Tampered with electricy meter, 1000+ euro bill, account closed

machaseh

Hiya, so I am with SSE Airtricity for the gas & electricity in me gaff, never had any issues before.

Now I'm movin out of me gaff but just when I closed the account I saw that my outstanding account balance is 1200 euros. Apparently we used over 7000 kwh in 3 months. That is more than a normal gaff this size in a year !

So I called for hours with SSE airtricity, the guy said that I can switch off all power at the breaker and check for 45 mins if the meter is still running. And guess what it's still running ! So either something is wrong with the meter or some gob****e is tapping off our electricity !

So I call again to get an engineer out, but now she says the account is closed, they cannot send an engineer out. I am now on a payment plan for something I am not going to pay because there is something wrong with the meter.

I have no idea what to do now is there anything I could do? We were thinking of getting an engineer out ourselves but then I would be paying 200+ quid for that and I still don't know if they are going to scrap that bill.

EDIT: Update: ESB networks will check free of charge in a couple weeks time.

RossieMan

Why would they scrap the bill? You'll need an engineer to see if it's a fault in the meter or does someone have something dodgy done in the premises.

machaseh

RossieMan wrote: »

Why would they scrap the bill? You'll need an engineer to see if it's a fault in the meter or does someone have something dodgy done in the premises.

Could I have an engineer out myself and get like a report or something that I could show to them?

Theyll only send out an engineer on an active account. But I fear that now my housemate will be taking over the account, I will be out of luck and stuck with the unfair bill.

L1011

If you think the meter is faulty you may be better off contacting ESB Networks about it.

If its been tapped, the supplier isn't liable for that usage - would be a legal issue.

machaseh

L1011 wrote: »

If you think the meter is faulty you may be better off contacting ESB Networks about it.

If its been tapped, the supplier isn't liable for that usage - would be a legal issue.

And what if the meter itself would be faulty ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

machaseh wrote: »

And what if the meter itself would be faulty ?

Still an issue for ESB Networks, as they own the meter.

salmocab

For the off reading you must have two meters, one esb and one for a different supplier. You pay airtricity or who ever based on their Meter but esb charge them based on their own meter. Either airticitys meter is broken or there is a tap off between the meters. If you know a friendly spark he may be able to have a look for the issue as a favor.

Charles Babbage

For someone to be tapping the supply they would need to be doing it after the meter but not in the circuits controlled by the master switch.
Maybe worth asking a question on the electrical forum
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1018

machaseh

salmocab wrote: »

For the off reading you must have two meters, one esb and one for a different supplier. You pay airtricity or who ever based on their Meter but esb charge them based on their own meter. Either airticitys meter is broken or there is a tap off between the meters. If you know a friendly spark he may be able to have a look for the issue as a favor.

I honestly don't know anyone, I am a foreigner living in ireland for 2 years now and I had no idea about any of this.

Back in holland we have modern digital meters and I never heard of meter tapping there. This meter looks like what we had in the 90's. I wouldn't feel comfortable messing with it myself.

salmocab

machaseh wrote: »

I honestly don't know anyone, I am a foreigner living in ireland for 2 years now and I had no idea about any of this.

Back in holland we have modern digital meters and I never heard of meter tapping there. This meter looks like what we had in the 90's. I wouldn't feel comfortable messing with it myself.

Do you only have one meter?

Vegeta

OP did you turn off all breakers of just the main breaker when turning the power off?

MrMusician18

salmocab wrote: »

For the off reading you must have two meters, one esb and one for a different supplier. You pay airtricity or who ever based on their Meter but esb charge them based on their own meter. Either airticitys meter is broken or there is a tap off between the meters. If you know a friendly spark he may be able to have a look for the issue as a favor.

What are you talking about? There is only one meter per connection and that's all the customer has access to.

What are the odds of this being yet another case of paying an estimated bill for years and it only coming to light as the account is closed?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

salmocab wrote: »

For the off reading you must have two meters, one esb and one for a different supplier. You pay airtricity or who ever based on their Meter but esb charge them based on their own meter. Either airticitys meter is broken or there is a tap off between the meters. If you know a friendly spark he may be able to have a look for the issue as a favor.

