My electricity meter is about 8 foot above floor.

I am going to have a total re-wire of the house and want to have the
meter moved down to ground level(ish).

The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!


Legally - have I got to get them to do it.

It seems like they have a captive audience and can charge what they
like.

steven ] said:


My electricity meter is about 8 foot above floor.

I am going to have a total re-wire of the house and want to have the
meter moved down to ground level(ish).

The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!


Legally - have I got to get them to do it.

It seems like they have a captive audience and can charge what they
like.





Who is UU?

Yellow wrote:

The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!

Who is UU?

United Utilities?

My electricity meter is about 8 foot above floor.

So it's a safety issue, as you're not able to read the meter.

I am going to have a total re-wire of the house and want to have the
meter moved down to ground level(ish).

You want to be able to read the meter without putting yourself at risk
by standing on a chair etc. - by ground level, i'm guessing you mean
so you can read it without climbing on something.

The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!

Sounds to me like they're looking to charge you for a full service
alteration, where they move in the incoming supply as well, not just
the meter.

If you can't get them to move on that point, plan "B" follows:

Ask them to get a meter fixer out to it to install an isolator at the
same time (if you don't already have one) - otherwise you have no way
of switching off the supply to work on your own equipment.

While he's there, he might be amenable to moving it to a more
convenient height ;-)

Note: your own meter tails will likely need to be replaced at the same
time, and that _is_ down to you - which is where the isolator covers
their ass - they can connect as far as that, and it's your problem how
you get it from the switch to the consumer unit.

Legally - have I got to get them to do it.

Yes - it's their equipment.

It seems like they have a captive audience and can charge what they
like.

Look on the bright side, you could be claiming over £100k expenses on
a second house like an MP :-/

In article , Yellow
writes

Who is UU?

United Utilities, who took six weeks to replace my faulty water meter,
sent out three "engineers" (two of whom didn't think there was anything
wrong with the meter continuing to clock up usage when the main stop tap
was turned off), and stumped up compensation with very bad grace for
missed appointments, phone calls, time taken off work, etc.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny says Windows 7 is Vi$ta reloaded.
(")_(") http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/windows_7.png

On Mon, 9 Feb 2009 23:23:30 -0000, Colin Wilson wrote:

My electricity meter is about 8 foot above floor.

So it's a safety issue, as you're not able to read the meter.

Excellent advice from Colin. The only other thing I would add is to ask
them for a detailed breakdown of their estimate to move the meter if you
can't get them to act on the safety aspect.


--
The Wanderer

Inertia keeps me going!

On 9 Feb, 23:23, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:

The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!

Sounds to me like they're looking to charge you for a full service
alteration, where they move in the incoming supply as well, not just
the meter.

There are actually regulations that deal with how far a meter can be
from the supply head. If I remember correctly, it's one metre (as it
were). On that basis, he may find that it is far cheaper to buy an
aluminium ladder.


If you can't get them to move on that point, plan "B" follows:

Ask them to get a meter fixer out to it to install an isolator at the
same time (if you don't already have one) - otherwise you have no way
of switching off the supply to work on your own equipment.

That hardly solves his problem, since the isolator is installed
*after* the meter; the meter will still be 8 foot off the ground!


Legally - have I got to get them to do it.

Yes - it's their equipment.

Most just do the work required and tell them to come and reseal it.
It's seen as standard practice.

On 10 Feb, 05:45, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article , Yellow
writes

Who is UU?

United Utilities, who took six weeks to replace my faulty water meter,
sent out three "engineers" (two of whom didn't think there was anything
wrong with the meter continuing to clock up usage when the main stop tap
was turned off), and stumped up compensation with very bad grace for
missed appointments, phone calls, time taken off work, etc.

It really depends on how much usage it was clocking up with the supply
turned off. Frankly, I *don't even see how* a water meter could clock
up units without water actually passing through the meter.

Bear in mind, an old stopcock on the mains, and a ball valve in the
loft, could easily explain the movement of the meter when the supply
is "off" - (however only the most knowledgable engineers would
recognise that immediately as the explanation for your "problem").

