I think you need to outline in simple and brief terms what has happened here, as the information is all over the place. Have Npower based your bills upon the right details and taken into account all the payments you have made? If they haven't, and you have shown the ombudsman this, in clear and simple terms, how can the ombudsman have rulen against you? I thought they were there to give a fair decision??!! I assume you still have the original meter, that NPower have messed up your billing on? ie: you have not had a prepayment meter fitted under warrant. I'm not sure what happened after NPOwer forced their way into your home with a warrant, it's not clear. Why would NPower have broken into your home, yet not either changed the meter to a prepayment one or just cut the gas off completely? It doesn;t make sense....

Is it possible for you to gather details together of the reading taken (if you did) when you first moved to NPower? Then take the reading now. Then calculate yourself how much the bill for that period should be (by looking at the unit price on your latest bill - that will of course be a lot higher than in 2005 but it would still help emphasise your position if it results in far lower charges than NPower have estimated). Should be quite possible to do with a calculator. Then work out all the payments you have made against the account. Take this away from what the charges should have been and see what is left (bearing in mind the large payments you have made, you will probably be in credit after doing these calculations. If the meter hasn;t been changed, it really wouldn;t be too difficult for Npower to have done this themselves, but we are talking about NPower here.....

Perhaps didn;;t make it thaat clear in earlier post. You obviously can read the meter but you don;t take the readings from the dial (if you have an E7 or E10 meter) - what they dsay are irrelevant. You take the readings from the silver device below.

As a former meter reader, I can confirm timeswitches are often hours out. It does often work in the customer's favour too though. Not deliberate mischarging by suppliers, but meter readers should report back on faulty timeswiitches when they read meters - and then the offices should act upon these reports.

You never take the readings for an E7 or an E10 meter from an old-fashoned dial type meter. There may still be a dial meter on site but the readings will be taken from a silver coloured digital device attached to the bottom of the meter. The time is also given on this device. It is sometimes wrong - it is not controlled by a teleswitch. (or GMT signal sent down the line). The device cycles through all the information (readings, time) by itself - you do not need to press anything. In fact, the times are notoriously unreliable on these devices - they are nearly always wrong. Not sure how many of these horrible devices are still on site - but there were plenty around when I was last a meter reader in 2012.

The supplier may have got mixed up when the meter was changed / when you moved to your current supplier / moved into your home. Are the numbers displayed in a digital format on your meter, or not? Is there a number beside the readings (eg 1 and then 2). Often, suppliers get mixed up as to which is the day reading and which is the night.

Is this the gas or electric meter ?

They should not have been allowed to fit the prepayment meter until your query has been resolved. It makes it far more sdifficult to resolve your problem if the meter which ahs created the dispute is no longer in your home. Have they actually fitted a prepayment meter yet? You say your usage went up by c 400% in a year. Did British Gas change your gas meter at any time during that year? If the prepayment meter hasn;t been fitted, check the gas meter in your home. There should be a yellow sticker on it, detailing the final reading on the old meter when it was taken out, the initial reading on your current meter when it was fitted and the meter serial number for the old meter. Does the new meter serial number match up with the serial number displayed on your bill? If it doesn''t, does the serial number displayed on your bill match up to the old meter number (that should be written on the sticker)? If they did, did they amend their computerised records to reflect the meter change. If this has happened then your bill will be incorrect. In addition to which, if they did previously change your gas meter - they have probably billed you based upon you still having an old-style imperial gas meter (measured in ft3), when really you have a newer metric meter. The calculations suppliers use in order to calculate bills are far different for each type of meter. If the above has happened you will have been vastly overcharged (by around 2.8 times, I believe). I can see what your query is, theactionman. Your bills are far too high. Hopefully we can now resolve it!

Jdb321 = They are not billing you correctly on the gas. The meter number they have does not match up to that on the meter. It may just be a typo but the number is quite clearly different (and not just becasue of a different amount of 000s in the meter serial number). Is there a sticker on the gas meter? If so, when was this meter fitted and what is the serial number given for the old meter? Is that the same as the serial number quoted on your bills? This is an old thread -perhaps the matter has been resolved?

Previous residents in your home probably are trying to palm theiur debt off onto you. They probably didn;t provide any meter readings to NPOwer for along while until leaving their home - resulting in a large catch-up bill for them when they left. Don't pay it!