Sorry, but that is completely wrong. There is a single meter, owned and read by ESB Networks and booked to the customer from those readings. The supply company does, most certainly, not have it's own meters. The whole premise of the supply market is that ESB Networks are the only meter reading operation.

salmocab

MrMusician18 wrote: »

What are you taking about? There is only one meter per connection and that's all the customer has access to.

What are the odds of this being yet another case of paying an estimated bill for years and it only coming to light as the account is closed?

Lots of customers have 2 meters, any pre pay power or pinergy customer will as may people who have had bill issues in the past

salmocab

Dana Prehistoric Grits wrote: »

Sorry, but that is completely wrong. There is a single meter, owned and read by ESB Networks and booked to the customer from those readings. The supply company does, most certainly, not have it's own meters. The whole premise of the supply market is that ESB Networks are the only meter reading operation.

It’s not wrong I used to put in the second meters and often did revenue protection jobs when the 2 meters didn’t tally.

sweetie

Have you spoken to landlord? He may know something or not but should be aware and concerned.

machaseh

Vegeta wrote: »

OP did you turn off all breakers of just the main breaker when turning the power off?

I have a breaker box with many switches which I turned off one by one and then I turned off the main breaker.

Could there be another switch somewhere else?

salmocab

machaseh wrote: »

I have a breaker box with many switches which I turned off one by one and then I turned off the main breaker.

Could there be another switch somewhere else?

If you turn off all the switches inc the main one and check the entire house that nothing else is on and the meter is still turning then ring ESB networks and explain the issue. It will either be a faulty meter or a tap to somewhere else taking electricity. They are usually quite good when there may be theft happening.

amcalester

I know you checked and the meter is still ticking over when everything is turned off, but when was the last time your bill was read and not estimated?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

salmocab wrote: »

Lots of customers have 2 meters, any pre pay power or pinergy customer will as may people who have had bill issues in the past

You're introducing a completely different issue here. That's a pre-paid scenario and not what the OP has.


Pre paid meters are the minority. Northern Ireland and the UK in general have a higher percentage of pre pays but not here.

Vegeta

machaseh wrote: »

I have a breaker box with many switches which I turned off one by one and then I turned off the main breaker.

Could there be another switch somewhere else?

Not sure on the second switch, even if there was (like in a shed) it would usually be through the main board first so turning everything off there should cover you.

The reason I asked is because if you only turned off the main breaker, but the breaker itself was slightly faulty, then it may have allowed some current flow and your meter would still count/clock up.

If all breakers were off then this is really unlikely, it would require the main breaker to leak current AND at least one other breaker. That's a very low probability scenario I feel.

machaseh

amcalester wrote: »

I know you checked and the meter is still ticking over when everything is turned off, but when was the last time your bill was read and not estimated?

Account was closed by the previous housemate in january and then a final reading and bill was issued to them, then i took over the bill and now the ridiculous bill came in for actual meter readings over the course of 3 months.

Nobody can use 7000 kwh in 3 months, its not like we are a data mining farm or whatever we are just a normal shared family house.

ted1

amcalester wrote: »

I know you checked and the meter is still ticking over when everything is turned off, but when was the last time your bill was read and not estimated?

Clearly not the issue if the meter is spinning with the main breaker pulled

What type building is it? How close is the meter to the fuse board ?

MrMusician18

salmocab wrote: »

Lots of customers have 2 meters, any pre pay power or pinergy customer will as may people who have had bill issues in the past

You just can't admit you were wrong. The OP had not said he's in a prepay scenario.

There is one meter, read by the customer or ESB Networks on a regular basis.

OP was there an "e" at the end of the number of units on the last few bills you've paid? In almost every case of surprise large electricity bills that come up on boards it generally comes down to years of inadvertent underpayment and estimated readings. A broken meter reading high is relatively rare.

