Using gas whilst away, how is this possible?

Thanks. I'll give them a call later. I ticked the boxes, telling them we're over 65 & asking for the check, but a box appeared stating we are not eligible. I'll try by phone. 

As for the gas, we used exactly the same gas yesterday as we did the day before, apart from an extra boiling of the kettle, and our usage has, according to today's meter reading, quadrupled!!! Once I get the breakdown of when it was supposedly used (I have a written record) I will be on the phone (again!!!!).

 

This is, according to Ovo, yesterday's usage. In fact our usage was 7.30 hot water for washing & washing up, 9.00 kettle. 12.00 washing up. 3.00 kettle, 5.00 washing up & kettle, no heating (we were freezing!). I am at my wit's end. They're now telling me it's our usage for the day being averaged out. It's more than 4 times the day before, with just one kettle boiling more. No-one at Ovo is interested in helping.

Hey @MrsSB,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

There is additional criteria required when we book a gas safety check:

There is additional criteria: 

Gas safety checks 

The customer must meet all of the following criteria:

• Have not had a gas safety check within the last 12 months
• Be currently receiving a means tested benefit
• Not live in a rented property (it's the responsibility of the landlord (under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974) to ensure that these appliances are safe and that yearly checks are undertaken

The customer must also fulfil at least one of the following:

• Live with others, at least one of whom is under five years old.
• Be of pensionable age, be disabled or chronically sick and living alone.
• Live with others who are of pensionable age or under 18 and disabled or chronically sick

The customer will be contacted by Northern Gas within 21 days for an appointment. 

If you feel like there could be a gas leak, there is more information on our website:

Gas emergency

If you can smell gas or think you have a gas leak: 

• Do open doors and windows to let the gas escape
• Do check your gas appliances are switched off
• Do call the 24 hour National Gas Emergency hotline on 0800 111 999
• Do turn your gas off at the isolation switch (if you know where it is), then wait outside, and let your neighbours know.
• Don't switch lights on or off, use doorbells, mobile phones or use any electrical switches.
• Don't smoke, light a match or use any other kind of naked flame.
• Don't go back into your home until you’ve got the all-clear.

If you're worried fumes containing carbon monoxide are escaping from a gas appliance, call the 24 hour National Gas Emergency hotline on 0800 111 999. For further information about gas safety in the home check out our guide here. 

If you believe you may have a faulty meter this topic may help:

Keep us posted with how you get on.

It is not on this page @Emmanuelle_OVO 

It is on that page, @Jeffus. 

Suppliers can offer free gas safety checks every 12 months. You can request a safety check if you get a means-tested benefit and either:

• live with a child under five years old
• live alone or with others and have reached state pension age
• live alone or with others and are disabled or chronically ill
• live with others who have reached state pension age or are disabled, chronically ill or under 18 years old. 

@MrsSB there’s an interesting topic here where another forum member helped someone else who had usage around midnight (electricity not gas):

Could we hear a bit more detail about your home’s set up? What is your night time appliance use? 

Unless it’s something odd on the meter itself or with the data we’re getting, it’s very likely to be something beyond that meter and related to an actual appliance. The Centre of Sustainable Energy can offer you free and impartial advice. Or as Jeffus advised you may consider a gas safe engineer visits. 

Thanks for getting back to me, @MrsSB.

The usage section itself can show estimated usage if we don’t get sent that data from the meters. But the daily readings, which your charges are based on, should be spot on or it needs closer attention. 

If you have any concerns that your meter readings aren’t accurately recording your usage, I’d encourage you to check out this guide: 

There have been regular meter readings sent by our smart meter. We believe that the meter readings are not accurate as they went from 4.84kwh one day to 22.92kwh the next and the only difference in our actual usage was one kettle boiling. The rest of the additional "usage" was recordings overnight when no gas was actually being used.  The guide you have mentioned is useless as it refers to electricity usage testing, not gas. We have had enough now, this situation is becoming extremely stressful and no-one at Ovo is interested in trying to find out what is happening. We are just being fobbed off as stupid old people. What's new about that???????

Hey @MrsSB,

I’ve linked my response to your post on another topic. 

Hey @MrsSB 

Sorry you’re still experiencing issues with this.

Do you know if the meter reading schedule is set up at once daily, or is it set to send them every half an hour? It may be that the reading only comes to us once a day and so the system may be estimating the usage in between those actual readings each day. Our Support Team can check this for you, and if it’s not already set to half hourly, they can get that changed for you.

We also have this forum idea, which is focused on making this sort of action, something that customer would be able to change themselves: 

I know it must be frustrating trying to get this resolved, but as we have no access to accounts here at the Forum, we won’t be able to provide you any specifics on your account & usage.

There is a test called the meter accuracy test, this is when the gas meter is removed for testing. They would replace it for a new one when they remove the meter, if they found that the meter wasn’t faulty there would be a charge for the appointment, so it’s always worth ruling out all of the gas appliances first to be sure it’s not one of those. 

Please do get back in touch with the Support Team about this so that they can look into it.

Hi @MrsSB 

Thank you for all of that information. 

The test in question requires the meter to be removed in order to test it. If they find that the meter is faulty during this, you wouldn’t be charged, but if they found that the meter wasn’t faulty, this is the only reason you’d be charged, only of the meter wasn’t faulty.

When they remove it to be tested, they would fit a new one anyway as they can’t refit the same meter. 

The best thing to do will be to contact the Support Team to discuss this as we don’t have access to your account here at the Forum.

@MrsSB I feel like some context on this meter accuracy process might be helpful to you. 

Most people who have higher than expected actual usage benefit from ruling out the most common causes: something to do with their appliances. Most meters tested for a fault are not faulty. For these two reasons we recommend anyone rules out other factors before booking a meter accuracy test. 

As you might imagine, a meter accuracy test that is free no matter what the results would not be scaleable for an energy supplier. After all, nothing to lose in getting it tested right? Instead OVO aims to give you as many ways to rule out alternative causes first, and helps you book in the test if you’re sure. If the meter is faulty, the test is free and your charges are recalculated. Otherwise you’ll be charged for the appointment. 

In your case I still think there’s a chance that your meter has intermittent communication with OVO. Even if we get a daily reading, perhaps we don’t always get half hourly usage data. If that’s true your half hourly graphs will be partly estimated, just like how you describe which sometimes shows the overnight usage and sometimes don’t. So I wouldn’t use the graphs as the only justification to book a meter accuracy test. It’s far better to look at the total kWhs your meters have clocked, shown in your monthly bill, having checked that you’ve had daily readings added for those dates. If the kWh’s are much bigger than you expect, that is something worth exploring. 

Hope this helps,

Tim

And @Tim_OVO  we're quite prepared to pay to get the meter tested/replaced as we are not stupid enough to believe that Ovo will admit to there being a fault and we won't expect to get our money refunded. Funnily enough, most old people have seen enough of life to realise that this is how things work.

Data has been posted on a few threads from @MrsSB , e.g.