How to Protect Yourself When Taking Meter Readings

Moving house involves a long list of things to organise, and energy meters can be easy to overlook. But a few minutes spent checking your meters, recording the readings and taking photographs can save you significant time and money later.

The key principle is simple: create a clear record of where your responsibility for energy starts and ends.

When you leave a property, you want evidence of the amount of energy used up to the point you stopped being responsible for it. When you arrive at a new property, you want evidence of the meter reading at the point your responsibility begins.

This is particularly important if there is later a disagreement about a bill, an estimated reading, a previous occupier’s debt, a faulty meter or which property a meter actually supplies.

Why meter readings matter when you move

Your energy supplier uses meter readings to determine how much gas or electricity has been consumed. If an actual reading is not available, the supplier may have to estimate consumption.

An estimate is not necessarily wrong, but it can create uncertainty about exactly how much energy was used before or after you moved. A dated meter reading taken at the point of moving provides a much stronger reference point.

We reccomend taking meter readings on the day you move out and giving them to your supplier. We also recommend taking readings on the day you move into your new property. Keeping a record of the readings and dates can be useful if you later disagree with a bill.

Think of the meter reading as a handover point. It establishes a boundary between the energy used before the handover and the energy used afterwards.

The basic rule: record the meter, the date and the property

When moving house you should record:

• the property address
• the date of the reading
• the time of the reading, where practical
• the electricity meter reading
• the gas meter reading, if the property has gas
• the meter serial number or other meter identification details
• photographs of the meters and their readings
• the name of the current energy supplier
• your account or customer reference, where relevant

The photographs are particularly valuable because they provide a visual record of what the meter displayed at the time.

Before leaving your old property

Ideally, deal with your energy account before moving day rather than leaving everything until afterwards.

1. Tell your energy supplier that you are moving

Contact your electricity and gas suppliers and tell them that you are moving. Give them the date on which you will stop being responsible for the property and provide a forwarding address for your final bill.

2. Find every meter

Do not assume that the obvious meter is the only one you need to check.

Check for:

• electricity meter
• gas meter
• any separate meter serving an extension or other part of the property
• heat or hot-water meters, if applicable
• any communal or heat-network metering arrangements

Most ordinary homes will have electricity and, where applicable, gas meters. Some properties, however, have more complicated arrangements. If you are unsure which meter belongs to your property, ask your landlord, letting agent, building manager or energy supplier.

3. Take the final readings

Take your final readings as close as possible to the point at which you leave the property and stop being responsible for its energy use.

For an electricity meter, record the displayed electricity reading. For a gas meter, record the reading displayed by the gas meter. Make sure you understand which numbers constitute the meter reading for your particular meter.

If you have a smart meter, check whether it is successfully communicating readings to your supplier. Smart meters normally send readings automatically, but communication problems can occur. If the meter is not operating in smart mode, you may still need to provide a final reading yourself.

4. Photograph the meter

Do not rely solely on writing down the number.

Take a clear photograph showing the meter reading. Where possible, take another photograph showing the meter itself and its identifying information, such as the serial number.

Your photograph should ideally make it possible to establish:

• which meter you photographed
• what the reading was
• which date the photograph was taken
• which property the meter was located at

If the meter is difficult to identify from the photograph alone, take a wider photograph showing its location and then a closer photograph showing the reading.

5. Keep the original photographs

Keep the original photographs rather than relying on a screenshot or edited copy. If your phone automatically stores the date and time associated with the photograph, retain that information.

What exactly should you photograph?

A useful approach is to take three photographs for each important meter where practical.

1. A close-up of the reading — make sure the numbers are clear.
2. A photograph of the whole meter — showing the meter and its identifying details.
3. A wider photograph of the meter’s location — useful if there could be confusion about which meter belongs to which property.

You may not need all three every time, but this approach is particularly useful in flats, converted buildings, blocks with multiple meters or properties where several meters are located together.

Write down the meter serial number

The meter reading tells you how much energy the meter has recorded. The meter serial number helps establish which meter you are talking about.

This distinction matters.

