Hi there,

i think my meter could be faulty!

i’m with N-Power for gas & electric and pay £45 per month for gas but for electric i’m always in credit.

my dd is £15 a month but cause i’m nearly £200 in credit they keep putting it down to £2 a month!

obviously this is a good thing but when i compared my own meter reading in mid march and then now 3 months on my meter says i’ve only used 6kwh! my wife, child & i live in a 2 bed semi and not overly cautious with the electric.

as this may sound amazing to some i am worried that a problem may be found and i’m gonna get a huge bill!

should i worry or just plead ignorance?

do not ignore. contact meter instalers explain your concerns they will then come out and check it. if it is faulty there will be no charge and they will replace it, however if there is no fault you will have to pay for call out. another way you could check it, take a reading of your meter then check out your tv consumption per hour (this may be in your instruction book) or you could contact manufacturer, then turn tv on for one hour re-check meter reading.

Are there any other meters nearby that could be mixed up? Is the serial number on the meter the same as on the bill?

Assuming these are ok, I would be inclined to post a letter to the supplier to state your concerns. They are likely to ignore your letter because that's how they work but at least it will mean that you've made the effort to help them get things right. If you've made the effort, they can't really justify any huge, estimated bill. If you do get a large bill, you can scrutinsise and dispute the way that it was estimated.

thanks for the tips.

my last bill was estimated as using only 12 kwh since the last reading i gave them in march but it is in fact only 6kwh!

as it's been like this for quite a while ( atleast 5 years since i moved in ) and still no one has noticed is there anyway they could tell what i have really used if there is a fault, and also if i'm being honest and accurate with my readings, am i at fault and liable to pay if there is a problem?

basically, if i say nothing can it legally come back on me?

It's not unusual for an empty property to use the sort of level that you are being billed for so you should not expect the supplier to pick things up. They can make an estimate of electricity used and ask you to pay but then you can dispute the estimate if you think it is too high. If you didn't dispute such an estimate, you would have to pay.

if i switched supplier to some one else and took the money i'm in credit back, then got the new supplier to check the meter, would my old supplier ever find out there was a problem?

... probably not.

What your basically asking is: is it ok if i use another company to commit fraud.

You are of the beleif that there is a fault with your meter you are now duty bound to report it to your supplier. If you change supplier and your new supplier is either made aware or comes to be aware of the problem and they are of the belief that it may have occured prior to them taking supply they can and often do communicate this with the previous supplier.

As a side note: Bear this situation mind, next time you hear of prices increasing... One of the reasons prices increase is this excact scenario. People thinking they can get away with something. All that really happens is everyone else pays for it.

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The answers I give you may not want to hear. The answers I give may not be easy. The answers I give will be the truth. If your prepared for this - ask away!