Hmm... That sounds like you've probably got either the most expensive tariff in history, or your meter is gobbling up a ton of credit to repay a debt (which you probably don't owe).
Anyway, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm theunknowntech and I'm a forum volunteer who helps out here. I'm also a friend of Blastoise186, a forum volunteer from elsewhere who's been helping me sharpen my skills over recent months. He's given me a few tricks that can help with these things, so I'm hoping they work.
I'd like to ask you to do a couple of things for me. Firstly, please could you post some photos of your meter(s)? This helps me to identify what you have, as I have to adapt my advice accordingly - especially on Prepayment meters!
It sounds to me as if there is either a phantom debt which needs to be wiped out - and a refund issued for the lost credit - or something's gone badly wrong with the meter. If it's OK with you, I'd like to ask you to do something called a Creep Test. The idea of this test is to help figure out if there's any obvious faults with the meter. Based on what you've said, I feel it's worth a try. As long as you're OK with the power being off for a few minutes, this test is pretty simple to do. If you'd rather not do it though, that's perfectly understandable - feel free to let me know if that's the case and I'll try to think of other options.
Before you get started, I strongly recommend only doing this test during daylight hours for your own safety and you may want to have a torch handy just in case. Please also make sure to safely shut down and turn off any sensitive electronics and gadgets like your computers, TVs, games consoles, Wi-Fi Router, Smart Home gadgets and anything else that might be affected by having the power suddenly go off. You can leave the fridge/freezer on though and keeping a couple of lights on is helpful so that you know when you're done.
If you're happy to go ahead, here's what to do. These steps might sound a bit tricky as I generally copy/paste them directly from what Blastoise186 gave me, but they should work.
- Locate the electric meter and fuse box/consumer unit
- Take a quick meter reading and note it down - you'll need it later
- As you're on Prepayment, please make sure you've got some credit and you're not in Emergency Credit - otherwise it can disrupt the test. If you don't have much left, now is a good time to top-up!
- Turn off the power to the entire house using your consumer unit - it'll only be for a few minutes so don't worry about being off-supply for a long time
- Observe your electric meter for about five minutes. the red metrology LED (or the spinning disc in older meters) should stop completely and the meter should not clock any usage after the first 30 seconds or so
- After five minutes, take another meter reading and note it down
- Turn the power back on
- Compare the two readings you took at the start and finish of the test
If the meter is not faulty, the two readings should be about the same. However, if they're massively different and/or you noticed the metrology LED (or spinning disc) continue to run and/or the meter was still clocking usage despite the power being off, then there's almost certainly a fault with the meter itself. In this case, you'll want to request a Meter Accuracy Test. It'll cost around £160 upfront and you'll get this back if the meter is confirmed to be faulty, as well as having the meter replaced and a refund issued for the lost credit once E.On has managed to figure out how much it's thrown into a black hole. Please bear in mind that the test fee is not refunded if the meter is found to be working correctly. With that being said, if it failed the Creep Test then that's already a very good sign that the meter probably is faulty - the MAT is still required to make it official but doing the Creep Test first might save you wasting £160.
Hope this helps. Let me know the results of the Creep Test and I'll try to advise further.