Imagine a row of six electricity meters in a communal meter cupboard. You photograph a reading of 18,450, but there is no record of which meter you photographed. If there is later a disagreement, the photograph may be much less useful.

Where possible, record the meter serial number alongside the reading.

If the meter number on your supplier’s records does not match the physical meter at the property, contact the supplier and ask them to investigate. Citizens Advice also recommends checking meter identification details when you believe you may be being billed for the wrong meter.

Moving into your new property

The same process applies in reverse.

Your first priority should be establishing the meter readings at the moment you become responsible for the property.

1. Take photographs before using significant amounts of energy

If possible, take your photographs and readings as soon as you arrive, before you start heating the property, running appliances or carrying out other activities that consume substantial amounts of energy.

You do not need to avoid turning on the lights or making a cup of tea. The important point is to make the meter reading one of the first things you check.

2. Record the starting reading

Record the electricity and gas readings, where applicable, along with the date and time.

Then photograph the meters in the same way you did at your old property.

3. Check the meter numbers

Compare the physical meter information with any information you have been given about the property.

If the property contains several meters, do not guess which one is yours. Establish which meter supplies the property and keep a record of its identifying details.

4. Find out who currently supplies the property

When you move into a property, there will normally already be an energy supplier providing the electricity and, where applicable, gas.

Contact the current supplier and tell them that you have moved in, giving them your move-in date and meter readings. Citizens Advice recommends doing this on the day you move in so the supplier can establish an accurate starting point for your account.

Do not assume that a smart meter means you have nothing to do

A smart meter can make moving house easier because it can normally send readings automatically to the supplier. But you should still make your own record when you move.

There can be communication problems, supplier-system errors or confusion over which property or meter is associated with an account. Your own dated photograph gives you an independent record of what the meter showed.

If your smart meter is not communicating properly, your supplier may have to rely on estimated readings until the problem is resolved.

What if the meter is difficult to read?

Meters are sometimes installed in awkward places: outside cupboards, communal meter rooms, under stairs or behind locked doors.

If you cannot safely access the meter, do not put yourself at risk. Contact the supplier, landlord, managing agent or whoever controls access to the meter.

Your supplier may also be able to provide assistance where you have difficulty accessing or reading a meter.

What about prepayment meters?

Extra care is needed if your new property has a prepayment meter.

A prepayment meter may contain debt or other charges associated with a previous occupier. You should contact the current supplier promptly and make clear that you have just moved into the property.

Keep your move-in evidence particularly carefully in this situation. Your tenancy agreement, completion documentation and dated meter photographs can all help establish when your responsibility began.

What if there is a dispute about who used the energy?

This is where your records become especially valuable.

Suppose you move into a property and, several weeks later, receive a bill that appears to include energy used before you moved in. Or suppose you leave a property and receive a final bill that appears to include energy used after you moved out.

The question is not simply, “How much energy was used?” The more important question is:

What was the meter reading when responsibility for the property changed?

If you have a dated reading and photograph from the relevant point, you have evidence of the meter’s recorded consumption at that time.

Example: moving into a property

Imagine you move into a house on 1 October.

If your starting reading is 12,860 kWh and your later reading is 13,260 kWh, the meter has recorded 400 kWh of electricity consumption between those readings.

The 20 kWh between the earlier reading and your starting reading belongs to the period before your recorded start point. Your evidence helps establish where that boundary lies.

The exact billing position can depend on the circumstances and the supplier’s records, but the principle is straightforward: your responsibility should not normally extend to energy used before you became responsible for the property. If a bill relates to energy used before you moved in, you should tell the supplier when you moved and provide evidence if requested.

What if the previous occupant’s reading and your reading are different?

This can happen, and it does not automatically mean that someone has done anything wrong.

For example, the previous occupant may have submitted an estimated reading, while you have taken an actual reading when moving in.

In that situation, give the supplier your actual reading and explain exactly when it was taken. Provide your photograph if requested.

If the difference is large, ask the supplier to explain how the opening reading on your account was established and what evidence they used.

What if the supplier says you owe money from before you moved in?