NPOwer have behaved absolutely disgracefully here. They have been consistently the worst utilities supplier (for customer satisfaction) for years and years. Why the hell does the ombudsman not do something about them? Why the hell have they not gone back onn their records to when the OP first moved to them for her gas. They can then compare the opening readings used on that to the picture OP has provided with them of her meter. They can then check meter serial number, etc and go from there. Then NPower need to check their records for each quarter from that to see where things went wrong (if the information was correct initially). I suspect NPower are calculating the usage based upon her having an imperial meter when she really has a metric meter. Has the gas meter been changed since you moved to NPower, OP? If so, is there a sticker on your gas meter giving the final reading on the old meter and the starting reading on the new one? Do they match up to what NPower have claimed? I know they have hardly sent you any bills but if you phone them up, they should be able to give you that information.... I suspect it's something relatuvely small like this that has caused all these problems. In addition, to possibly NPower getting mixed up with account numbers when another customer has phoned them to leave the company or move home.

I'm assuming your initial final bill was based on an estimated meter reading. Then your mother actually read the meter, and gave that reading to SSE, resulting in the amended final bill. The electric won;t have been used between the time when you moved out and your mother reading the meter. It would have been a catch-up bill, based upon your previous bills having been under-estimated.

I suspect your latest bill is not correct. I agree with nottslad. It is likely BG didn't process a meter change on your computer records. Therefore, when a meter reader came out to read your meter, the computer system would have rejected his readings and just billed you an estimated amount of usage (based upon your old meter still being in your home). Also, I suspect you may have been billed based upon your old gas meter calculating your usage on an imperial meter, when really your new gas meter is a metric one (this results in hugely inaccurate bills as the usage is calculated differently). On your latest bill for the massive amount, does the bill show a meter change? If it does, is the final reading used on the bill for your old meter correct? And is the starting reading used for the new meter that was fitted, also correct? You can check this by looking at your gas meter. It should have a yellow sticker on it. This should tell you the final meter reading on the old meter and the start reading on your new meter.

My local Citizens Advice Burea uses an 0844 telephone number for anyone wanting to get advice. That's pretty shocking...... Local council did change from 0844 to 0344 numbers some time ago now

Thanks for your replies. My employer was aware that I was awaiting a diagnosis of possible Aspergers / dyspraxia. Unfortunately, it took a year from when I first spoke to my GP and was put forward by her for a diagnosis to actually have the meeting with the psychologist (because of a waiting-list). I am expecting the results within the next couple of weeks. My employers seemed unprepared to wait any longer. They just wanted me to push for a diagnois asap. I tried to do this and contacted Aspergers East Anglia several times in order to get seen quicker. My employers, on their side did not attempt to contact Asperger East Anglia themselves to explain the situation in order to try and get a quicker diagnosis. They just put everything onto me. I have to say I am not disappointed to have left the job. I actually really enjoyed the reading of meters, dealing with customers and travelling to different places. I hated the constant emphasis on Health & safety (above anything else - and I am not just referring to driving matters here), and their covert methods. This made me feel under unbearable pressure and I feel led to the accidents that occured (together with my losing several items of equipment) during the one year and 8 months I was employed by the organisation. I would not have been able to take on alternative duties. All the roles at the depot (excepting management ones) involved driving on a regular basis. The company would not have hand any alternative suitable positions within 100+ miles of Norwich (my home town) and i do not have my own transport. I feel it may be appropriate to speak to a disability employment adviser (although it has not been confirmed I have a condition yet). I feel it has affected my ability to hold down a job on a long-term basis in the past. I understand that I am physically able to work and do not dispute that I should be looking for work (and therefore claiming JSA ratheer than ESA). Also, does anyone know whether I would get Income based or contribution based JSA? I was in work for 1 year and 8 months up to 30 March 2012 and immediately before then I had been unemployed (and claiming JSA) for 9 months.

I resigned from my job (as a meter reader) giving a months notice as from 26 March 2012. I resigned as I hhave had three small-speed prangs in my work van since September 2011 whilst carrying out my job. I had a disciplinary hearing in January 2012 when I was given a final written warning. I was told then that I if I had another accident I would almost certainly be sacked. Undfortunately I had another reversing accident on 23 March 2012. I have deceided to resign from my job instead of being sacked (as I am 99% certain this would have happened anyway). I am in the middle of undergoing a diagnosis with a psychologist for Aspergers Syndrome / dyspraxia. I do suffer from clumsiness and have been taking medication for anxiety for several months. In addition, I have had real difficulty in dealing with being spied upon it (as I see it) by management whilst carrying out my day-to-day job. This led to my becoming stressed and unnecessarily feeling under pressure whilst carrying out my job.Employees were required to carry a multitude of PPE without being given suffiient means of storing it whilst carrying out our work. I feel this contributed to my losing several work items (including my van keys). I have mentioned this to management but I do cnot consider they have taken my feelings on board. My actual performancew with regards to reading meters and dealing with customers was good. NO criticisms from the company regarding these areas. I achieved consistently good meter reading access figures. I have been told by my HR manager that my last day of actual work would be 30 March 2012 (last Friday) but I will be given a months notice on full pay. They stated that for benefits purposes, etc I could apply as from 2 April 2012. MY problem is will this affect my entitlement to JSA. After all, I resigned and it could be argued I have made myself unemployed. The JSA are extremely vague (deliberately?) abbout what factors would affect whether you are suspended from JSA payments through making yourself unemployed and seem to offer no real guidance as to what my situation will be. I intend to call the psychologist who carried out my interview to determine whether I have Aspergers Syndrome/ dyspraxia tomorrow to try and find out what the results are. I don;t know whethera positive diagnosis would impact upon any rights I may have as to JSA payments. Can anyone offer any advice please as to the possibility of my having sanctions placed upon my receiving JSA and is there anything I can do to maximise the chances of my avoiding such a sanction? (aside from the obvious one of finding a job, thus alleviating the need to apply for JSA - I intend to get one, of course!) Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer me.

