Random smart meter readings caused billing issue?

I assume that you are looking at the page like this:
 

If you don’t have a smart meter then that “live billing” may/will be showing an estimated usage reading for each day.
It can’t show any actual readings until you send in a new reading, so inbetween readings it just shows estimates.

It it’s an estimate then it should say ‘Estimate’ (or nothing) but sometimes it will say the wrong thing.
Note that I have ‘Hide estimates’ ticked in the screenshot above.

Estimates can sometimes be much too high, there are various reasons why that can happen, but they get corrected when you send in an actual reading.

A more unlikely possibility, but still possible:

If it keeps happening that a ‘Smart’ reading is shown on your daily meter readings when you are sure that you don’t have a smart meter then I’d suggest that you get back to support and ask them to check for the possibility of a ‘Crossed meter’, see the guide below.

Crossed meters do happen and can sometimes happen seemigly out-of-the-blue when someone (not you)  has their meter replaced and a MPAN/MPRN or meter serial number gets recorded incorrectly on the national database.

We have a guide on what to do if you suspect that your meter may have become Crossed:

Hey ​@callumrust 

Sorry to hear about this, but I’m glad to see one of our volunteers has already stopped by to offer some really helpful advice here. 

Are you looking at the same meter readings page on your account as Nukecad shows above?

We don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum so it does sound like the Support Team will have to take a look at this for you as there’s likely more detail there that would show what’s happening here. 

As Nukecad mentioned, something called crossed meters can happen. It’s quite rare, but can occur if for example someone else has entered the wrong meter details when signing up, the topic Nukecad shared may be helpful here. The Support Team should be able to look at the meter details and check where those readings have come from, if they relate to a different meter than yours.

It’ll probably be best to get in touch with them via webchat for this so you can send them a photo of the meter, that way they can verify the meter details are correct, or if something’s gone wrong like Nukecad suggested. 

Do keep us updated with how you get on here.

Hi thanks for the replies , see below , all my manual entries, the adjusted entry by OVO 11569 which replaced the smart reading in 15th July and then the day later another  ‘smart’ reading which is clearly false. 
 

now the smart meter reading is lodged against my account I now cannot enter the correct value via the app I’m assuming as it’s circa 3000 less than the smart reading

i don’t  have a smart meter and have no idea why through no fault of my own I have to try and resolve this

very disappointing

Ahh you are seeing it in the app, that’s fine.

As you say that clearly shows a sequence of monthly manual readings, and then suddenly ‘Smart’. with a jump in the meter reading shown.

it’s odd.

Personally I’d leave it a couple of days (it shouldn’t affect your bill, see below) to see if it starts to enter new ‘Smart’ readings that increase daily.

(Would I be right in thinking that for the 15th Jul, it was showing about 14008?
If so then if there is one for the 17th I might expect it to say 14022, and for the 18th 14030).

If that does happen then it would be more evidence of a possible crossed meter.

As long as you send a manual reading for your next bill then it would be corrected to your manual reading not the mysterious ‘Smart’ reading.
The best way to do that will be to send a manual reading on the day AFTER your billing period end. ie. the first day of a new billing period.
Your billing period will be shown at the top of any bill, eg.

So with that billing period manual readings should be sent on the 24th of each month if you want to avoid having estimates on the monthly bills.
By sending a manual reading the day after the period end  it gets allocated to midnight on the last day of your billing period, so your bill is calculated to that manual reading with no estimate involved.

Nukecad

appreciate your response again thanks. 
I just called OVO again and was told I must be looking at the wrong screen…….So I think this will be a long drawn out process. Something I could do without.  There’s a site investigation arranged for a couple weeks time now with an engineer. 
 

I did try and enter the correct value via the app and it wouldn’t let me , I was assuming as there was a 14000 reading ‘lodged’ then it wasn’t letting me lodge a lower reading (a correct reading ) in the 11000s……
 

It’s strange how you raise these issues then your almost doubted from the minute you all and then have to try and justify to OVO there is an error , every time I have called or sent photos of the meter to ‘prove’ what I’m saying it’s never been productive 

It isn’t so much doubting the customer as methodically trying the easiest things first step-by-step.

The old “Have you trired switching it off then on again?” computer IT question is an example of it.
It’s simple, and it often works first time to fix whatever the problem was, which is why it’s the first thing that a company’s tech support will ask.

Try the easiest fixes first, and work up to the more difficult (or expensive) possibilities once the simple things have been ruled out.

This is one reason why I would always prefer to make contact via webchat (or perhaps via DM on X). During a chat, I have the ability to upload photos and screenshots etc. The agent you’d be chatting with could hardly dispute your evidence when you’re both looking at it. 

PS I forgot to mention: Your screenshot shows a < Back  button in the top left-hand corner. If you touch it, you should see details of the meter it’s ostensibly reporting from. The MPAN is unique to the property and won’t change even though a different meter is fitted. The Meter Serial Number (MSN) is … errr … unique to the meter. If yours were removed and installed somewhere else, it would still have the same MSN. Both numbers should appear on your bills - do they?