You should not simply accept a bill for energy that was used before you became responsible for the property.

Tell the supplier clearly:

• the date you became responsible for the property
• the meter reading on that date
• the meter identification number
• the previous occupant’s responsibility period, if known
• that the disputed consumption relates to a period before you moved in

Provide supporting evidence such as your tenancy agreement, completion documents or dated meter photographs if the supplier asks for proof. Citizens Advice states that you do not have to pay for energy used before you moved in and recommends providing evidence of when you moved if necessary.

What if you are billed for energy after you moved out?

The same principle applies when leaving a property.

If you moved out on 15 March and have evidence of the meter reading on that date, but a later bill appears to include consumption after you stopped being responsible, contact your supplier and provide your evidence.

If another person moved into the property after you, you should not have to pay for the energy they used after they became responsible for the property.

Check the meter number if something does not add up

Sometimes the problem is not the reading. It is the meter.

If the consumption shown on your bill does not make sense, check that the meter identification on the bill corresponds with the physical meter at your property.

This is especially important where meters are grouped together, such as in blocks of flats or converted properties.

For gas, the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) is associated with the gas supply.

For electricity, your supplier can help establish which meter and supply point are associated with your account if there is uncertainty.

Do not confuse the meter reading with your bill

A meter reading tells you how much energy the meter has recorded over its lifetime. Your bill is a calculation based on readings, prices, standing charges, taxes and other account information.

For example, if an electricity meter reads 15,000 kWh, that does not mean you have a £15,000 bill. The reading is a measure of cumulative energy consumption recorded by the meter.

Your supplier works out consumption over a billing period by comparing readings. If a meter moves from 15,000 kWh to 15,250 kWh, the recorded consumption between those readings is 250 kWh.

What records should you keep after moving?

Do not delete your moving-day evidence immediately after receiving your final bill or first bill. Keep it with your other property records.

• Move-out date
• Move-in date
• Final meter readings from your old property
• Starting meter readings at your new property
• Photographs of both sets of meters
• Meter serial numbers
• Supplier names
• Account numbers or customer references
• Copies of meter-reading submissions
• Confirmation emails or messages from suppliers
• Final bill from the old property
• First bill from the new property
• Tenancy agreement or property completion documentation, where relevant

A simple folder containing these records can make resolving a dispute considerably easier.

Make a simple moving-day energy record

You can make the process easier by preparing a simple checklist before moving day.

A five-minute meter check on moving day

If you are short on time, focus on these essential actions.

1. Find the electricity and gas meters.
2. Record the readings.
3. Record the meter numbers.
4. Take clear photographs.
5. Note the date and time.
6. Submit the readings to the relevant supplier.
7. Keep confirmation that you submitted them.

These steps take very little time but create a useful evidence trail.

What if you cannot take a reading on the exact day?

Sometimes practical circumstances make this impossible. You may not have access to the property, the meter may be inaccessible, or the move may happen outside normal circumstances.

If you cannot take a reading on the exact day, take one as soon as reasonably possible and tell the supplier the actual date and time it was taken.

Do not present a later reading as though it were the reading from moving day.

Instead, be precise: “I moved into the property on 1 October. I could not access the meter until 2 October at 10:30am. The reading at that point was 12,860 kWh.”

Clear information is more useful than an apparently precise but inaccurate record.

What if you discover a problem after moving in?

Do not ignore an unusual meter reading simply because you have already moved in.

Contact the supplier if:

• the opening reading on your account is different from the reading you recorded
• the meter number does not appear to match your records
• you appear to have been charged for energy used before you moved in
• you receive a bill for a previous occupant’s consumption
• you believe the supplier has recorded your move date incorrectly
• your meter appears to be recording unusually high consumption
• you suspect the meter is faulty

If you believe the meter itself may be inaccurate, your supplier is responsible for dealing with the meter and can carry out checks. Citizens Advice recommends taking a reading before a meter is tested and notes that a photograph of the reading can help if there is a later dispute.

If you need to make a complaint

If the supplier does not resolve the problem, use its formal complaints process. Keep copies of your correspondence and any evidence you provide.

