What are crossed meters?
All meters have either a Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) or a Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN). These are recorded on the National Databases, where all UK energy supplies are listed.
Sometimes, a meter is linked to the incorrect MPAN or MPRN on the database. This is called a crossed meter. It often happens in flats where meters for different properties are next to each other. When this happens the meters will sometimes be incorrectly recorded on the National Database under the wrong address.
There are two types of crossed meters:
- Physical - this is where the energy supplier is billing the wrong meter, but the customer is sending meter reads from the correct meter. This can often be the case for new-build houses and developments.
- Administrative - this is where the energy supplier is billing the correct meter, but the customer has been reading the wrong meter. Usually this happens in flats where the meters are in a communal area and may have been labelled incorrectly.
What should I do if I think I have crossed meters?
If you notice that the meter details and readings on your bill don’t match the meter that you think is yours, or you notice that your meter isn’t clocking when you think it should be, then you may have crossed meters. You’ll need to get in touch with our Support Team who’ll take a look to understand what’s happened. Before contacting them it will be helpful if you have some or all of the following information to hand:
- Your full address and postcode
- Your Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) or Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN). Info on how to find this is shown here on our website and in this Forum topic
- Your Meter Serial Number (MSN) which can be found on the front of the meter. It's normally nine to 12 digits long, and is often above or below the barcode. If you’re contacting Support via Live Chat, Whatsapp or email, then you’ll need to send a photo of your meter if possible.
Our Support Team will need photos of all meters concerned. If your meter isn’t in a communal area then it isn’t physically crossed, and we’ll treat it as administrative. If your meter is in a communal area then we’ll need you to carry out some tests to check which meter is yours. This will be a ‘kettle test’ for electricity, and a ‘burns test’ for gas.
How to complete a kettle test (electricity)
- Take a reading from the meter you think is yours (take a photo of the meter clearly showing the Meter Serial Number and reading)
- Use as much electricity as possible for 15 mins eg boil your kettle three or four times, turn on the TV and all appliances and lights, use your hairdryer etc
- Check if your meter’s clocked some electricity usage (boiling a kettle once normally uses 1kwh of electricity). Take a second photo of the reading.
- If your meter hasn’t clocked any electricity use, then the usage may have been clocked on a neighbouring meter
If the test doesn’t give us a clear answer then our Support Team will book a free ‘fuse-finder’ appointment for an engineer to come and locate the correct meter.
How to complete a burns test (gas)
- Turn off all gas appliances
- Check that the meter has stopped clocking
- Take a reading from the meter you think is yours (take a photo of the meter clearly showing the Meter Serial Number and reading)
- Turn on your gas appliances - use as much gas as you can for 15 minutes eg light all hobs, run a hot shower, put the heating on etc
- Check if the meter has clocked usage and take a photo of the reading
- Turn off your gas appliances for 15 minutes
- Check that the meter has stopped clocking again and take a photo of the meter reading
If the meter stops and starts clocking as expected then we’ll know that the meter supplies your home. If the meter doesn’t stop and start clocking as expected then it may be crossed.
If your meters are in a communal area then you may need to take photos of the neighbouring meters during the test to show which meter has clocked and stopped clocking as expected.
If it turns out you have ‘crossed meters’, don’t worry - we’ll handle everything for you and start the process of fixing the problem. Your bills will be put on hold and we’ll amend the billing of your account. To do this we may need to work with another Energy Supplier and/or the National Databases, so can take a bit of time to fix. We’ll keep in touch with you throughout the process and will keep you informed of any updates.
Thanks,
The OVO Team