[marktom]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

@marktom

Does the time switch show anything approximating the correct time? Does it actually run? Is the White meter also a two-rate meter?

What I suspect you have, especially if you are in a region formerly served by Scottish Electricity Board or Southern Electric, is a 'complex heating system' which was originally marketed back in the 70s as Flexheat or Heatsave,

Those systems had four Tariff rates. Peak and off peak regular electricity, and separate rates for peak and off peak heating. It looks like your original 'white meter' has been replaced by a more modern version at some point but they have retained the original legacy 'black meter' and time switch. That time switch not only activates the heating circuits but also tells the Black meter when to change rates. That's what the much thinner grey wires are for...the control signals.

As it is a two meter system and these installations were obsolete long before the regional electricity boards were privatised, current suppliers just have no knowledge of these legacy systems so can't facilitate them properly. The only two energy companies that did maintain these four rate tariffs were Scottish and Southern or OVO.

Two meter systems will now have two MPAN's and you will be charged two lots of standing charges. So instead of the 50-60p a day, depending on region, you'll be paying double that. In other words, you are paying between £180 and £220 a year more than you need to be. That's before you use a single kWh of electricity.

A meter engineer will need to install a 5 terminal smart meter. The Live cable from the time switch to the heating system goes to the fifth terminal. Job done. One meter, one MPAN, half the standing charges and a more simple (and cheaper) E7 two-rate tariff. There's already a Neutral connection for the Black meter commoned at the incomer/disconnect so no need even to fit a Henley block. That Neutral can be used to connect the heating return.

Lose the Black meter and time clock completely....a tidier meter box too 👍

I'm a 'wires' man. I've been 'on the tools' for the best part of half a century. My esteemed colleague @meldrewreborn is a bit of a whiz with digging down into the numbers, looking for anomalies and helping to make sense of what's going on with the figures. Unfortunately, some of the Customer Services folks don't have the knowledge or the experience, so trying to get any sense out of them with setups like yours isn't always easy. No disrespect to them, but I'd bet a fair few of them weren't even born when these systems were 'mainstream' 🤣🤣🤣

Many thanks for your reply. There's some great info in there - I feel I've learnt more in the last 2 days than the last several years trying to deal with Eon / Npower. I'll check the timer clock this afternoon to see what its doing.

The info I've received on this board has given me the knowledge I need to go to Eon and tell them what I want - rather than them keep telling me I'm on the best tariff and there's nothing else they can do to help. I just need them to reply to my emails or even pick up the phone when I ring. I'm even in touch with Octopus to see if they can get me set up quicker.

Once again your help is much appreciated

[retrotecchie]

@marktom

Always a pleasure to try and help out 👍

Incidentally, a quick shufti at your figures tells me both meters are dual rate but it looks like you are on a single rate tariff on the Black meter. Your day and night rates are the same at 26.48p a unit with a 54.7p standing charge and the consumption figures tally up with the figures on the Black (heating) meter and yet the White meter has much lower night rate of 12.057p and a day rate of 27.592p and a higher standing charge of 68.358p a day.

They've given you Economy 7 on one, but not on the other. It's the black meter that really needs the Economy 7, not the other!

I'd be inclined to complain that you're not getting the correct rates on the heating meter, for starters. Whether the charges can be backdated or not I can't advise, but you are definitely being charged more than double for your heating and hot water than you should be.

I suspect this is an administrative mistake at their end, not putting both meters on the same deal, but it's costing you a small fortune!

Just for fun, run those meter readings through a calculator but swap the tariffs between meters. See how much difference that makes to the bill for the period. Just off the top of my head, you would have paid about £582-ish rather than pushing £1300!

Divide that by the 75 days...£7.76 a day compared to more than double that 😜

[meldrewreborn]

@marktom

So, it appears that one meter has the same tariff price applying to both day and night consumption, with a standing charge applied and then refunded, while the other has a standing charge (non refunded) and a day and night rate.

I can’t visualise how this metering arrangement is correct or in your interest. I think you need to establish which registers are actually increasing at various times of the day and night, because the likelihood of of you being overcharged currently seems very high. While replacement with a 5 terminal smart meter is called for as recommended by @retrotecchie, if you do that without resolving the issues with the setup as is, I suspect you’ll not be able to get any refunds on your charges in recent years.

This would be a complicated matter to address, and unless you have the desire to invest time and energy to it, you may just wish to get the smart meter installed and move on.

[marktom]

@retrotecchie

Many thanks for spending time looking at the figures. I've been telling Eon for the last 3 years I'm being overcharged but everytime they say I'm definetly on the correct tariff and there isn't a cheaper one.... My monthly bill has more than doubled in the last 3 years which they put down to increased energy prices.

[retrotecchie]

@marktom

They are likely just applying the tariff to the first MPRN that comes up when they look at the account and completely ignoring the second meter.

[meldrewreborn]

@marktom

You need some facts and figure first but I would raise a formal complaint. You need to know which registers are updating when - as you need to split day consumption from night on both meters, and unfortunately you can't rely on the split being correct- as the saying goes to assume can make an ass of both U and Me.

How long have you been with Eon Next? This error is at least 3 years old but could it be even longer. The sums involved will clearly be significant and Eon Next will not give in readily, so you need to be well supplied with evidence to support a complaint.

I'm sure @retrotecchie and I can advise you as you proceed.