Would I have a good, (if any) argument?
Many of us were persuaded to have smart meters for our gas and electricity so that we could keep an eye on consumption and costs, something I was quite happy to do. Amongst the information available from the inhouse display unit (on my display unit at least) is the consumption figures, the cost per day / week / month and year together with the unit costs of electric, gas and the daily standing charges.
Earlier in the year the unit prices went down because of government intervention but then reverted back to the original unit costs on 1st July. These unit prices changed on the display unit. However, and this is the crux of this query, whilst the unit price for gas was shown to revert on 1st July, the unit cost for electricity shown on the display unit has remained at the 'discounted' level. Looking online at my account details it shows that the unit price for electricity did revert to its original level on 1st July.
Now, what this means is that if I look at, and rely on, the figures displayed I will not be presented with anything like an accurate assessment of my costs for electricity. Would this error by my supplier be good enough grounds for an appeal come the anniversary bill for my account which I am assuming will be calculated at the higher level? This discrepancy could / will run into several hundreds of pounds. Thankfully, I have kept a weekly record of consumptions and do my own cost calculations, (a simple self calculating Excel spreadsheet), so it won't come as a complete surprise.
In view of my experience, it might be worth others checking that the displayed unit costs are, in fact, the same as their account details show. Some of you may be in for a nasty surprise.
Comments
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I find the in house display a useful gadget to give you an idea of what you are using on the day. I am with Octopus and when there are changes in tariffs they tend to split the bills for that month. One for the existing price and one for the changed price so I can clearly see how much I am paying. Certainly when the prices were at their peak I started to look more closely at what was being used so that I could make a greater effort to reduce costs, although rather than a spreadsheet I used this years bill against the same one a year before.
David
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I find it a useful guide, rather than anything else. Also useful for showing you have not turned something off. As far as costs are concerned the Eon App on my pad or phone tells me everything I want to know about costs, even if I do not want to know it.
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John, just phone up and query it. Don’t leave it long if you are concerned. They will sort things out for you.
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Is your display unit connected to the internet in some way? Our is and updates the prices when they change.
But any future forecast of your yearly prices will be based on your consumption and the prices in effect at that time, or at least that's how ours are done.
But yes as said guery it.
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The display unit is connected to the internet. That is how the supplier knows what I have used and it is how they download to me the unit costs for the energy. I could contact the supplier and tell them I believe the smart meter isn't charging me enough OR I can keep quiet until the bill arrives at the end of the contract and argue with them that their smart meter display shows the electric to be at a lower price than their online tariff details. Would they, or I have a leg to stand on? If one goes into a shop to buy an item marked at £X one does not expect to be told that it is actually more expensive.
The moral of all this is check and check again. I could have gone on until the anniversary next April believing that the total costs that the display unit is showing is correct, and then be faced with paying far more than the display indication. But I didn't I checked and saw the discrepancy so I know what I will / should be paying. At that time I will make them aware of the difference in prices and see what they have to say about it. I did complain about a billing issue some years ago and was awarded £50 credit to cover my inconvenience so perhaps worth a try again.
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As I understand it Smart Meters have their own SIM cards that connect back to the supplier and the internal to house display is connected to those SIM's rather than the house WiFi. I have had the odd problem where the display has lost contact and I have had to move it nearer the meters to reconnect.
As you appear to have a difference you could check whether the display included the daily standing charge? I don't think VAT will be included.
David
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Smart meters do not connect to the 'normal' internet. A simple search revealed the following -
Just speak to your supplier, John, as they’re the ones who can resolve this.
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I do not think you would have a leg to stand on. The IHD is not the Smart Meter, it is merely a device to indicate what you are using. I presume it does correctly show the number of units you are using, just not the correct price?
Your supplier knows what you are using by collecting data from the Smart meter itself and uses those figures to prepare your bill.
Since the unit prices are clearly stated in the calculation on your bill, and every bill will show the tariff you are being charged on, you cannot claim you did not know how much you are using/spending.
Do you not pay either monthly by direct debit, or full bill amount? If by DD then they will increase your DD if you fall much behind. These things are usually reviewed every 6 months, or even more often. Only where there is a dumb meter and you do not supply regular readings are you likely to fall behind.
The unit prices for both gas and electricity went down on 1st July, so if your IHD is still using the previous price of a fuel, it will be actually be a higher price at present.
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As per the link posted by TW, the Smart meter does not use normal internet, nor does it actually connect directly to your supplier. All Smart meter data goes to a central hub and suppliers pull the data they need. As well as being able to see on line on your own account any readings displayed by your supplier, there are a few different apps that you can also use such as Bright and Hugo, I find Bright to be the most consistent.
Your IDH connects only to your Smart meter. This is why it needs to be reasonably close to the meter.
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