Impossibly high bill - and no options provided except "prove us wrong"

[JeffreyT]

BACKGROUND

Let me set the scene. We are two people in a house (in our sixties) and our electricity bill has been around $1000 each quarter for over 12 months. Around 50-60 kWh average daily usage. Now this is really really high for two people, no dependants, in a house on our own. However we have lived with it, even though the little "house" picture shows us that we ae using far more electricity that others in the area.

THE LATEST BILL

To our horror, the latest bill is $2307.71. A jump of over 100%! 100kWH average daily usage.

TO BE CLEAR

We have not changed anything. We have not added a new appliance, a new washing machine, nothing. What has changed is that AGL installed a Smart Meter in March this year. That's the change. 

The little house picture shows that we are using the equivalent of 20 people's electricity compared to houses in the area! There are two of us.

MY CONVERSATIONS

I have now spoken to frontline support a AGL, someone in the resolution team, and a manger in the resolution team. Here is the story I am given:

1. The reading are correct because AGL says they are
2. If they check the meter and it is faulty then we have to pay for the fact they checked the meter
3. The onus is on us to invalidate their readings
4. The bill is correct....because the bill is correct...unless we can prove otherwise
5. We have to turn everything off in the house and spend time messing about with appliances (where we know there has not been a change) to prove to AGL that their bill is faulty
6. Otherwise, the bill stands because.... it is their bill!

HOWEVER

1. AGL is providing a service to us, and we are entitled to pay fair value for a service rendered. This is an impossible bill, and we should not have to pay for a service incorrectly rendered
2. If AGL installed a smart meter, it is their meter that is making the readings, their system that is doing the calculation, and their system that is generating the invoice. It is beyond belief that AGSL says "trust us because you should" when a bill is provided that cannot, just cannot be correct.
3. We did not ask for a meter change. AGL put in a "smart meter" for, on the surface, to SAVE MONEY on the people who now do not need to read meters, and, on the surface, to institute some sort of scam where they can now charge double, with the response: it is what it is (heard that somewhere else?)

And the onus is totally thrown back on us to prove them wrong. 

This totally unacceptable.

I am going to write to AGL one more time, and then straight to the media and the ombudsman. I cannot be alone receiving this appalling behaviour, and it is time that companies like AGL start to realise that there are customers with rights, and the supplier's role is to serve the customer, not to issue bills based on calculations that the consumer has zero control over, and then put the onus back on the customer to prove them wrong.

Does this resonate with anyone else?

[Lester]

Neil, all right for you to not discuss this further if you wish . . . I feel it is good to know what these posts by folk just 9 or 10 posts back regarding downloading the NEM file is aimed at (supposedly checking a bill, what else ?).

One comment above (RDSZ) was regarding an apparent anomaly when a NEM file was edited by AGL (?), assume as compared a previous NEM file that poster had.

I don't really think a retailer would be doing this, blatant fraud ?

And how many would be downloading NEM data through a period to compare at bill time ? Not many.

Now, what do you mean you "download the AGL file, convert it into NEM12 file" ?

You convert the AGL file (30 min intervals) to a NEM file (5 min intervals) ?

That seems impossible, and why would that be needed, or serve any purpose whatsoever ?

You have used my AGL 30 min data in the past to calculate a bill, you use AGL 30 min data, as this is what AGL use the collated NEM data for, to bill consumers.

"I don't think the data file supplied by AGL is at all appropriate and have suggested to AGL team leaders that the NEM12 format file would be better suited."

Good luck with that, it would be easier to compare, but unless demand tariffs are bought in for a vast majority of consumers, it's probably staying the same (demand tariff at 5 min intervals would be a retailer boon).

AGL and NEM files are both supplied in CSV format, AGL takes the 5 min NEM data and shifts it down to 30 min data, from 12 intervals to 2 intervals per hour.

AGL data is what people are billed using.

If the numbers from AGL data is same as the NEM data when collated, then where someone has had an enormous increase in their bill, that can only mean data is either being estimated (for a long time and very much inflated), or the meter data being sent to the power supplier concerned is incorrect.

I had this recently with another 2 months of data estimated, turned out the meter software was wrong, and needed to be downgraded to a previous version, so they are not infallible.

My NEM data estimates matched AGL, and overall I'm not worried about there being some conspiracy theory about fraud by a retailer(s).

Sure, AGL make mistakes, in todays smart meter world it is not easy for consumers to check this easily.

[NeilC]

@Lester 

Your last  post is not the forum for the conversation you are trying to have with me.

I pointed out the incorrect statements that you made and informed the members of this forum how to obtain the correct files that you referred to.

I will make a final statement.

There are INTERVAL files available from a users home page.

NEM12 Files are available from the links I supplied.

[gregans28]

I’m sorry Neil but thank you for your reply. My name is not ‘W. Anker’.

I am a 71 year old disabled woman with severe pain and currently freezing because I can’t afford to use the electric heating. I was desperate on the day that I wrote the messages on this board. 

[ronlyw0197]

what is the difference between estimate and the actual bills. I had been away overseas most of the time since I connected with AGL, and used electricity to drill some holes for air conditioner installation and turn on the lights for a short time for a few days. I do not have any electrical appliances like TV, dryer, washing machine, fridge connected yet, so there should not be much electricity usage. But it is projected for around $110 for one month, how does that make sense? When I asked them, they said just wait for the actual bill?

[Lester · Accepted solution]

@ronlyw0197 you might be confused as to an estimated bill, and estimated data used to calculate a bill.

A estimated bill is usually done where an analogue meter is on site, and the meter reading contractor can't access the meter to read it.

Usually a locked gate / restricted carport access, or a dog present etc.

Otherwise if you have a digital meter, it should (almost) always be accurate, they never need reading, the data is uploaded to the power company (supplier) daily, and your retailer (AGL) has access to that each day (or end next day).

Bills are almost always spot on, or your app estimated bills are also up to date accurately.

You can get estimated daily readings if there is a communication error with a digital meter.

If you have an analogue meter, you can read the figures yourself and compare with AGLs estimated, but their bill estimates are usually based on historical data, so in your situation might be considerably higher than they might be in reality.

This sounds like what you are referring to.

You can submit a reading as available to do on the app for an analogue meter, and this will bring it into line.