This is going to be a long one ----- I moved into my house 2007. there was a gas burning AGA with water boiler, that couldn't be switched off and old floor standing boiler (18 years old ) and a gas fire. At end jan 2008 I had a new condensing boiler fitted to replace the old floor standing one, my bills didn't alter very much so I then had the aga removed and a new cooker with gas top and electric oven hoping to notice a saving in gas usage, finaly earlier this year I had the gas fire taken out and a wood burner fitted. I have not had my boiler on for 9 weeks now and my water is heated by the electric imersion so you would think that my usage would be minimal but, I have just received my gas bill which says I am using 13.50 units per day

first gas bill 3 sept 07- 15 nov 07 30.57 units per day with aga, boiler and gas fire next bill 15 nov 07 -08 feb 08 29.50 units per day still with above appliances next bill 08 feb 08 - 14 may 08 20.50 units per day old boiler was removed still had aga and gas fire next bill 14 may 08 -18 aug 08 6.30 units per day aga taken out begining of may 08 next bill 18 aug 08 - 10 nov 08 15.67 units per day only got gas fire and new cooker and boiler next bill 10 nov 08 12 feb 09 22.18 units per day gas fire taken out replaced with wood burner jan 09 this bill 12 feb 09 - 25 june 09 13.53 units per day Nov - feb 07 30.50 units per day will all aplliances Nov - feb 08 22.18 units per day with aga nad boiler gone? no one is home in the day time. the cooker only get used about 5 times a week. the boiler is now totally switched off , the water is on electric, so really i should not be using 13 units a day according to EDF. the lady at edf rang transco and the guy there said its not eratic usage its same as it has been for the past few years, he could not understand that i no longer have the gas guzzling appliances etc and would not authorise a meter check.i was advised there could be a leak in the gas main, so I asked how would that show on my meter as the meter is fitted after the main they said it would still make the meter clock up maybe I am stupid but I still dont see how? then they said maybe there is a leak in the house I told them there is no smell of gas in here either, I am just so sick of them I feel like having the gas cut off and move to all electric and wood burning.i have tried to get quotes from other companies on comparison sites but they all seem to come back with the same reply - cannot quote as the supply too large to be a domestic property - I have also taken energy advice from the energy saving trust and they said the usage is too high for the appliances I have. I was advised to do a 7 day meter read and then ring my supplier with it, but I have done that 3 times already over the past 2 years and they say nothing to suggest anything is wrong. Also meter reader said my meter might be faulty because these type are well known for faults ( krom schroder lable says fitted 2004 ) when I did the 7 day readings I put my boiler on for 1 hour then off for 1 hour whilst on I used 1 unit per hour .I did this 3 times each day for the 7 days and took readings every hour the same usage was noted every hour 1unit (whilst boiler running)

If anyone has managed to get to the end of this without dropping asleep I would appreiciate any advice that any one can give aas to what i can do now.

Natalie

NW1:

I would appreiciate any advice that any one can give aas to what i can do now.

Post the meter readings from your last few bills, in particular whether the readings are estimated or actual.

I can do all bills since moved in, the following A,C,E are listed on bill as to who read meter -

A = ACTUAL C= CUSTOMER E - ESTIMATE

17872 A + C 3 rd sept 07 the day i moved in.

19248 C 15 nov 07 1376 UNITS USED

22051 A 18 feb 08 2803 UNITS USED

22172 C 21 feb 08 121 Units used in 3 days

23873 A 14 may 08 1701 units used

24382 A 18 aug 08 509 units

( 25070 E 11 oct 08 308 units )

25378 A 10 nov 08 996 units used ignoring the above estimate

25699 C 10 nov 08 or 1317 used if you use my custmer read for same dates

27784 A 9 march 09 2085 units used

27862 C 31 march 09 78 units in 22 days

29121 C 25 june 09 1259 units used

as you can see the Actuals that they have is a lot different to my reads for some reason you could understand a few extra from the date they read to me sending the customer reads but some are quite a lot different, Their acual must be from a meter reader i think but i am not sure. the bill i have just received is for £498.40 which seems a lot when you read my first post detailing everything that i am no longer using. if my new cooker uses that much gas in then i would be cheaper buying take aways for the quarter, this bill is for approx 86 days if i used the cooker for 60 of those days thats £8.30 per use and its only ever on for 1 hour at most, 2 burners only as i have stacking steamer pans ( not that good of a cook to have it on longer ) hope this helps

thanks in advance

Natalie

NW1:

OK. Not made sense of this yet, having to modify my spreadsheet. I think you have posted the consumption after converting to kWhrs but you would be better posting the meter reading. This is because it is not unknown for the company to perform the wrong calculation depending whether the meter is imperial or metric. You need to look at your meter and see whether the numbers end in ft^3 or m^3. Also normally imperial meters have 4 digits before the point and metric meters 5.

Try to see what you have.

BTW here is some background reading - just to prove mistakes are possible.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/01/are_you_paying_too_much_for_ga.html

BTW I don't meant to imply your problem is the x2.83 problem. Must be something else, faulty meter even, but you need to be clearer about your use of the term "unit"

I am not quite sure if I am doing something wrong but I will try to explain how I got the info my meter has the m3 on, then 5 numbers then 3 numbers in a red surround, the readings I have given are the first 5 numbers only. I was calculating the units the same way as edf

last read minus current read = units used

my bill this time says 27784A previous 27862C latest = 78 units then underneath says 27862C previous 27957 E latest = 95 units underneath again says 27957E previous 29121 C latest = 1164 units

1st line says 78 units 877 kwh 12 feb to 24 march

2nd line says 95 units 1069 kwh 24 mar to 31 march

3rd line says 1165 units 12962 kwh 31 march to 25 june

I have photos of my meter which I can attatch if any use. Edf want to change my direct debit to £280.00 per month due to my high usage.

