NW1:

I have tried everything suggested in this forum and to no avail

Hi Nat

and Happy New Year

I remember this case well. You say you have tried everything suggested but did you follow up the Energy Ombudsman route and if so what was the outcome?

further to my last post, LAST YEAR! i am still waiting for the results of the meter test ( yes still ) i had my july august sepetember bill all of £ 29.36 and yes i know its for summer months,then i received a phone call DEMAND for unpaid previous amounts, i explained about the meter being removed for testing to which they had no knowledge, here we go again............. off she went to speak to superviser, she came back and said ok will put account on hold for 6 weeks to wait for results of meter test, then they will come back to me to discuss the outcome, well that was roughly 13 weeks ago so again i am on the forgotten pile,but hey who cares it just makes them look stupid when they send letters, I have to send in my readings now for oct nov dec so just lets see if this sets the ball rolling again, I really cant be bothered with them. I have tried everything suggested in this forum and to no avail so if any one has any ideas what next I would be happy to hear from them. or Indeed if any one fancies starting a no win no fee, sue the incompetant energy providers, company . i could be your first client ???????????

i will post my usage once my bill arrives should be interesting reading.

Natalie

Hi Natalie,

Good for you! you've got to give it to these companies both barrells sometimes!!

Shame you have to wait two weeks, but fingers crossed for a good result!

Then it could be onto the litigation piece! Revenge of the consumer!

:)

Sparky.

result - went at them like a bulldog !

the meter is being taken out on 31st july.I rang edf and said i will be taking my complaint to ombudsman today unless i get this matter sorted, i spouted all the legislation at him, even the man in customer service complaint dept was not aware that there is NO CHARGE for meter test, i told them i knew it was EDF taking the money not the testing company,but i paid anyway, I was also told it is impossible for the houses at the back to be tapped in to mine or next doors gas as a pipe come from the main to the meter and thats it, there is no way another can be added after the meter aparerently, which does make sense i suppose,

I asked his opinion of why i could be using so much after removing the appliances and he was at a loss to give any answer apart from the leak theory which again was discounted as there is no smell, he went on to say that if there was a leak the customer has to pay for the gas as the leak is after the meter so its chargable. i gave him some of my previous 7 day reads and one said i used 25 units ( sorry cant remember what the correct name for them was ) so 25 x 11 kwh = 275kwh which he agreed was high especially as i had noted what was on and off at what times of day and for how long, that one was in april in a 24 hour period.

have to go now but will add more when i get back

Natalie

NW1:

I hope you will be able to discount the leak stories which have been unhelpful and worrying. See Brewerdave1's acceptance of why a leak is unlikely.

You are right to be concerned about the "what if the meter is right" but I fear that a meter change is a necesary step in moving the issue on. If the replacement meter is still "x10" OK, there is still an issue to deal with.

Regarding the meter supplying the other houses, you could always operate the shut-off valve at the meter and wait for some feedback, however switching back on to an unattended premises is potentially dangerous. Discuss this with your GasSafe fitter.

sparky76:

That's a good point and a fair point but regardless of whether the meter is faulty or not or there is another explanation for the apparent x10 consumption, the right for a meter test is included in the supply legislation but as reported EDF have been completely obstructive on the issue to the extent of being inept and incompetent.

There was a customer concern about overconsumption, the meter test legislation should have been explained and the customer should have been given an opportunity to request it at the applicable cost. Full stop.

Without accusing Nat of necessarily being timid, the customer service should serve a timid approach just as it would have to serve or else, my "no prisoners taken" approach.

i will be contacting ombudman in morning regarding jalexa' latest post, i hope the meter IS faulty, omg what if its not? why would / how could i possibly use that much? weres it going? what if there is a leak after the meter would i be insured for the loss ? what about the guy next doors theory the newer houses in the back garden of the next house could they be on supply after our meters? tapped into the main at the wrong point or something? omg sparky you have set me off stressing now doom doom doom haha. once they do agree to take the old meter for testing i will take more photos of it with serial number, readings at the exact minute they remove it, as i read another post somewere that wrong findings were given to someone and it only came to light when serial number didint match those of the meter removed. also i read that there could be a fault in the gas main outside but i still dont understand how that can register on my meter as it wouldn't pass the meter if its in the gas main or am i missing something here?