Personally I think you just harangued them until the bosses told the
engineers "just replace the bloody meter".

Ste wrote:
On 9 Feb, 23:23, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:
The "owner of the meter" is UU - and they reckon that only they can
move the meter - and the ballpark estimate is 900 quid !!!
Sounds to me like they're looking to charge you for a full service
alteration, where they move in the incoming supply as well, not just
the meter.

There are actually regulations that deal with how far a meter can be
from the supply head. If I remember correctly, it's one metre (as it
were). On that basis, he may find that it is far cheaper to buy an
aluminium ladder.


If you can't get them to move on that point, plan "B" follows:

Ask them to get a meter fixer out to it to install an isolator at the
same time (if you don't already have one) - otherwise you have no way
of switching off the supply to work on your own equipment.

That hardly solves his problem, since the isolator is installed
*after* the meter; the meter will still be 8 foot off the ground!


Legally - have I got to get them to do it.
Yes - it's their equipment.

Most just do the work required and tell them to come and reseal it.
It's seen as standard practice.
I paid an exorbitant amount to have my meter moved outside. that was 9
years ago. when they come to read the meter, if we are not in, they
still leave notes saying they were unable to access the meter. Letters,
phone calls emails to no avail, they still cannot update their software
to tell the meter readers where the meter now is!

In article
s.com, Ste writes

It really depends on how much usage it was clocking up with the supply
turned off.

ca. 200 units (m^3) a day. Is that enough for you? If that were a real
leak, I'd be living in the middle of a lake by now.

Frankly, I *don't even see how* a water meter could clock
up units without water actually passing through the meter.

Well, it did. It was an electronic ("Smart") meter. It had an LCD
display and a usage indicator that flashed when water was running. This
indicator was flashing like crazy and the reading incrementing even with
the mains stopcock fully off.

The replacement meter is a traditional mechanical one and behaves as it
should.

Personally I think you just harangued them until the bosses told the
engineers "just replace the bloody meter".

sigh Exactly the patronising attitude I got from the UU staff. They
simply refused to believe an electronic meter could possibly be faulty.

Thankfully, the third engineer was a bit more clued up, agreed the meter
was duff and replaced it. It's been fine since.

ps. Did I mention you were a patronising ****?

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny says Windows 7 is Vi$ta reloaded.
(")_(") http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/windows_7.png

On 10 Feb, 20:30, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

It really depends on how much usage it was clocking up with the supply
turned off.

ca. 200 units (m^3) a day. Is that enough for you? *If that were a real
leak, I'd be living in the middle of a lake by now.

Haha. I see.


Frankly, I *don't even see how* a water meter could clock
up units without water actually passing through the meter.

Well, it did. *It was an electronic ("Smart") meter. *It had an LCD
display and a usage indicator that flashed when water was running. *This
indicator was flashing like crazy and the reading incrementing even with
the mains stopcock fully off.

Ah right, electronic, I see. My mistake.


The replacement meter is a traditional mechanical one and behaves as it
should.

Yes, a mechanical one should be far more reliable - if it does
malfunction, it's likely to malfunction in your favour.


Personally I think you just harangued them until the bosses told the
engineers "just replace the bloody meter".

sigh Exactly the patronising attitude I got from the UU staff. *They
simply refused to believe an electronic meter could possibly be faulty. *

Indeed, I would expect an electronic meter to go faulty more often,
not less.


Thankfully, the third engineer was a bit more clued up, agreed the meter
was duff and replaced it. *It's been fine since.

Thank god for common sense. I presume the third engineer was an
engineer instead of the dreaded "meter fitters".


ps. Did I mention you were a patronising ****?

You didn't, but many other have. Haha.

On 9 Feb, 23:23, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:
My electricity meter is about 8 foot above floor.

So it's a safety issue, as you're not able to read the meter.

I am going to have a total re-wire of the house and want to have the
meter moved down to ground level(ish).

You want to be able to read the meter without putting yourself at risk
by standing on a chair etc. - by ground level, i'm guessing you mean
so you can read it without climbing on something.

He could just use binoculars while standing on the floor.