Hi Firefox I emailed screen shots of the meter reading whilst in the call and the agents were able to see them also. I will check the details you mention thanks 

The frustrating part is there’s a clear run of readings over the months going up a similar about, a paper trail  so to speak, then a huge wrong smart reading , clearly wrong, but yet the agent said ‘the 14000 reading is probably correct’ which going by readings I have over the past 3 years gradually increasing from 7000 when I moved in is clearly not the case , seems like just guess work and the assumption the customer is wrong 

Hey ​@callumrust 

Would you be able to share a photo of the electric meter with us? It might help us understand more here, as we don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum we can’t see the same photos you shared with the Support Team.

Hopefully we can gain a little more from that and try to advise on the next best steps.

Morning Abby no problem please see below photo from last night , I’ve checked and the ‘smart’ meter is now pulling readings daily , some quite odd usage between 17th to 18th July …… clearly still incorrect 

You will also see the reading in the photo runs on from the last manual entry prior to this smart meter issue 

as it’s pulling false readings from somewhere daily now , it now means I cannot manually input the correct readings into the app which was the process I used for the last 3 years since I moved into the property - so will just get progressively worse I suppose 

You will still be able to ring and give meter readings even if it won’t take them in the app or online. (I’ve ‘been there done that’ in the past).

As I said above it could be advantageous to watch the readings for a number of days and screenshot them again so you/we can see how they are changing.

With a few more we may be able to tell if it’s just estimates or if it may indeed be a crossed meter issue.

PS. What dates are your billing period? ie. when is the next one due?
Your bills show your meter serial numbers, so the next one you get will show what meter they are billing to, and if it has changed from your last bill (when you know that it hasn’t actually been changed) then that would be confirmation of a crossed meter.

The billing period is 16th - 15th of the following month. 
the OVO app typically updates a ‘live’ balance as far as I am aware with new readings but these smart readings don’t seem to be impacting my balance ….. yet …… again which is odd 
 

Ahh, so these odd smart readings appear to have started at the start of a new billing period.
The plot thickens as they say.

If you go to the meters page on your app then are the meter numbers now showing there the same as shown on your bill for June? (and what about your new bill for July?)

PS. As you have already raised a query about this with support then they have probably put a ‘Billing hold’ on the live balance, which will be why the balance isn’t changing with the readings.
(it may still be changing with the daily Standing Order amounts, depending on how they have done the hold).

Hi nukecad, yes the meter numbers are the same on the bills I’ve just checked . 
 

you are quite correct I hadn’t noticed that but the smart meter wrong readings have started at a new billing period yes 

I still can’t get head around the meter saying 11575 and the ‘smart’ meter saying 14022.

something has changed or been triggered , somewhere, on OVOs side. but there seems to be little assistance with trying to resolve 

I will attempt to call up to give a reading and see if that works but to be honest will be like reading ping pong and the more I change to correct the more there will probably be a daily meter reading from the ‘smart’ meter 

it’s odd also I was told when the manual adjustment was carried out my readings would be changed to ‘once a month’ as that may help the issue , so I’m not sure my the supposed smart meter is sending them daily , and also completely incorrect readings 
 

Hi nukecad 

fyi I also called up to put in the correct reading over the phone via the key pad but it won’t let me 

Any thoughts Abby_OVO ?

I meant actually talking to someone rather than trying automated systems.

TBH I would just do it once a month on the 15th which is your billing period start.

I know how frustrating it gets explaining the same thing to different people so why do that daily?

Personally I'd give it a couple of weeks after reporting something like this to give someone a chance to look and find/fix the issue - then if nothing has changed make an offical complaint.

As you say these phantom readings are not appearing on the ‘live billing’ then they shouldn't appear on your monthly bill either - especially if you phone in an actual reading on the 15th.

Interesting. That is indeed a smart meter, an L&G type ZCXS310H2.1. This SMETS1 meter needs an external communications hub in order to be able to transmit data over the smart meter network, so it should be somewhere close by.  Perhaps you could upload a photo of the comms hub as well.

You’re quite sure that the serial number Z18N246094 is the one printed on your bills and shown on the Meters page on the app?

There appears to be a distinct crossed wire here somewhere. 

​@Firedog are you thinking SMETS1 that has just joined DCC?

I thought that wasn't ongoing anymore but don't see why it couldn't be possible.

I shouldn’t be surprised if enrolment and adoption on to DCC played a part here. It was declared years ago that they wouldn’t bother trying to migrate L&G meters connected by Trilliant comms hubs. But even though they (DCC) had tried again to adopt this meter and succeeded, I’d expect usage data and index readings retrieved to reflect what the customer can see on the meter’s display, so long as the MSN matches, of course.

Hey ​@callumrust 

Sorry to hear this.

You do have a smart meter, does the serial number on the bills match the one on the meter?

It’s definitely odd, do you have another register on the meter? If you press that button again do you get a different reading or is it just the one number? 

I know the DCC are still working with suppliers to get any remaining 1st generation meters enrolled directly, but I’d imagine there to be a note on the account that explained this so any agent would be able to see if that had occurred recently or not.