Faulty Appliance Has Made Electricity Bill Rocket - Will I Still Have To Pay It?

[joko]

Recently found out that my fridge freezer has 'possibly' got a fault and has caused my electricity bill to rocket upwards.
If this turns out to be the case, will the electricity company still expect that full amount to be paid?
Or are they understanding of faults and can adjust the totals accordingly?
Or is there something I can do about it?
Obviously I 'personally' have not used that electricity so i obviously i'd rather not have to pay it if I don't have to.
Even if I wanted to, i could never afford it
Thanks

[ummmm]

How often do you send in a reading?

[fiction-factory]

This might be a case where a smart meter might have been useful

[Buenchico]

Joko:
Have you checked that your current meter reading is the same (apart from a few recently-used units) as the one on the bill. It's not unknown for figures to get transposed or for similar mistakes to occur.

[joko]

the problem has arisen because the meter for my house is not in my house, it is in a boarded up shop underneath - the shop is packed full of junk, has no lights and i didnt have keys - so, for 20 years, they sent estimated bills, and when i could get an occasional reading, i did, and they were always pretty accurate, so it went on like that for years, no problems.
so years passed with the estimates coming, no problems, managed to get in to get a reading as a lot of the junk has gone now, and the bill from that reading was £6000
Been talkign with them for months and they agree its not right, and we couldn't figure out what it could be so they are arranging to put another meter in alongside the old one, so they can see if they run the same.
When talking to the guy about this, i said nothing has changed, no more people, etc, its just me, with all the usual household stuff.

well the man on the phone started to say about how in his own flat he'd had problems with a faulty FF which made his bill go up a lot - but as he was on a meter it was found soon.

However a few years back i got a second hand fridge freezer from my auntie. It was a little bit noisier than most are - its a frost free and has a kind of fan blowing cold air out - and some people said, those types are a bit noisier than usual ones for that reason - but works fine.
It does go on and off regularly

So as I say, it 'possibly' to blame - but it might not be.

I am doing a test, ive turned it off and read the meter and im going to read it again next week and see what the result is.

There doesnt seem to be any reason they can see as to why its gone up suddenly and meter faults are rare apparently - so i am asking this question based on it being down to my FF - just for information.
I am obviously hoping its a meter fault but if not, its a hefty chunk they would be expecting me to pay!

thanks all

[bednobs]

if you have had years of estimated readings, then a real reading it seems fairly likely the electricity had been being underestimated previously

[joko]

its been 20-odd years and the estimates were always right when the real reading was given.
Even allowing for a discrepancy in estimates it certainly wouldnt be £6000. This is the first time the estimate has not matched

[EDDIE51]

Then I would be demanding they fit a smart meter, they send their own readings automatically so you never get an estimate. Plus it would flag up any unusual power requirements.

[douglas9401]

I remember that, I think his name was Homer and his wife had blue hair.

[douglas9401]

^ 20:52 ^

[Buenchico]

I'm sorry that I can't pinpoint the precise cause of your problem but I'm prepared to state CATEGORICALLY that a faulty fridge freezer can't be the cause of thousands of pounds being added to an electricity bill!

I'm not an electrician and I don't work for an electricity company but I know enough physics (having studied physics as the subsidiary subject for my degree and then having taught the subject at secondary level) to know that it's simply not possible! Any fridge freezer using electricity at that rate would either ice up totally within a few days or, far more likely, burst into flames. (Either way, it would never stay in service long enough to run up a massive electricity bill).

What ever might be causing your problem, it's most definitely NOT your fridge freezer!!!

[fiction-factory]

joko- I would forget about the fridge freezer as it seems like red herring in the scheme of things- just wait and see the outcome of the meter check. Your inefficient freezer may be costing you perhaps £25 a year more than would a newer freezer but it is peanuts compared to the £6000. Once your meter is sorted i would do checks on your freezer and decide whether to replace it - but it may be cheaper just to keep it and pay the slightly higher bill until it stops working

[fiction-factory]

>Then I would be demanding they fit a smart meter, they send their own readings automatically so you never get an estimate. Plus it would flag up any unusual power requirements.

Has someone hijacked your account eddie?

[EDDIE51]

^ I am against smart meters generally but in a case like this they would solve the problem. In any case we are all going to be forced to have one in just over a year.

[ummmm]

Are we? I haven't heard anything from BG?

[Old_Geezer]

My understanding is that it's not compulsory but merely we all must be offered the option. Judge's link here seems to confirm https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden/Question1573136.html

Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. All that needs doing is for folk to do what they ought and read the meter, at least quarterly.

Out of interest I've recently been sent a gas bill. The meter is in a box on the outside if my garage. They sent an estimated bill. Lazy _-+_-++ couldn't even be bothered to try and read it. Shouldn't be in business.

[Peter Pedant]

when was the last 'true' reading ?
that is the £6000 has accumulated over how long ?

and did I read right? Mrs Mopp down the road said - "o I had that and it was the FF" - and so you concluded that it was the same for you without further ado ?

you are already in discussion with the leccy
see what happens

yes you are responsible for consumption
if nothing is found wrong - the best you may hope for is time to pay.

[ummmm]

I hadn't had my gas read for quite a few years because I have a heavy sideboard in front of it. Sent in a reading last week and we're in credit. In my experience they tend to over estimate even if by just a small amount.

[Peter Pedant]

// All that needs doing is for folk to do what they ought and read the meter, at least quarterly. //

I thought that Old G - if you are gonna control bills and budget, then you need to take readings regularly - the first law of control engineering - "if you cant measure it you cant control it". I am always distrustful of estimated readings as I believe ( with no evidence at all) that the readings are set high so they get you to pay for leccy you havent yet used.

[Old_Geezer]

Not always. My recent electric bill was low so I read the meter and entered the correct value on the website. Over a month later I received a further letter telling me I'd not paid my bill. I phoned, was paying to be held in a queue, and eventually got to complain that the ball was in their court. I gave details, hung on while she checked, and then she returned with some excuse about computer failure. Asked if I could take a further reading there & then. Still paying for the call I went off to read the meter with its clockwise and alternate anticlockwise dials. Checked 3 times came back and gave the new reading. Clearly my triple check was in vain as the bill seemed high. Turned out one dial was meant to be zero and it'd looked to be a 9 to me. Couldn't face complaining again so paid over £100 too much this time :-(

What gets me is they don't just trash the previous bill and send a corrected replacement, they send a new bill showing the erroneous one and trying to add more confusion coming up with a different figure. It must be deliberate so you have issues understanding it and thus checking it.

[joko]

peter - read my post again properly.


To establish there was something wrong - and in accordance with the company - i took a photo of the reading and sent it to them, then about 3 weeks later took another photo - the amount had jumped a lot - much much more than it should have been.
so it is definitely NOT just a case of wrong estimates over time.

i am dealing with all this with them - my question is about what i can do about it IF it turns out not to be a faulty meter and something in my house is causing it.
I know the usage will be coming from my house but it is a fault - I am not 'personally' using the electricity - so is there anything can be done about it?

i understand from their side the electricity has been used so it has a fee, but given that its not like i have been running massive amounts of electrical items etc - i've just been using as usual - it seems unfair that i have to pay - but then again I understand also that its not their fault... so you see the quandary.
has anyone ever had anything like this?

obviously im hoping it turns out to be something else but i was just hoping there might be something i can so - i dont want to have to owe £6000 for a fault!

thanks