I have been home since 9.30am I have put my boiler on ( heating only not water as water already hot with emersion heater) to see what happens with the reading. with everything off the read was 29123 ( 568 in the red bit) at 9.30 am

now at 10.30 the reading is 29125 ( 452 in the red bit ) so I have only used 2 units

hope this helps

thanks again

Natalie

NW1:

I am not quite sure if I am doing something wrong

Nope. You have a metric meter, you are correctly reading the m3 and the conversion is correct. (the bill gives the exact calculation, a quick check is m3 * 11 gives kWhrs)

To make things clearer for everybody, please stop saying "units" and use "m3 or cubic metres" (the five numbers).

Your meter must be faulty. Based on what you say the error is so gross (about x10) it's sheer incompetence by EDF not to suspect a problem.

OK what to do. A customer has a right to demand a meter test. You will be told there will be a charge if the meter is found to be OK. As I said you have a right to demand a meter test.

Another tactic you might want to consider is to let EDF hang themselves with a length of rope. Before demanding a meter test, inform them nicely you do not think the meter can be right because you (now) only have a modern condensing boiler. Take very careful note of who you spoke with and when. Then demand your meter test if you are not satisfied with the response. If subsequently your concerns are upheld make sure you raise the incompetent customer service that you so carefully documented as a formal complaint.

Maybe you should do that anyway without waiting as the error is so gross.

For the h*ll of it I would also make a £10 Subject Access Request of EDF to obtain all you records, previous bills, including call logs and call recordings.

thank you for the info, I cant beleive someone actaully believes me, after almost 2 years of me complaning and trying to explain to EDF about my energy saving efforts and bill not showing reductions as an when stuff was taken off supply, you might have solved my problem in 2 days or at least given me the info that can help me on my way to sorting it. Maybe i have also had things replaced that did not really need replacing ( cooker ,fire etc ), i will be dealing with this today and maybe i can stop worrying about were i am going to get the money to pay the bills.i really hope that the meter is faulty

thank you thank you thank you for all your help, i will post again as soon as i have further info

Natalie

i have been trying to talk to some one at EDF all day but the person who i need will not be in till saturday, as its better to speak to the lady who i spoke to about it last week. i hope you dont think i am being nosey but how do you know all the information do you work for a gas company ? only reason i am asking is that if you do work for one of the companies you might be able to advise if the meter testers work for the gas company or are they independant ? plus can the customer have any say in which company tests it if there are more than one that does it ? whilst on phone to EDF last saturday i was advised that i could get a corgi engineer to come out and check my meter but that just seems a bit odd that they would say that after transco refused to authorise a test.

thanks again

Natalie

NW1:

advise if the meter testers work for the gas company or are they independant ?

Info here.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/Techn/Metrolgy/AssetMgmt/Guidance/Documents1/5875-Factsheet_MeterAccuracy%20and%20BillingDisputes.pdf

In effect you have already asked. I would add the specific ignorant, inept and incompetent customer service of your previous contact to your complaint.

Up to you if you want to wait to speak to a particular person but I would make the next person you speak with at EDF "it" (and tell that person while you are speaking with them).

The information about "CORGI" is irrelevent to your particular issue, and not just because "CORGI" is defunct having been replaced by "Gas Safe".

You have already mentioned the meter manufacturer. Just out of interest can you post the meter model number?

it says on meter BK-G4 elster jeavons G4

there loads of other stuff written on it but dont have any idea waht any of it means see list below

Qmax 6m3/h

Q mini oc4m3/h

V2,0 dm3

p max 75bar

1 imp 0.01m3

D87

7.122.43

regards Natalie

NW1:

I have photos of my meter which I can attatch if any use.

Would be interested to see the photos if you can upload somewhere.

i did try to post the photos but can do it. the only way i think i could show them to you is via an email, but that would mean you posting your email on here which i dont thin is a good idea.

Natalie

NW1:

i

Quite right. The way most people here post pics is to create an account on a service such as Photobucket.

NW1 - You are "using" more than 8 times as much gas as me for this time of year ! ! Don't think you mentioned, but have you checked the meter for any changes (including the decimal readout) whilst everything is switched off including the boiler pilot light??

It seems you either have a faulty meter or a gas leak somewhere; has been known for old pipework buried under floor to corrode and leak - certainly happened to my brother and he only found out when he was having new flooring in the kitchen, rusty marks and cracks in the concrete.There wasn't a smell of gas in the kitchen pre the work being carried out. Also is the meter external to the property? If so, is there a smell of gas actually in the meter enclosure?

BREWERDAVE1:

In my opinion the x8 (or x10 in my estimation) is such a massive overconsumption that any leak would be evident by smell (or worse, since it has been evident for so long).

Another argument against the "leak" is that the overconsumption was evident before and after the fitting of the new boiler.

Assuming that the boiler was correctly installed (by a CORGI operative), a pressure hold-up test would have been performed - eliminating any possibility of a leak on the consumer side of the meter.

There must be another explanation. I think the meter is the key, whether faulty or wrongly registered I cannot say but I find the x10 very curious.