Fair Go: Just Energy customer charged for two meters when she just had one

When Tania Jones moved her main electricity meter outside for convenience, she used a qualified electrician.

He also entirely removed a second inside meter from a different power company which was just for her hot water supply because she decided to go with gas.

But for a year, Tania continued to be charged for two meters, and nothing she did seemed to convince her supplier, Just Energy, that she didn’t have two meters.

In fact, they questioned whether she had tampered with the meter, warning her that was a criminal offence.

When she in frustration switched to a new supplier, they then told her new power company they had been investigating her for possibly tampering with the meter.

The problem was Just Energy did not come around to actually read the meter for a year – never checked that there was, indeed, just one meter.

When Tania told Just Energy she’d gone to Fair Go, they finally agreed to refund all the money she’d paid for the non-existent meter, gave her a final reading and apologised for the "unintended perception" that they had accused Tania of improper conduct.

They said they had never received the correct Meter Removal Report from the electrician, but, of course, that was never Tania’s fault. She thought she had done everything correctly.

Since then, Just Energy has agreed that its approach was unsympathetic and the distrusting attitude was not acceptable. The company said it is retraining staff so this does not happen again.