Keep your explanation factual and chronological. For example:

• I became responsible for the property on 1 October.
• I recorded the electricity meter at 12,860 kWh on that date.
• I photographed the meter at the same time.
• I submitted the reading to the supplier on 1 October.
• The supplier’s bill subsequently used an opening reading of 12,400 kWh.
• I am asking the supplier to investigate and correct the opening reading.

This is much stronger than simply saying that “the bill is wrong”. It gives the supplier a specific issue to investigate.

Why photographs are worth taking

A written note tells you what you remember recording. A photograph provides a contemporaneous visual record of what was displayed on the meter.

Neither guarantees that a billing dispute will be resolved in your favour. But together with your move date, supplier records and property documents, photographs can make it much easier to establish what happened.

This is particularly useful where there is a gap between moving and the supplier receiving or processing your reading.

The most important distinction: consumption before and after responsibility

Energy meters measure consumption continuously. They do not know who is responsible for paying the bill.

The supplier needs information about who was responsible for the property during a particular period so that the recorded consumption can be allocated correctly.

That is why the handover reading matters.

Your move-in reading establishes the starting point for your consumption at the new property. Your move-out reading establishes the ending point for your consumption at the old property.

The meter measures the energy. Your records help establish who was responsible for it.

Moving house energy checklist

• Tell your existing energy supplier that you are moving.
• Record your old property’s electricity meter reading.
• Record your old property’s gas meter reading, if applicable.
• Record the meter serial numbers.
• Take clear photographs of each meter.
• Record the date and, ideally, the time.
• Submit your final readings to your supplier.
• Keep confirmation that you submitted them.
• Provide a forwarding address for your final bill.
• At the new property, locate all relevant meters.
• Record the electricity and gas readings immediately.
• Photograph the meters and their identification details.
• Check whether the property has a prepayment meter.
• Find out who currently supplies the property.
• Give the new supplier or existing supplier your opening readings.
• Check that the opening readings on your first bill match your records.
• Keep your photographs and documents until your accounts have been settled.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to take a meter reading when I move house?

Yes. You should take a final reading when leaving your old property and an opening reading when moving into your new property. These readings help establish how much energy was recorded before and after the change in responsibility.

Should I photograph my meter reading?

Yes. A clear photograph provides useful evidence of what the meter displayed at the time. It is particularly helpful if you later disagree with a bill or the supplier’s recorded reading.

What should I photograph on the meter?

Take a clear photograph of the reading and, where possible, the meter’s identifying information. If several meters are located together, a wider photograph showing the meter’s location can also be useful.

What if I move into a house with energy debt?

Contact the current supplier and explain that you have just moved in. You should not normally be responsible for energy debt belonging to a previous occupant. If the property has a prepayment meter, contact the supplier before adding money if possible, as previous debt may otherwise cause problems.

What if my first bill starts with the wrong meter reading?

Contact the supplier and provide your move-in date, your actual opening reading and your photograph. Ask them to explain why their opening reading differs from the reading you submitted and request that the account is corrected if necessary.

What if I am billed for energy used before I moved in?

Tell the supplier that you were not responsible for the property during that period. Provide your move-in date and supporting evidence, such as your meter photograph and tenancy or property documents.

What if I am billed for energy after I moved out?

Contact the supplier and provide your move-out date and final meter reading. If another person became responsible for the property after you left, you should not normally be responsible for their subsequent energy use.

Do smart meters remove the need for meter readings?

Not entirely. Smart meters normally send readings automatically, but you should still record and photograph the meter when moving. If the smart meter is not communicating correctly, the supplier may otherwise have to use estimated readings.

Final takeaway

Moving house is one of the simplest times to create a clear boundary around your energy responsibility.

Take the final reading at your old property. Take the opening reading at your new property. Photograph both. Record the meter identification numbers. Tell the suppliers promptly. Keep the evidence.

If something goes wrong later, you will have more than a memory of what happened. You will have a dated record showing what the meter displayed when responsibility for the property changed.

A few minutes with your phone on moving day can save hours of uncertainty later.