Bad Credit Households Overcharged For Gas Usage Due To Inaccurate Meters
A leaked report has revealed how millions of households are being overcharged for their gas usage because of inaccurate meters.
According to the report, one in six of National Grid’s older meters were over-registering whilst almost half of all meters tested had ‘accuracy problems’.
“Rising living costs are almost unmanageable for many UK families with bad credit debt, so many will be angered they’ve been paying for more gas than they’ve used,” said Andrew James, spokesperson for Bad Credit Loans 4 You, a UK finance specialist at sourcing debt consolidation loans and bad credit loan refinance /bad-credit-home-improvement-loan.html
“As inflation has now risen to double the government target of 2%, bad credit consumers need every penny to survive from one pay packet to the next.”
It is believed the average customer affected by the faulty readers would unknowingly pay £26 a year too much for gas, a figure which provides the industry millions of additional pounds a year.
The report showed various models of gas meters which were found to be over-registering in excess of the tolerated 2% leeway.
88% of a 1983 model of the U6 UGI Black Spot meter and 69% of a 2000 model of the G4 Magnol Version 1 were found to be amongst the worst cases.
National Grid owns 75% of the UK’s 23million gas meters and tested 4,882 of their oldest or least reliable meters in 2007, where it found one in six to be in breach of the regulations.
Almost all of the meters tested were found to have accuracy problems, thought to be caused by worn out or poorer quality diaphragms within the meters.
But in a report which the National Grid did not intend to be made public, figures show the number of those overcharging was still unchanged two years later.
“As the meters are constantly running, and some of them are very old, it’s easy to understand that the accuracy may diminish after a while,” said Mr James, of Bad Credit Loans 4 You.
“But many consumers, especially those with bad credit, will be angered to see the overcharging issue has not been resolved quicker, believing it would be handled much faster if they were being undercharged.”
Experts have been quick to urge regulators into forcing energy suppliers to speed up the replacement of defective meters in order to help those families who are worse off, many of whom have bad credit debt.
Ray Cope, a retired director of the Gas Consumers Council, said; “The scale of the problem is disgraceful and it is clear from the report that there are potentially millions of defective meters out there.”
“At a time when gas bills are soaring anyway and with the present financial pressures on people, consumers cannot afford to pay even more for their gas because their meter is inaccurate.”
“Regulators Ofgem and the National Measurement Office must take immediate action to sort out this mess and replace the defective meters.”
If the average families gas meter over-registered by the allowed 2%, it would currently cost them around £13 extra a year.
The report discovered 3% of meters were over-registering by more than double the 2% leeway, meaning bad credit families were having to find more than £26 a year for gas they didn’t use.
Adam Scorer, director of external affairs at Consumer Focus, said it would raise the issue with the regulators, adding; “If people have been overcharged we would expect the regulators to ensure that customers are fully compensated and suppliers replace meters that are inaccurate.”
“People must be able to rely on their meter readings.”
National Grid claim the industry replaced at least 500,000 meters a year, but critics say meter replacement programmes have slowed due to the introduction of smart meters which show customers how much gas they are using.
The smart meters are part of government plans to have them installed in more than 27 million homes and businesses over the next decade.
National Grid fought against the claims by insisting it was targeting the worst performing meters, having replaced 95% of the U6 Black Spot model.
A spokesman said; “This report is a business management tool, and the meters tested were selected as being older or identified as being potentially inaccurate so that they could be prioritised for replacement.
“It is not representative of meters in the UK generally.”
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Loans 4 You of London Ltd
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Bad Credit Loans 4 You was formed in order to ensure people with bad credit had access to specialist help in securing the bad credit loans they need.
From its UK head office in Monks Brook, Loans 4 You operates across Britain, sourcing bad credit loans for people with bad credit.
Bad Credit Loans 4 You holds a Consumer Credit Licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading.
Bad Credit Loans 4 You is also covered by the Financial Ombudsman.
Bad Credit Loans 4 You is also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for Data Protection.
