Testing for current to my meter from the flat upstairs

[billkruse]

Hi there,

The flat upstairs from me got refurbished some years ago. It's been empty ever since. Now someone's moved in and my electric bill's gone through the roof. It's four times what it was. I'm with British Gas, who despite accepting that the meter's faulty (they say the check meter showed the original meter is undercharging) aren't interested in tales of unlikely wiring.
I've lived here in this old, old property, converted into four flats and a house, 30 years. I've always lived within my means. It's absurd to suggest that out of the blue I've suddenly started using all this extra electricity - I'm alone in a single-bedroom maisonette. My bills, in recent years, have been a little higher than you might expect, but hey, I got given an old tv and I leave it on all night. Till just recently, I've been leaving my computer on all night too. I thought that explained that, but... I found out from the guy upstairs, he's the son-in-law of my landlady, she's been turning the storage heaters on in the winters to take the chill off the place. Since he's moved in, he's had them going full-blast, he feels the cold terribly. I reckon that's psychological due to his circumstances, which I won't go into. He's even put bubblewrap in the windows. So, if the storage heaters are routed through my meter, that would account for why my bills have been a little high for years and are astronomical now. BG are charging me £159 a month. They want to do this for the next year. They say that'll pay off what I owe them. They reckon I'm using £135 worth of electric a month. That seems a lot even if you include the storage heaters going on there.

How can I test to see if the juice powering the heaters from upstairs is going through my meter? BG want to put a new one in but I'm avoiding that as I'm sure they'll put a key meter in that'll just eat up my money. I don't want that at all. It's difficult to test from down here with an inaccurate meter. Any ideas please folks?

BB

[Jimbo]

The are a few ways to test this 1) is to remove your head fuse, if everything goes dead upstairs then hey presto! 2) get hold of a clamp meter and put it on your tails you should be able to more or less drop the current in your flat to zero (just a light ) and then test the draw, use of heaters etc will show. Believe me in my experience its quite likely that you are paying for upstairs. Regards Jimbo

[billkruse]

The are a few ways to test this 1) is to remove your head fuse, if everything goes dead upstairs then hey presto! 2) get hold of a clamp meter and put it on your tails you should be able to more or less drop the current in your flat to zero (just a light ) and then test the draw, use of heaters etc will show. Believe me in my experience its quite likely that you are paying for upstairs. Regards Jimbo


Many thanks Jimbo, coupla things... what's the head fuse? What's a clamp meter? What are tails? What's the draw? How do I test it? What planet is this? Oh, wait... I got that last one.

So this kind of thing happens a lot, does it? This is an old old property and I know they chopped and changed the room structure upstairs when they refurbed it. Unfortunate that no-one lived in it till now :-(

There's no safety certificate like there is with gas, either, so I can't frighten the landlady into sorting it out through fear of prosecution.

Can I turn off my fusebox (there's a switch) and then have matey upstairs run round testing to see what works up there? Trouble is, the storage heaters are slo-o-o-o-w to come on and off, to warm up and down, so it could be difficult to detect.

BB

[ckolin]

Turn off you main breaker/fuse and then check if their are any electrical life upstairs. Assuming you have access? Based on your lack of knowledge, like myself, push the electricity supplier harder.


If you feel that your supplier is not being helpful, tell them you will be inviting a new supplier if they do not sort this out for you. They will know that a new suppliers saleman will be very good and will have you convinced to switch in no time.
They will then jump through hoops to keep you. They will probably put you on a better deal too once they have investigated why your bills are so high. Do this with every supplier you have. I.e. Broadband, cable TV , telephone. There is almost always a better deal or discount that they will offer you to keep your custom. I did this with NTL (broadband and phone)and reduced my bills from 45pounds to 10 for 6 months. They have creeped up lately so I will be threatening to leave again and they will again likely offer me a discount or better deal.
I would point a few things though.

I have been undercharged before and had to suffer the increased bills for a year too. This can be substantial.
Supply charges have increased quite a bit in the last year also. We are all feeling it. This could explain some of the increase.
That said, I live in a flat, and pay about 40 pounds per month for electricity so you bills do seem huge.


Please let us know how you get on.

[billkruse]

Thanks for your reply. I owe BG money, though, according to their admittedly faulty meter. I think they're unlikely to be letting me go to another supplier while I owe them money, and if I pay them and then go, I'll have the devil of a job getting my money back. As far as I'm concerned, even allowing for recent price rises, I'm paid up for several months into the future. The meter's being changed on the 24th, though, and I've been sending them readings most days. I had a friend witness the reading the other day, and their meter reader guy just came today so I can pretty much establish that things aren't as they should be, I'm obviously not using the electricity they're charging me for now.

BB