Read your own gas/electric meter?
 

Do you?

I have been doing and have been given Nectar points by EDF for doing it.

They recently wrote to say the Nectar points will stop, but will I please continue to read my own meters?

Would you? I don't think I will, for nowt.

They are saving on a contract meter reader to do the job, so a little compensation should go you're way.
No doubt they are also putting up your gas as well?

Anyone would think they are having a bad time :mad:

I have yet to have a bill since we moved 6 months ago, the electric company say we do not exist.

I read my own electricity meter

Mainly because they call during the day(when I'm at work) and leave a card saying they will call tomorrow

Then they call tomorrow and so on blah blah
After 2 tries they give up and you get an estimated bill

So now they call, I read metre that night, write on the calling card and stick to window for them to read the following day.

For a consumers benefit, it's always better to provide a Customer Actual than allow them to bill on an Estimated read.


If you miss the meter reader, a lot of companies send you a text / email to remind you to do it yourself and you just drop them a reply with the details to ensure it's a C.A without having to rely on a reader or hanging on the phone to speak to an operator.


The added nector points are a nice bonus, but I spose if you want to guarantee your utility bill is as close to correct as can be, it's in your own benefit to make sure it's done.


Saying that, I always forget to read the meter :lol1:

I always read them myself; I take a picture with the camera phone every month so I can stick the usage into my spreadsheet.

That way I track my usage, and know what the meter reading is roughly when they change the billing rates (notice whenever the rate changes to a higher amount, the reading done at the point of change is often estimated and done retrospectively, not giving you a chance to check....who is to say they weight more estimated use on the higher rate? :nono: ).

Put simply, I just don't trust them :Suspiciou:

Plus if a pikey decides to tap-off my eleccy, I'll notice before I get the quarterly bill. ;)

Careful, when they do eventually pull their finger out they may decide to change you for that six month. Best keep some money aside for when they do.

A smallish business we do some work for had this issue with the gas board; they didn't have a bill for over 12 months. Eventually the gas board sorted it out and then slapped them with a £12,000 bill!!! :eek:

If they can prove the reading before you moved in, (say from a previous billing point or final settlement) they'll hold you liable for the amount used from that point to the current reading. You can argue it if that last reading/billing point was for a long period before you moved in (which was the case with the business above), which will reduce the amount, but you won't get away with everything.

Just saying as a warning as its worth keeping in mind; These incompetants still want their money if they found out they are owed. I should know; it took me three attempts for the water board to get my address right, two attempts for the electric and five attempts for the gas! I was being billed; but the bills were not getting to my house as the address made no sense (luckily if its my usual postman, he knew which house it was, but if it wasn't, it'd probably end up in the bin).

Both our meters are in external boxes, so if they ain't giving me owt to do it, it's not getting done.

In this day and age of technology, our meters should be on radio transponders (like some water meters already are). If setup correctly, the driver won't even need to get out the van and just drive down the street automatically picking up meter readings as he drives.

I'm with the Utility warehouse, so I have to give my readings every month.

British Gas do txt readings - G1234 & E12345

Very simple, very easy & it works.

If you use their online tariffs then your gas/elec is as cheap as it gets anywhere.

We have one of those OWL meter things, really really interesting. Npower gave them away for free and I think other companies did.

I bought mine though and its great.

This is a new build so the meter was basically on zero when we moved in our electric supplier has stated that they are not supplying us , so I guess we are being powered by magic:thumb:

An OWL meter? But we don't have any owls at our house here in the UK:wonder:

Now if I fitted one of those in France, it would be going off all the time........:D

anyone seen the BG smart meters they are going to start fitting?

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-e...-benefits.html

I've heard the ads - 'get accurate bills because of Energy Smart' ... :Suspiciou Now if they read the bleddy meter then you'd get accurate bills anyway. Or aren't the meter readers 'energy smart' .... ?

Dave

In the near future, all the suppliers will be running on Smart Meters

I certainly hope not!!! :mad:

mb