Natalie

Also on the flip side (sorry to spread the doom and gloom), but what if a replacement meter and the existing meter are not found to be faulty, what would the next steps be? What sort of investigation can be carried out to assess the energy usage.

It is even more worrying now that you have mentioned that your neighbour also has the same type of usage.

Is the gasline down to Transco rather than a particular supplier?

hmmm...

Sparky

sparky76:

An interesting point is when/if the meter is found to be now faulty is how to prove how long it has been faulty for. A second issue is how to obtain compensation for the ignorant and inept handling of the issue by EDF customer service staff every time the concern was raised. Possiblly soon be time to hand this case over to the forum's legal experts......

I've been reading the thread again as I was sure that you had meter readings, are you still taking them regularily (daily?).

I'm just wondering what happens if when they replace the meter that your consumption goes down by a factor of 10 for instance!

Could Natalie take EDF to court to reclaim 90% of the money that she has paid if this was the case?

(then Get a CCJ and then next step sell the debt to a DCA and default them... hehe.)

Sparky.

NW1:

i

I sense there must be very low morale at the EDF call centre because they seem to still digging when in a hole.

Just one thing about the meter test. Your existing meter will be removed and you will get a replacement meter. The old meter will not be returned. You should see the result long before the old meter gets tested.

i felt like telling EDF to go there, ha ha. i might not pay my bill now i am not on DD, then let them take me to court i am sure that they would take notice then. i have bben reading the link again from Jalexa and ofgem do not charge for the test is Them at edf that want the money for admid fee or whatever for organising the test cheeky B!%*!!!. and also they are supposed to inspect meters every 2 years so i also asked them when was last inspection they said last month i informed her that no one had been to inspect the meter and she said oh yes we have and also been out in november as well how stupid the staff are there they are confusing meter reading with meter inspections, she said the reader always inspects the meter, the meter reader cannot even get to my meter which is in a court yrad with locked gates no one else has access to the key only me and if and when the reader comes he gets me to read it to him through the gate as i have a big dog roaming around in there and indeed it was the reader who told me about these very meters being known for faults as he asked me to read the name of the meter to him when he last came and i was telling him about my huge bills.

Could you send a cheque or make a cash payment at a bank / PO counter, or add it to your bill? so as not to give access to your card?

Sparky.

NW1:

i might change my user name to something like ''nataliefromthehugegasguzzlinghousethatsbiggerthaneveryoneelsesthats

boilinghotbecauseshehastheheatingonalldayeverydayNOT''

do you think i might nee to put a number on the end of that name just in case its already been taken?

I think the other Natalie might get annoyed - add the number 666 to indicate you are in hell (it's so hot and expensive!)

hehe

Fingers crossed the new gas safe engineer has a strong nose of the smell of leaking gas (or at least a gadget that will tell them!)

Sparky.

NW1:

You are much too nice. The EDF complaints procedure is here....

http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/customer-services/making-a-complaint.shtml

Print it off and all the connected documents.

Follow it scrupulously.

On a quick reading I noticed it said something about Consumer Direct could be contacted "at any time" but AFAIK EDF are enrolled with the Energy Ombudsman. In that case you are entitled to ask the Energy Ombudsman investigate an unresolved complaint at "deadlock" or 8 weeks after first raising the issue whichever occurs first. The point about the Energy Ombudsman procedure is it costs you nothing but costs EDF a hefty case fee regardless of outcome.

You need to raise a formal complaint immediately strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure if you have not done so. There is no place for your namby pamby approach here when hobnailed boots are required. If you have already done so you are free to involve the Energy Ombudsman after 8 weeks regardless of the outcome.

The £35 is a no-brainer considering how much you are paying but I would be a little wary of giving EDF debit card access to your account. Make it very clear that the authorisation is for a single payment only.

Regarding your cancelling of your Direct Debit, can't say I blame you, but be aware that "arrears" are grounds for EDF to object to a switch to another supplier, but an account debit balance arising from the DD being insufficient isn't.