I am convinced our gas meter is miscalibrated and making us pay too
much. It is a pay as you go card job. A year or two back British Gas
said they were going to replace it - this was volunteered by them with
no specific reason. They then said it had been put on hold and I never
heard gain. Hence:
1) It is possible they know the meter has a problem and have neglected
to do anything yet?
2) How can I get the device independently tested? I've seen in the
press sometime that miscalibration does occur, but the last thing I
want is for Transco to swap the meter and I'm left in the dark, I do
not trust the owners of the thing to give me an honest result.

Skint but Warm

wrote:
I am convinced our gas meter is miscalibrated and making us pay too
much. It is a pay as you go card job.

I may be wrong, but isn't it the case that prepayment meters are easily
set to whatever tarrif the supplier wants, and that whereas in the old
days a supplier would simply cut off a bad bill-payer, nowadays they
typically install a compulsory prepayment meter instead, set to a higher
tarrif than normal in order to recoup the debt?

I don't know if (a) you particularly want the prepayment meter or (b)
have had it forced on you by your supplier or (c) it was forced on a
previous occupant who didn't pay.... but if it's (b) or (c) then it's
entirely possible that you are paying over the odds.

Unless you have real problems budgeting for an ordinary credit meter
(and you can pay by monthly direct debit), you'd be far better off
asking the supplier to change to a credit meter instead if you can -
charges are then much more transparent.

David

On 27 Jan 2007 02:28:29 -0800, "
wrote:

I am convinced our gas meter is miscalibrated and making us pay too
much. It is a pay as you go card job. A year or two back British Gas
said they were going to replace it - this was volunteered by them with
no specific reason. They then said it had been put on hold and I never
heard gain. Hence:
1) It is possible they know the meter has a problem and have neglected
to do anything yet?
2) How can I get the device independently tested? I've seen in the
press sometime that miscalibration does occur, but the last thing I
want is for Transco to swap the meter and I'm left in the dark, I do
not trust the owners of the thing to give me an honest result.

Skint but Warm
I presume we are talking about a pinky/brown coloured thng called a
Quantum meter?.

First things first,the tariffs for prepayment meters such as yours are
higher than those for credit meters

Second thing is,if you are buying your gas from British Gas then you
are almost certainly paying too much so get yourself along to uswitch
and check out how much you can save.

Do you owe a debt? is the meter deducting money towards a debt?

You can have your meter independantly tested at a department of Energy
approved testing facility. You can request this via your gas supplier.
If the meter is proved inaccurate,your account is adjusted. If the
meter is found accurate,you receive a bill for the cost of removal and
testing.

I would suggest that your meter is almost certainly ok and that your
high gas account costs are related to my first two points.

Incidentally,i would be interested to know how often (if ever) you
have to phone up becuase your meter says call help or otherwise doesnt
function?

On 27 Jan 2007 02:28:29 -0800 someone who may be
" wrote
this:-

I am convinced our gas meter is miscalibrated and making us pay too
much. It is a pay as you go card job.

Take a look at http://www.ebico.co.uk/en/open/pages/gastariffsen.php
and see if you can change to them. That would probably halve the
price you are paying. It is specifically designed not to
discriminate against those with card meters, unlike the likes of
British Gas who offer very expensive gas and rely on customer
inertia to keep them in the style to which they are accustomed. See
whether their ethical stance appeals to you though, it does not
appeal to all.

They do operate through the incompetent ******s who own Scottish
Hydro Electric and their equivalents down south, but they are a bit
less incompetent and a bit less ******s than the cretins who work
for British Gas (I am referring to the accounts departments, the
engineering people are a different matter).

Ebico have also had problems where card meters have been set at high
rates by the likes of British Gas who have "not got round to"
setting them at the correct rate. However, in this situation Ebico
have made credits to the accounts to get the prices back to where
they should be until the meter can be set to the right rate.

Although Ebico and their sub-contractors are not perfect, compared
to slimeball organisations like British Gas [1], they are a great
step forward in terms of a sensible pricing structure and caring
whether you remain a customer of theirs.


[1] in my view not fit and proper people to run any business which
involves charging anyone money.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54