npower - meter fixing?

[deafandy]

the following post contains my own opinion of npower and their allegedly unfair, unethical and possibly illegal business practices.

earlier this evening i called npower to question why my gas bill was so disproportionately large, they basically accused me of giving them an innacurate meter reading in january, and i ended up accusing them of tampering with my gas meter.

after doing some quick calculations, my gas usage for 30 august (brand new meter - reading zero) to 23 jan was 154 cu.m, or 1.054 cu.m per day.
for the period from 23 january to 25 april, they estimate that i have used 1150 cu.m, or 12.365 cu.m per day.

i understand that the temperature was on average 4.5 centigrade colder, but surely that would not require twelve times as much gas?

meter readings taken over the last week-and-a-bit show usage of 2.3 cu.m per day, and the average temperature has not been markedly different to those of last autumn.

i believe npower have rigged my gas meter by adding on a few numbers and adjusting the rate at which the numbers turn. the problem is how to prove it.

i have had a close look at the meter, and, with the right tools and knowledge, think it would be possible to remove the clear plastic cover to access the dials without leaving any evidence.

there is a black plastic seal where the clear plastic meets the metal casing, and the paint has a visible crack where the two meet but i don't know if this could be considered evidence.

after spending over an hour on the phone to npower i eventually got to speak to a manager called matthew hill. probably a pseudonym, and definitely an arrogant arse. he said that it was a very serious allegation and i had no evidence to back it up. and he is right. this could be impossible to prove, so npower have carte blanche to defraud their customers to the tune of £millions, without fear of reprisal or recrimination.

does anyone have any similar experiences? or advice on how to proceed with my complaint?

thanks in advance.

andy

[HSBCrusher]

I find it difficult to believe that Npower would tamper with your meter in such a way.
Perhaps you have a gas leak?
Also I note you say "estimate"... what's the actual reading?

[deafandy]

after doing a few hours of searching the net for similar npower nightmares, there's little that npower could do that i could find hard to believe.

they have totally disregarded my reading of 23/1/08, and replaced it with an 'actual' reading which is 533 cu.m higher than it really was. how they came about this 'actual' reading is beyond me, when the only reading on that date was the one that i gave them - and on my son's grave, the reading i gave them was accurate.

EDIT: there is no gas leak. the plumber was here last month to service our boiler and the first thing he did was to test the gas for leaks.

btw, the boiler is less than a year old and double-A rated.

[HSBCrusher]

so, to be clear... how much gas have you used from between when you had the meter installed to now?

[deafandy]

the meter currently reads 1380, and is increasing at the rate of 2 cu.m per day - i have started taking a picture of it at the same time every day, just in case.

i just don't see how we could have used 12 cu.m per day, when our house is less than 65sq.m overall. the met office figures show the average temperatures were only 5 deg. celsius cooler than the preceeding three months (when we used 1 cu.m per day), and 3 deg. above the long term average.

i'm 99% certain that we're getting taken for a ride up the bourneville boulevard

been outside this evening and put a padlock on the meter box and a note taped to it saying - "please see householder for access". now anyone wanting to look at the meter can do so only under our supervision.

if they complain about it being locked - i paid for the meter box and the tools to fix it into the wall, so i will do whatever i want to it. as long as i don't touch the meter, they can perform a solo sex actwith themselves.

[mree]

If I had a penny for every paranoid person I hear accusing their energy supplier of tampering with meters, deliberately defrauding customers, etc, I'd be very rich. This is just ridiculous - seriously, do you think there's a team of black-clad shadowy figures sneaking around at night with screwdrivers on behalf of your supplier so they can squeeze a few extra quid from you? Do you have any idea what would happen to them if they were caught doing such a thing, and do you really think they'd take the risk? If your supplier wants to get more money from you, they don't have to tamper with meters, they just put their prices up!

There's obviously been some problem somewhere, but it's much more likely to have been a fault with one of your gas appliances. Meters are very, very rarely faulty, and they do not put themselves right if they are, they stay faulty until fixed.

*edit* - and you do have to allow access to the meter I'm afraid, it's for health and safety reasons and your supplier can and will obtain a warrant for access if you refuse them access for long enough.

PS, I don't work for NPower, but stories like this are heard by every supplier, every day!

[stardust_john]

deafandy you may want to edit your comments a little further for future note. There is no need for filth to show frustration.

[peppermint]

Hello
no one can lock the meter box transco will be call in.

[Bigmac versus]

Originally Posted by deafandy

the meter currently reads 1380

If you had a new meter installed then it would be a metric meter (five digits) four digit meters are the imperial type of old. This has led to problems with billing on quite a few occassions.

[Bigmac versus]

Originally Posted by deafandy

been outside this evening and put a padlock on the meter box and a note taped to it saying - "please see householder for access". now anyone wanting to look at the meter can do so only under our supervision.

if they complain about it being locked - i paid for the meter box and the tools to fix it into the wall, so i will do whatever i want to it. as long as i don't touch the meter, they can (Edit)with themselves.

By putting a padlock on your box you are putting yourself in suspicion of tampering with the meter. To fix a complete meter box to the wall you would need to remove the meter and refit after, so you should be carefull in what you are saying.

[Clare_L]

Im sorry, but I have to agree with Mree here. Do you know how daft and paranoid that sounds? I also work for one of the suppliers, and no not Npower and with all the money they make there is no way they are going to tamper with anyones meter!

Also, the meter belongs to Npower and they will get a warrant if need be to access the meter.

[deafandy]

Originally Posted by mree

Meters are very, very rarely faulty, and they do not put themselves right if they are, they stay faulty until fixed.

i read on ofgem's (or was it energywatch?) site that one in three meters are not accurate (within their own definition of accurate anyway.)

and that was exactly my point... i don't think the meter is faulty, because it does seem to have fixed itself.

Originally Posted by stardust_john

deafandy you may want to edit your comments a little further for future note. There is no need for filth to show frustration.

what? ... hello? i didn't know broadband was available in victorian areas...

Originally Posted by bigmac versus

If you had a new meter installed then it would be a metric meter (five digits) four digit meters are the imperial type of old. This has led to problems with billing on quite a few occassions.

my bad - the reading was 01380

Originally Posted by bigmac versus

By putting a padlock on your box you are putting yourself in suspicion of tampering with the meter. To fix a complete meter box to the wall you would need to remove the meter and refit after, so you should be carefull in what you are saying.

i purchased and installed the meter box before the transco contractor came to alter the service pipe. i didn't touch the meter at all.

Originally Posted by clare_l

Also, the meter belongs to Npower and they will get a warrant if need be to access the meter.

as i said before, there is a note saying 'see householder for access'. i'm not stopping them from getting to their meter - merely stopping them from getting to their meter unsupervised. there is a difference.

[deafandy]

maybe i am being daft and paranoid...i probably don't believe it, but all other explanations don't hold water.

[Bigmac versus]

Thx for clearing that deafandy was wondering how a meter box could be fitted without touching the meter.