing to record your usage, we’ll need to replace it and we’ll look at your historic usage to estimate meter readings for the period since the meter was fitted. Our Support team will be the ones to arrange this. First off I’d love to hear a little bit more about these readings. Can you let us know what you see here: https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

 

 

Tim, the readings as shown below.  It shows that  I used 4 kw in 6 months!!!  I am currently £790 pounds in credit according to my bills.  Also, how do I resolve the issue of the IHD showing “not commissioned”.   

Finally, does a customer get rewarded for their time and effort spent in trying to be honest and pay their bills?  I have spent hours (it seems) hanging on for the telephone advisers only for them to fail to correct the problem!

 

12 Jan 2023    01322    Manual
4 Jan 2023    01237.339    Smart
8 Dec 2022    00987.142    Smart
26 Oct 2022    00850    Manual
23 Apr 2022    00846    Manual
9 Feb 2022    00000    Manual

Userlevel 7

Hi @jo soap,

 

Thanks for sending over those readings. If that was a smart gas meter in m3, I’d say, no problem: just a low summer user. But I’m pretty sure this is your electricity meter, and just as you mentioned, it basically stops clocking for the summer. Sorry to hear about it. 

 

If the meter failing to record your usage, we’ll need to replace it and we’ll look at your historic usage to estimate meter readings for the period since the meter was fitted. Our Support team will be the ones to arrange this. 

 

Our Support team’s web messaging and WhatsApp opening hours are:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday 

  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays

This saves you having to hang around on the phone or in a queue. They can also see if they can spot the issue with your in home display but with a meter like this, that’s not guaranteed to be reliable even if connected. This guide might help:

 

 

Hi I had an economy 7 smart meter fitted Monday and it’s not recording off peak only peak also tariffs are showing single rate. Will this correct itself if left?

Reply