Solved

Incorrect billing - is my old imperial gas meter being read incorrectly?

  • 17 January 2024
  • 20 replies
  • 317 views
1
Rank

I recently submitted a gas meter reading, only to get hit with a £650 bill. At first, it appeared to be because OVO had estimated the wrong gas meter reading when I moved into this house 6 weeks ago, but now I gave them the correct meter readings from move in day, and yet my balance is still way high. I did all my own calculations using the standard conversion methods, and my gas bill should be £206 but they’ve actually billed me £552 since 27 Nov. Crazy.

Thing is, I have a very old (90s) imperial meter that measures in cubic feet (not even x100 cubic feet!). It’s a relic haha! When I check my bill, the reading I gave them shows on there as 914.000. The reading I actually gave them was 0914. Can somebody who knows more about how they deal with old imperial meters confirm that this is a correct read as it should appear on the bill? Or have they somehow messed up my billing by thinking I’ve got a newer meter? I was due to have one installed but they couldn’t do it on the day.

I can’t think of any other reason why OVO would think that I - very frugal with energy, living in a fully double glazed, small four bed terraced house - would be using 6,920kWh of gas in 7 weeks. 😆😱😭 Help!

 

ETA:  My meter reading on move in day was 0839, and is now 0914. That’s 75 units used. If anyone fancies checking my maths, that works out to about 241kWh - NOT 6,920kWh.

icon

Best answer by BPLightlog 17 January 2024, 16:05

View original

20 replies

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hi @1220charlee ,

Please show us screenshots of what you’re seeing, and photos of the meter.

Thanks

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
1
Rank

Hi @1220charlee ,

Please show us screenshots of what you’re seeing, and photos of the meter.

Thanks

 

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Looks correct to me. However, I’ll ask @Firedog to swing by, and probably also @BPLightlog as they’re better than me at crunching figures from imperial gas meters.

With that being said, we would probably recommend that you get that meter replaced sooner rather than later, otherwise you may have more problems with its accuracy slowly getting worse.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
1
Rank

Looks correct to me. However, I’ll ask @Firedog to swing by, and probably also @BPLightlog as they’re better than me at crunching figures from imperial gas meters.

With that being said, we would probably recommend that you get that meter replaced sooner rather than later, otherwise you may have more problems with its accuracy slowly getting worse.

Thank you! Unfortunately OVO told me they can’t replace it.

So, given that the readings have been entered correctly, any idea why the kWh might be so very, very wrong? OVO estimated my move in day reading, and it was WAY too low, so in effect I’m paying here for energy that was used by the previous tenant. I gave them exact readings from my move in day and they put them in the system this morning, but so far no change to the balance, despite the fact that it should more than halve my bill. 😬 I can’t fathom what could have gone wrong.

BPLightlog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

That meter has been around the block .. it does need updating. 
As it’s reading in cu ft then don’t forget there’s an additional multiplier (x 2.83) when doing the calculation. 
From your picture, 0914 (or 914) is a correct reading as you ignore the red digits. 
I can’t quite tell which starting reading is being used but here’s the calculation 

 

Independent volunteer - Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
1
Rank

That meter has been around the block .. it does need updating. 
As it’s reading in cu ft then don’t forget there’s an additional multiplier (x 2.83) when doing the calculation. 
From your picture, 0914 (or 914) is a correct reading as you ignore the red digits. 
I can’t quite tell which starting reading is being used but here’s the calculation 

​​​

 

They didn’t have a starting reading because they incorrectly estimated it. I have given it to them now, but it’s not done anything to the balance of my account. My meter is so old that it doesn’t use x100 cubic feet, so the multiplier is actually 0.0283. Otherwise my bill would be thousands of pounds for seven weeks hehe.

 

 

 

BPLightlog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

 

They didn’t have a starting reading because they incorrectly estimated it. I have given it to them now, but it’s not done anything to the balance of my account. My meter is so old that it doesn’t use x100 cubic feet, so the multiplier is actually 0.0283. Otherwise my bill would be thousands of pounds for seven weeks hehe.

 

I’m not sure why you think it doesn’t read in x100 cu ft .. the indicator says ft 3 by the last digit which is cubic feet. That would include the red dials and so the first white digit would be x100’s of cu ft

I can’t see any difference from yours to a similar meter shown as an example 

 

Independent volunteer - Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
1
Rank

 

They didn’t have a starting reading because they incorrectly estimated it. I have given it to them now, but it’s not done anything to the balance of my account. My meter is so old that it doesn’t use x100 cubic feet, so the multiplier is actually 0.0283. Otherwise my bill would be thousands of pounds for seven weeks hehe.