I'd be reasonably confident that estimated bills are the real issue here too.

the_syco

Contact ESB Networks @ 1850 372 757

salmocab

MrMusician18 wrote: »

You just can't admit you were wrong. The OP had not said he's in a prepay scenario.

There is one meter, read by the customer or ESB Networks on a regular basis.

OP was there an "e" at the end of the number of units on the last few bills you've paid? In almost every case of surprise large electricity bills that come up on boards it generally comes down to years of inadvertent underpayment and estimated readings. A broken meter reading high is relatively rare.

I'd be reasonably confident that estimated bills are the real issue here too.

Just can’t admit I’m wrong? I made a suggestion as to what happened, then two separate people told me there can’t be two meters which there can. Yes I’m probably wrong as to this scenario but I was trying to help the op out as I was under the crazy illusion that he wanted help.

Cushie Butterfield

machaseh wrote: »

Account was closed by the previous housemate in january and then a final reading and bill was issued to them, then i took over the bill and now the ridiculous bill came in for actual meter readings over the course of 3 months.

Nobody can use 7000 kwh in 3 months, its not like we are a data mining farm or whatever we are just a normal shared family house.

First things first:


- Does the current meter reading match the reading on the most recent bill?

- Before January when was the last ‘actual’ reading (by that I mean a reading taken by ESB Networks themselves - not an estimated reading or customer reading)?

- Was the final reading in January physically ‘read’ by ESB Networks or was it a customer reading?

- Could the previous housemate have (either purposely or accidentally) given a false lower reading? If they had been getting estimated bills this could account for what’s happened.

Either way your best course of action is to contact ESB Networks & ask them to check the meter.

Cee-Jay-Cee

salmocab wrote: »

For the off reading you must have two meters, one esb and one for a different supplier. You pay airtricity or who ever based on their Meter but esb charge them based on their own meter. Either airticitys meter is broken or there is a tap off between the meters. If you know a friendly spark he may be able to have a look for the issue as a favor.

Did you just make that up? There is only one meter at your or anyone elses house, The meter is fitted by the builder/house owner. ESB don't actually own the meter. If you change providers, the provider sends out their own employee to read the meter in order to bill you. They don't fit another meter to read from.

MrMusician18

the_syco wrote: »

Contact ESB Networks @ 1850 372 757

Or if you prefer to not use the 1850 number:
0214947260

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Did you just make that up? There is only one meter at your or anyone elses house, The meter is fitted by the builder/house owner. ESB don't actually own the meter. If you change providers, the provider sends out their own employee to read the meter in order to bill you. They don't fit another meter to read from.

Yes, there's only one meter but it is certainly owned by ESB Networks and is only permitted to be installed by them. The supply company does not send out anybody to read meters as it is done by ESB Networks, or contractors employed by them.

salmocab

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Did you just make that up? There is only one meter at your or anyone elses house, The meter is fitted by the builder/house owner. ESB don't actually own the meter. If you change providers, the provider sends out their own employee to read the meter in order to bill you. They don't fit another meter to read from.

ESB networks install and own the meter matched to their own mprn number, the pre pay providers install their own meters in addition to this, in some cases when there have been issues other providers fit them. The builder or house owner does not fit the meter.

machaseh

Cushie Butterfield wrote: »

First things first:


- Does the current meter reading match the reading on the most recent bill?

Yes current one is even abit higher.

- Before January when was the last ‘actual’ reading (by that I mean a reading taken by ESB Networks themselves - not an estimated reading or customer reading)?

I dont see any readings from before january but I can look at some of the older bills that are left in the house.

- Was the final reading in January physically ‘read’ by ESB Networks or was it a customer reading?

No idea.

- Could the previous housemate have (either purposely or accidentally) given a false lower reading? If they had been getting estimated bills this could account for what’s happened.

Either way your best course of action is to contact ESB Networks & ask them to check the meter.

Could be thanks.

