ESB meter stopped moving but still have power

Kashkai

I've been paying my granny's ESB bill for her as she's housebound and when I received the last bill, I noticed that it was the same as the previous one. So I took out the bills for the last 12 months and I found that since last July, the meter reading has been the same on each bill. While some bills were estimated, 2 were based on meter readings by ESB personnel. So I checked the meter itself and noticed that the disc that spins when power is being used wasn't moving despite the washing machine, tv, heating pump and lights working at the time. I tapped the meter to see if it was just stuck but no joy.

So my question is what happens next? Do I ring the ESB and possibly land my granny with a massive bill based on estimated usage since last summer or so I keep quiet in the hope that the ESB don't notice it. Its annoying cause I pay the bill on time when it comes in the door and its not my grannys fault that the meter stopped working.

BTW, there hasn't been any electrical work done on the house or to the meter in the past few years.

jonoor

I wish my metre would stop moving.
Its a hard 1,there is always a chance that the esb might try bill you for comsumption,but they dont have a means of charging you,so in theory happy days. As far as you are concerned .everyone in the house has been on a long holiday meaning no need for electricity.

A way of discovering this problem would be, ring the esb and ask them for a new esb metre box key as you would like to check the metre reading. When you open it,to your surprise,the metre reading has not changed.So as soon as you noticed you wanted to let them know.

Wish you all the best.

The other side of my head is telling me to just say nothing..

Davy

It will catch up on you eventually so you are properly better off to ring to get it changed. Im surprised it lasted this long without being notice, I thought they monitored usage for irregularities.

I dont think they would charge you in this case, when your informing them of it being faulty, if they found it im sure it would be investigated if the meter was tampered.

davelerave

a more common occurence is the timers on the dual-tarriff lagging.do the supply companies ever try to recoup this money i wonder?

Heroditas

There is a very high chance the ESB will make an estimate and charge you that full whack.
They will also say the meter is your responsibility and you should have reported any fault with it as soon as you detected it.
Sorry to be blunt but that's how they deal with issues like this in the vast majority of cases.

davelerave

Heroditas wrote: »

There is a very high chance the ESB will make an estimate and charge you that full whack.
They will also say the meter is your responsibility and you should have reported any fault with it as soon as you detected it.
Sorry to be blunt but that's how they deal with issues like this in the vast majority of cases.

is the meter the customers responsibility?is that definite, that they will estimate the undercharge?exactly when the fault was detected by the customer could be a matter of dispute of course. i'm not condoning illegality here

Kashkai

As I said in my original post, I pay my Granny's bill as soon as it comes in and it was only because I've a good memory that I copped that the last few bills were all the same. So I'm not trying to pull a fast one here and I can't see how a broken meter thats housed in an outside box is my Granny's responsibility (she's not capable of accessing it), especially if it breaks down. Surely, its up to the ESB to monitor their own equipment and a simple computer programme could monitor usage and flag when no power is apparently being used.

Yes its a difficult one to call, on the one hand I'm the honest type and if it were my own house's meter, I'd call them up and report it and hopefully deal with someone reasonable in the ESB. However, my Granny is a pensioner and wouldn't be in a position to pay a bill for thousands (my estimate for 8 months electricty usage based on current ESB prices).

DublinDilbert

You could try give the meter a tap and see if it starts moving again, it might be a mechanical problem. Although chances are that the voltage coil has burned out in the meter.

I doubt they will try charge you anything for the time that the meter was stopped.... At the end of the day how can they 100% say she used X amount during that period. They need to be able to prove how much she used during that period before they can charge her, which they can't do.

davelerave

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

As I said in my original post, I pay my Granny's bill as soon as it comes in and it was only because I've a good memory that I copped that the last few bills were all the same. So I'm not trying to pull a fast one here and I can't see how a broken meter thats housed in an outside box is my Granny's responsibility (she's not capable of accessing it), especially if it breaks down. Surely, its up to the ESB to monitor their own equipment and a simple computer programme could monitor usage and flag when no power is apparently being used.

Yes its a difficult one to call, on the one hand I'm the honest type and if it were my own house's meter, I'd call them up and report it and hopefully deal with someone reasonable in the ESB. However, my Granny is a pensioner and wouldn't be in a position to pay a bill for thousands (my estimate for 8 months electricty usage based on current ESB prices).

yes i think the responsibility for maintaining the meter and rectifying billing errors probably lies with the ESB( assuming that the customer is unaware of the situation).do they? or can they? seek compensation for these errors i'd like to know

360ts

You say you've been paying bills all along yes? Then they probably won't charge you anymore than they have been doing. That was their best estimate for the last few months so I don't see how they could change their estimate because the meter stopped working. Give them a ring to have someone come look at it. As long as the seals haven't been tampered with you should be alright.

sdanseo

My understanding is that the meter is the ESB's resposibility, to the extent that tampering with it can land you in court - it has to work both ways. Their lookout, tbh.

