If key meter runs slow - am I liable?

[Tipsy Little]

I have lived in my rented flat for over 2 years, fitted with an electricity key meter (no gas at the property).

 

I have charged the key periodically, paying with a £20 note and simply recharging the key when the money ran out, without paying much attention to how long it lasted.

 

When occasionally talking with friends about utilities, I have wondered about my consumption because they say that generally, about £40/month electricity useage would seem average, but I'm sure I've been charging my key with £20 as little as every two months, maybe longer.

 

I live alone and the electricity I use usually runs to; PC on all day and evening (I work at home), oven and shower used briefly each day, washing machine used once or twice a week, and a small oil-filled radiator on constantly throughout winter months on the lowest heat setting to take the chill off a sole, unheated, room.

 

The heating provided in the flat is Economy 7 and I live without hot water in the taps as I don't want to pay for an entire tank of water to be heated for the little I use. The shower and washing machine make their own hot water and I boil the kettle when I want to wash my crockery in the kitchen sink.

 

I have been growing increasingly concerned that my key meter may be running slow, in comparison to what my friends say their bills are. I recently took note of how much money was displayed on the meter and when I checked it this morning, to my fright I see the figure hasn't changed since I looked at it five days ago.

 

I'm now terrified the meter has broken and I don't know when this may have happened. If I call someone in to get the meter fixed, what will happen if they find it has been running slow for the whole time I've been in my flat and they demand I pay a huge bill for money they will estimate I owe them?

 

I'm with Southern Electric and they do send a chap round to take readings (approx. every quarter I think), so I would hope if the meter was running incorrectly they would have noticed by now.

 

Can anyone tell me if a customer would have to pay back-dated money to a utility supplier if a meter was found to have been running slow over a period and they were asked by the company to pay the difference?

 

I would very much appreciate your advice on this. I'm now sitting here in a right panic about the possibility of being landed with a terrible bill I'll be unable to pay.

 

I do hope you can help :o)

[sillygirl1]

I may be wrong but if the meter has broken and you didn't do it any damage there is little they can actually do. Is the meter outside your property because then you have even more case against 'them' rather than yourself. You could call them and ask for a meter to be checked and if they don't then you have even more against them.... if you see what I mean.

[Tipsy Little]

Thanks for your reply sillygirl :o)

 

The meter in my flat hasn't been tampered with, or been victim to an accidental happening in any way. It is sitting inside an interior cupboard and I don't believe anything has physically interferred with it at all.

 

The meter hasn't changed and is still displaying the same amount of money on it as last time I looked.

 

I wonder if anyone else has been in a similar situation? Is it my responsibility to pay the difference to a utility company if the meter hasn't been running properly and I've been undercharged - this is a real concern. I need to know my consumer rights before I instigate getting the meter looked at, so I can try and defend myself against a potentially awful bill that I could be landed with. I don't know how to find out if I would be liable for a faulty meter.

 

:-/