Can you look at the first bill you received after taking over the account, is the first reading on it an estimated reading or an actual reading(did you read the meter when you opened your account?

irelandrover

Since your housemate provided a reading when they closed the account 3 months ago i think there is only 2 options.
You're housemate provided a wrong reading and screwed you over. Or someone tapped into your supply since.
If the bills had been this high before you would have noticed.

machaseh

Update: ESB networks will check free of charge in a couple weeks time.

the_syco

machaseh wrote: »

Update: ESB networks will check free of charge in a couple weeks time.

Do not tell anyone, especially your landlord, that ESB networks are coming out.

cruizer101

Couple of weeks is a long time, I would have expected them to come out a lot sooner.
Re those saying it is likely an estimation issue, that doesn't explain the meter turning even with breakers off.
I'd be tempted to get an electrician out to have a quick look and see what they say.

MrMusician18

cruizer101 wrote: »

Couple of weeks is a long time, I would have expected them to come out a lot sooner.
Re those saying it is likely an estimation issue, that doesn't explain the meter turning even with breakers off.
I'd be tempted to get an electrician out to have a quick look and see what they say.

The OP doesn't say how fast the meter is turning with all the switches off. If it's creeping around it could be a neon or faulty breaker that's leaking some current. Like if he is using 7000 units in 90 days, that's an average constant draw of over 3kW. The meter should be spinning so fast it's a blur!

If the OP wants to check if it's the meter that's the issue just read it today and again 24hrs later. If the reading has increased by 10 or less units then it's fairly certain this is an estimation issue, and he's been stiffed by his former housemate.

If it's increased by 50+ units then he has a faulty meter or the neighbours grow house is stealing a supply.

machaseh

the_syco wrote: »

Do not tell anyone, especially your landlord, that ESB networks are coming out.

Why ?

Credit Checker Moose

Because they will remove any illegal connections if they know people are coming.

machaseh

Credit Checker Moose wrote: »

Because they will remove any illegal connections if they know people are coming.

I doubt the landlord is the culprit because they only own this one house in the street. Unless they lied about that from the beginning.

the_syco

machaseh wrote: »

Why ?

machaseh wrote: »

I doubt the landlord is the culprit because they only own this one house in the street. Unless they lied about that from the beginning.

If the LL was costing you money, I doubt they'd tell you. You want the ESB Networks to find the issue, so by not telling anyone anything, everything will run as normal.

machaseh

Final update: The meter reading was amended by ESB, and the bill was amended as well to a normal-ish amount. The entire process took over a month and a lot of stress, but in the end it was resolved.

GreeBo

Did they give an explanation?

GerardKeating

amcalester wrote: »

I know you checked and the meter is still ticking over when everything is turned off, but when was the last time your bill was read and not estimated?

Does the house have a garrage, ours has a second fuse board there ?

MagnumPewPew

machaseh wrote: »

Hiya, so I am with SSE Airtricity for the gas & electricity in me gaff, never had any issues before.

Now I'm movin out of me gaff but just when I closed the account I saw that my outstanding account balance is 1200 euros. Apparently we used over 7000 kwh in 3 months. That is more than a normal gaff this size in a year !

So I called for hours with SSE airtricity, the guy said that I can switch off all power at the breaker and check for 45 mins if the meter is still running. And guess what it's still running ! So either something is wrong with the meter or some gob****e is tapping off our electricity !

So I call again to get an engineer out, but now she says the account is closed, they cannot send an engineer out. I am now on a payment plan for something I am not going to pay because there is something wrong with the meter.

I have no idea what to do now is there anything I could do? We were thinking of getting an engineer out ourselves but then I would be paying 200+ quid for that and I still don't know if they are going to scrap that bill.

EDIT: Update: ESB networks will check free of charge in a couple weeks time.

I had the same issue, kept getting bills of 500+ euro for a 2 bed apartment with A3 rating I was renting.
Meter still ticking away with all power off.
After a lot of calls to electric Ireland they informed me I would have to pay to have someone fix the meter - 600 euro.
Regarding the bill they would be passed on to a debt agency - at the time I was trying for a mortgage so the fear was strong.

Horrible business OP - hope you have better luck than me