DublinDilbert

Heroditas wrote: »

There is a very high chance the ESB will make an estimate and charge you that full whack.

How can they make you pay what they estimate?

That would be like NTR saying, well your easy pass isn't working, our cameras didn't pick you up correctly either, but sure you work 5 days per week, so we'll just charge you for 10 trips per week for the period! :eek:

Heroditas wrote: »

They will also say the meter is your responsibility

Doesn't every ESB meter have something to the effect of
"This Meter is property of the ESB" stamp across the front?
Yet your saying i'm responsible for their property?

Heroditas wrote: »

you should have reported any fault with it as soon as you detected it.

My bill is paid by direct debit, i never read the bill. So how could I detect a fault with my meter?? Should i check it weekly??

Alot of apartment owners don't even have access to their meter.

Heroditas wrote: »

Sorry to be blunt but that's how they deal with issues like this in the vast majority of cases.

Steve

The meter itself is the property of and the responsibility of the ESB. Consumers aren't allowed touch them.

As long as the seals are intact then I don't see how they could go looking for any compensation.

There is no way your granny (or anybody else) could be reasonably expected to scrutinise every figure on the bill, most people don't, they just look at the bottom line and pay what they owe.

I've heard of the ESB bringing people to court over unmetered supplies but these were clear cases of theft where the meters were tampered with or bypassed.

Davy

Steve wrote: »

I've heard of the ESB bringing people to court over unmetered supplies but these were clear cases of theft where the meters were tampered with or bypassed.

They are quite tough in those cases. I believe it can be up to a year in jail.

DublinDilbert

In alot of other countries, they have algorithms that examine water + electricity usage automatically.... looking for abnormally high or low values, as this could indicate "home-grow" operations. They look for low-values as people typically by-pass the electricity meter, to try disguise their activity...

Kashkai

I had my father check the seals on the meter and they are intact so no one has tampered with it. The bills were all paid on time and like I said previously, although some of them were estimated bills, 2 were read by ESB personnel. Surely they would have noticed any tampering with the meter. Would they also not look to see if the metal disc was spinning? It would only take a second of their time as a non moving disc would be suspicious as there is always some power being used even if the house is unoccupied, e.g. fridge, alarm etc.

Steve

You'd think they would notice a stationary disc but (and no offence to any meter readers reading this) it's probably not their job to do so and there is probably no procedure to report it.

Perhaps a call to their customer care line asking (as anonymously as possible) what would happen in this situation might yield some answers.

Up to now, you have been innocently paying the amount stated on the bill - now it has become a question of morals because you know the meter is broken.

To be honest, I don't know what I'd do in the same situation.

davelerave

i think meter readers turn a blind eye to a lot of what they see.they prob figure the customer may point the finger at them .it's quite common for timers for dual tarriff to be off .the esb is automatically losing when the timings off and i think they reset it back(if it's reported) without seeking recompense.

Davy

Steve wrote: »

You'd think they would notice a stationary disc but (and no offence to any meter readers reading this) it's probably not their job to do so and there is probably no procedure to report it.

Im sure they have all sort of details to look and examine all sorts of aspects of the meter and its condition but they properly are basic run of the mill employees that will just take the reading and leave. they probably do not have the last reading either so a reading that has not moved means nothing to them, it is uo to the computer to spot this.

cossworxenergy

METERS OPERATION IS SOLE RESPOSIBILITY OF ESB HENCE THE SEAL ON IT AND IT IS ILLEGAL TO TAMPER WITH. BUT DUNNO IF YOU SHUD GET IT FIXED UP TO YOU

Jimdagym

Switch to bord gais electricity, then phone them up the next day to say the meter is faulty and it should be ok.

2 stroke

I've just bought a long extension lead, could you plug that end in at your grans.

Kenno90

try ringing them anonymously , explain the situation and see what they ,

Steve

sparkfireman wrote: »

not ur fault if the eastern european heaps of crap are ****.

What? I thought the ESB used Siemens meters (German)? no?

davelerave

the newer 100 amp digital meters are made by iskra. from slovenia.they seem to be good quality anyway