 

I’m not sure why you think it doesn’t read in x100 cu ft .. the indicator says ft 3 by the last digit which is cubic feet. That would include the red dials and so the first white digit would be x100’s of cu ft

I can’t see any difference from yours to a similar meter shown as an example 

 

Because if you used that number and multiplied it by 2.83 and then did the maths, they would’ve been billing me in the thousands of quid. Do you see what I’m getting at? The 75 units I’ve used over the 7 weeks would come in at £1799.14 + VAT. That is…not a normal gas bill unless you are a business or something.

BPLightlog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

..,

ETA:  My meter reading on move in day was 0839, and is now 0914. That’s 75 units used. If anyone fancies checking my maths, that works out to about 241kWh - NOT 6,920kWh.

75 units would give you about 2400 kWh 

which at say 7.4 p per kWh would mean about £177

Independent volunteer - Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
1
Rank

..,

ETA:  My meter reading on move in day was 0839, and is now 0914. That’s 75 units used. If anyone fancies checking my maths, that works out to about 241kWh - NOT 6,920kWh.

75 units would give you about 2400 kWh 

which at say 7.4 p per kWh would mean about £177

Oh god I’m an idiot. I had the decimal in the wrong place when I was doing the cost bit. Sorry.

But yes, so definitely not £500+ quid! Yet they seem to think that’s what I’ve spent. 

BPLightlog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Sounds like you need some way of registering your starting reading. No photo I guess?

 

Independent volunteer - Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
1
Rank

Sounds like you need some way of registering your starting reading. No photo I guess?

 

Nono, I do have a photo, taken on the day I moved in. I gave them the correct move in day readings this morning and they said it had been submitted. But nothing in my account has changed. 🫤

Firedog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge

Sorry to be late to the party, but @BPLightlog seems to have got this covered as usual. 

A couple of observations:

  • Gas meters are nowadays certified for, I think, a maximum of 20 years, but the one you have may have a longer life (no pesky electronics to deteriorate). OVO should know when its certification expires and warn you before that. 
  • If you look carefully, there’s no decimal point between the white and red figures on your meter. Metric meters have an obvious decimal point at the appropriate position. The white figures give the volume recorded in 100s of cubic feet, and 100 ft³ = 2.83 m³
  • If there is a difference between what the previous tenant submitted as the closing reading and the opening reading you took, that’s the landlord’s responsibility. You both probably recorded this on takeover, so that’s all the evidence OVO need to bill you properly.
  • It may take a while for billing to catch up with your recently-submitted opening reading, but you may be able to see the reading history in your online account. You could also check the billing history to see where the bill calculations came from.  

It’s good that you found the error in your own sums - it’s easily done. 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA
1
Rank

Awesome, thank you everyone. So it seems likely that if I just wait, my balance should adjust itself with the correct move-in readings in place. Presumably if it doesn’t by sometime tomorrow, I should jump on the customer service chat again and get someone to have another poke at it…? It seems like (my shoddy maths notwithstanding) everything I’m thinking about what the bill should be is on par with what you’ve come up with. OVO have received the same readings from my agent (on move in) as I gave them today, so why they didn’t use them is a mystery for the ages, but they also allocated my account to entirely the wrong customer at first, so perhaps it was that SNAFU that kicked all this off.

Thanks so much for all the input and patience. 😊

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Keep an eye out on this page to see if the first reading is corrected @1220charlee 

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/gas

That will then feed through to the bills and balance 

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

@1220charlee have ovo said why you can't have a smart gas meter?

1
Rank

@1220charlee have ovo said why you can't have a smart gas meter?

Yeah: it’s in a location that gets absolutely zero signal, and can’t be moved.

Someone’s on the case with my bill, so fingers crossed everything’s gonna get sorted in the next couple days. 😊

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Wait… Even Dual-Band Comms Hubs and AltHAN can’t reach the gas meter? That’s… Rare...

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

@1220charlee have ovo said why you can't have a smart gas meter?

Yeah: it’s in a location that gets absolutely zero signal, and can’t be moved.

Someone’s on the case with my bill, so fingers crossed everything’s gonna get sorted in the next couple days. 😊

How about the electricity meter, is that a smart meter?

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Wait… Even Dual-Band Comms Hubs and AltHAN can’t reach the gas meter? That’s… Rare...

@1220charlee you could try online chat with ovo and ask if they are going to try these options.

You can include a link to this post in any chat

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-account-140/incorrect-billing-is-my-old-meter-being-read-incorrectly-17021?postid=110458#post110458

It often helps customer support when they can see you have had support from this forum with possible suggestions 

 

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings