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