Reading the Electricity Meter

16 year old son got phone call at home asking for the electricity meter reading. He gave them the a reading on the high level meter meter by the front door but actually thought it was the gas meter. He also didn't realise there is a day and night reading.

Well later that evening NPower phoned back saying the reading was less than last time. What did they expect from a teenager. They asked if I could read it but pointed out I was in the middle of something and couldn't so it was left at that.

Now considering what we have to pay for power why can't they employ meter readers or should I point out that I need a working at height licence, risk assessment, method statement, need the step ladder checked and need insurance? Or they could have not have fitted the meter so damn high up.

Kevin

Reply to
Kevin
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Self reading is usually voluntary, so the call sounds a bit fishy to me. You should get yourself an on-line account. You receive an email reminder, then you enter the readings on line & them get another email asking for the dosh. You can pay by whatever means suits you. There is a discount for doing it this way.

Reply to
harry

When we moved into this property 10+ years ago we had gas installed, at the same time the electric meter moved from inside the house to outside. Every meter reading they knocked on the door to ask to read the electric meter. This went on for 10 years, despite calls the the electric people and conversations with the readers. Eventually I resolved it by sticking a large notice on the gas meter box letting them know where the electric meter was. The annoying thing was we paid an arm and a leg to get the meter moved in the first place!

Reply to
Broadback

Sounds very suspicious to me. Keep a close on on your bills over the next

6 months and make sure you haven't been switched to a different tariff or supplier.

Meantime educate 16 year old into, never, ever, giving out any information to *any* cold caller.

Or some body *saying* they were NPower. Looks like you need the same lesson as your 16 year old. B-)

They do, in fact I think they have a legal obligation to read the meter every 6 months (might be 12) and if they fail because you are out or what ever they more or less have to camp outside to make the reading.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Hope you get a smart meter soon. Had mine about a year, and (touch wood) no ill effects. Positive effects are no more meter readers knocking on door (I work from home so fewer interuptions), automated SMS readings submitted on the 1st of the month, regular bills on the first of the month (quarterly) with accurate readings. Yes, I know about the insidious thing about someone in the datacentre being able to see when I'm away on holiday, but at the moment, the readings are submitted monthly, and no datacentre (yet) is going to be able to absorb the amount of data if we all had smart meters and those meters all submitted daily readings.

Reply to
Allan

My provider promised "no more estimated readings ever", but when my tariff changed on a different day to my regular smart-reading, sent an estimated bill for the changeover!

Reply to
Andy Burns

I had a meter reader call yesterday evening. I was in the process of telling him that we do no business at the door and he should "go forth and multiply elsewhere" when he showed me his ID, managed to get a word in and ask to read the meter.

I appologised, and explained that I have trouble with so many "cold callers". I then asked why we get a visit for almost every bill, despite being signed up for the online account. He was unable to offer any sensible reason. "We need to check that you are reading it right was all he could come up with.

When we were both working, and filled in a postcard the reader would leave, we went years without a formal reading. They would eventually make an evening appointment to do it.

Now we send in the readings monthly, and get regular evening 6:30 pm visits to check on us.

Cost savings/convenience - my arse!

Al.

Reply to
Alan (BigAl)

the meter reading lot are not from your energy supplier. They simply do meter readings which wil be sent by their head ofice to the appropriate energy supplier. It probably easier to get their staff to read meters at every house than to produce a list of which houses to ignore,

Reply to
charles

When you have dual fuel from a supplier they will only read one of the meters!

RBS - When I still had an account with them I signed up for paperless billing in order to save them money. They used the money saved to send me a useless year end report of my account usage. It was dozens of glossy pages in bound book.

Reply to
alan

npower still send me a paper bill and a on-line one, so does virgin meadia they don't seem to be able to sort it out.

Reply to
whisky-dave

NPower have just sent me a letter telling me that the prices they charge me are not going up. Well they wouldn't, I'm on a fixed rate tariff until May 2013...

I don't get a paper bill every 1/4 (or month). Just something when the contract ends and new one starts (if I haven't switched...).

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I've had one knock on the front door to read the gas meter, so I pointed to it, on the outside wall, 10 inches from the front door.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

IIRC they have to send you an annual report. I wouldn't mind except mine did not contain any useful information.

Never mind, we'll all have to have smart meters too (any pay extra for them) so that some hacker in china can cut your leccy off.

Reply to
Mark

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