How do I fix my opening meter reading mistake?

Opening meter reading mistakes are easy to make – but we can help you resolve them.

Maybe you’ve missed a digit. Perhaps you’ve added some zeros. Whether you’re just getting used to the self-service approach, or are a bit of a pro, opening meter reading mistakes can happen to anyone.

Opening meter reading errors

It’s important to supply accurate opening readings because this is the information we use to set up your account. We send the details off to your old supplier for what’s called a validation process – it helps us update the industry records for readings when your supply switches over.

If you accidentally give us an incorrect reading, it causes an inaccurate final statement from your previous supplier. It can mean that we start billing you too much or too little. All this can be sorted out through the ‘read dispute process’ – you can learn all about that in the ‘what is a reading dispute’ question.

Though it’s possible to resolve an opening meter readings error, it can take a long time and be quite complex to resolve. So it’s best to double-check the opening reading before submitting.

Think you’ve given incorrect opening meter readings?

What happens next depends on when you gave the reading, and how incorrect it is.

If it was within 5 days of your supply start date, we may be able to fix things straight away. If the initial reading is really incorrect – we call it ‘out of line’ – it will fail the validation process.

This means your old supplier will reject it, and let us know that something is not right. If you give a correct reading right away, we can send it again. Then it should pass validation and everything will go ahead as it should.

If the initial incorrect reading isn’t 'out of line’ enough, it may pass validation. If this happens, keep a record of the correct opening reading and check it against your first bill. If there’s a big difference, get in touch with us –we’ll help you start a read dispute.