[MikeAP]

Hello - For the last three months, my monthly readings have been taken on different dates for gas (25th) and electricity (1st). Previously, from about the end of 2021, both were normally read on the 25th (and before that, under E.ON, both were read on the 1st). The split in dates appears to be behind seperate bills being issued for gas and electricity each month. I have raised this with customer support, but in their first response they stated that they could do nothing as the dates were dependant on the smart meters themselves. Subsequently they added that they could not adjust the dates because the meters are SMETS1. (They have offered to adjust the billing to cover both fuels, but I am not sure how that will work out.) The meters are set for 30 minute readings, and on the ivie app I can see hourly usage data for both gas and electricity.

It is not clear to me why it is apparently impossible for E.ON Next to adjust the dates on which they take these readings, and make sure that gas and electricity are read on the same day.

Can anyone please suggest what might be causing this issue, and whether anything could in fact be done to synchronise the two readings? Many thanks...

[JoeSoap]

@MikeAP

I’ve seen this issue before on the forum and I don’t think it was resolved, although I can’t find the particular thread.

I can only suggest raising a complaint to see if anything can be done at a slightly higher level than customer service.

[MikeAP]

Many thanks Joe - Yes, its beginning to look that way.

[Anasa_EONNext]

Hello @MikeAP Anasa here 👋 Welcome to the Community! Were you able to reach out to customer service and get your query looked at? If so would be great if you could pop back with an update to let us know how you got on 😊

[MikeAP]

Hello Anasa,

Thanks for your reply and for your welcome! I have indeed contacted customer service (on hi@eonnext.com) who initially replied that there was nothing they could do to change the date the readings are being transferred to EON Next, because the process is dependant on the smart meter itself. When I said it was hard to understand this, the response from customer service was to check that the meters were SMETS1 and it was because of this the reading cycle could not be altered. They did, however, offer to change the billing to show both fuels, as well as noting my concerns in hope that might lead to expediting an upgrade to SMETS2 meters.

I have indeed subsequently received a bill dated 31st March, covering electricity from 1st to 30th March and gas from 25th to 30th March, with readings for both having been taken on 31st March. However, electricity was read again on 1st April, resulting in another bill dated 3rd April for electricity only, covering the single day of 31st March. That brought the final tally of bills to four for the month of March.

At the moment, although I remain unhappy with the situation, I am waiting to see how this billing cycle works out for April, also for how two other issues develop - as there has recently been a return of "glitches" whereby the IHD readings get temporarily out of sync with the gas meter and, just to round things off, the tariffs displayed on the IHDs (both of them and, for electricity, the meter) do not seem to tally with either current or previous tariffs.

So that's how things stand - and again many thanks for your interest.

Best regards, Mike.

[Anasa_EONNext]

@MikeAP Thanks for the update. Sounds like you got the ball rolling and are on the waiting list for SMETS 2 meters where there is a bit more flexibility with the read dates.

It'd be great if you'd keep us up to date with the other issues you're keeping your eye on and we'll try out best to answer what we can on the forum or we'll direct you to where you need to go. We've got a wealth of knowledge on here from our lovely members and our very own IHD/SMART wizard @theunknowntech so you are in good hands.👐

[theunknowntech]

Please wait. Theunknowntech does not operate service at this hour. Daytime services will resume in the morning

[MikeAP]

A further update on this: both my gas and electricity meters were read on 25th April, and a statement/bill issued on 26th April. The gas meter was also read on 1st April though that reading - unlike the electricity reading on the same date - did not appear on my account page at the time. For the moment at least, it appears that a proper monthly reading and billing cycle has been re-established, after three months of staggered readings. This has involved no further interaction with customer service. (IHD gas readings remain subject to glitches, and the wrong tariffs are still displayed.)