Hey @Charliewoo ,

Sorry for the wait!

Could you post photos of the meter please? It may help us figure this one out. :)

So the pic above has that little 2 before the reading. There is a small 1 by the 43000 indicating it’s rate one. But the third reading has no small number and is 36667, which is far less than the two rate readings added together, which is why I’m questioning if they are a total?? Appreciate your reply, thanks  

Thanks!

Hmm… The first thing I noticed is that meter is reaching the end of its service life. I estimate that it’s got about three months left before the certification expires and the only option for recertification is to have the meter replaced and upgraded to a Smart Meter.

If it remains in place as-is past the expiry of its service life, it will continue to become more and more inaccurate as time passes. I’m already concerned that there’s a possible fault on that particular meter. Adding those numbers together from Rate 1 and Rate 2, I get around 12,300. I don’t think this is enough to justify a Meter Accuracy Test at this stage, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving it in place for much longer.

I am however, wondering if the total counter has gone round the clock at least once. This is normal, especially for such an old meter. OVO’s system can detect this and automatically handle it though.

If you’d like to book in a Smart Meter upgrade, the fastest option is https://smart-booking.ovoenergy.com . Alternatively, the Support Team can help on 0330 303 5063. Please specify that you have Economy 7 and storage heaters, as this allows the engineer to bring the right equipment and also makes sure the right engineer is booked for the job.

Thanks for your reply, I was wondering if the meter might be faulty somehow and giving false readings. I have booked a smart meter installation for my client, but not until January as I’m hoping to clear up the sudden £3000 debt she’s now in!! I did flag this up on Friday with OVO and the operator sent the reading to the bills team as the system told her it was an unexpected reading. Hopefully when I call back Saturday there will be some answers but I will certainly mention what you’ve said about the meter looking like it’s coming to the end of its lifetime. Again, thanks for you replies, all info is helpful

Hey @Charliewoo,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

Our call center isn’t open on Saturdays, but our collections team are, they deal with arrears balances. This similar thread contains our opening hours:

It sounds like the young lady you support may be eligible for a read dispute, we’ll need two actual readings, two weeks apart in order to be able to raise one.

We have a great guide on this topic:

If her usage appears high over the next few months (I’d advise taking regular readings and monitoring this) then you’ll need to advise Support the meter is faulty and do a creep test:

Hope this helps.