Cheeky beggars. Do utility companies actually know the meaning of fairness or customer service??!!

Have your bills/statements been really low since 2008 (when the meter was last read). If they weren't, I woulkd suggest that the catch-up bill for £4000 is incorrect. When the last reading was taken in 2008 did you check that at the time to see if it was correct? Was it a reading obtained when you transferred to your current supplier or when you moved into your home? If so, it would be a starting reading and may be wrong. If it was too low it would mean that you have been billed for electric that you haven;t used yourself (instead the previous resident would have used this). Also, has your electric meter been changed since the last reading was obtained in 2008? Does the meter serial number on your bill (a letter, followed by two numbers, then one or two letters, then several numbers - eg: S86E75321) match up with that engraved onto the meter? If it doesn;t match up, again your bill is likley to be very wrong!

To be fair, you are paying them late - just as a customer that pays their bill on a red reminder inone go pays late. You may have paid part of the balance by the time a red reminder letter would normally be sent (if you were not on the payment plan) but there are still arrears remaining. MInd you, EOn should have been much quicker on the mark in telling you this rather than waiting 2 years!

Does your bill state you have an imperial meter? Is your meter a metric meter? (the meter will say m3 on it rather than ft3 if it is metric). If this is the case (which I suspect) then the calculations on your bills will be totally wrong and you will have been severely overcharged (this happens surprisingly often)

If you have left your readings on the window for when the meter-reader comes back, NPOwer should have used your reading. If they haven't, that is incompetence on their part. I would check yourbills to see if the meter number quoted on them tallys up with that on the actual meter. That may well explain why the bills keep getting estimated, ie: the readings you provide you don't fall in line with those that that have been used by NPower. Do you still have a copy of the old bills? Can you understand how the debt ahs arisen if you do. I ask this because some utility bills seem to be nonsensical (and these are invariably wrong!)

Yes, it is my real name. There are only four other meter readers employed by Southern covering the same geographical area as me. I was thinking that the thread would be useful to Southern as well as myself (I have brought it up to my manager at work) as it will mean hopefully that some customers are able to understand why they may be getting excessively high bills at an at an early stage - thus making it easier for Southern to resolve the issue when the customer contacts them.

The prepayment meter that British Gas think you have in your home was probably there in the past. When the meter was removed, British Gas probably didn;t amend their records. I'm assuming you have just received statements rather thanthan any bills whilst living in your current home?

Clio - insert your key or token into the meter. Keep pressing the button until you get to the S screen on a keymeter (an old style token meter will clearly use the word debt on the appropriate screen). If there is an amount outstanding on the screen, then you are paying back the previous occupier's debt. Press the button again to find out how much is being claimed back by the meter each week towards the debt. You need to have the key inserted into the meter to be able to access these screens.

Gemma - EON are one of the suppliers that have tried to claim back underpayments from customers when cardmeter prices have not been updated when they should have been. Some suppliers (eg: British Gas and Southern) automatically write-off such "debts". I would mention this in your letter. Eon's policy, in my opinion, shoukld be changed in this area. It is fair enough to be charged if a customer is preventing an Eon representative from entering their home to reset the prices, but this is the only time they shgould pursue these "debts". I would also get your boyfriend tyo check whether the debt has already been set on the new keymeter. Someone does not have to visit his home to set a debt on the meter- it can be done remotely via the offices. He needs to keep pressing the button on his meter until he gets to the S screen (the key must be inserted into the meter at the start of this process). Is there an amount showing on the S screen? If there is, he is already paying a debt back through the meter. The next screen (the T one) will tell him how much is being claimed back by the meter each week to pay back this debt