Smart Meters

[francish]

had a letter today from my energy company e.on to install smart meters
can i refuse to have them
thanks

[Jackdaw33]

Yes.

[margarettom]

Yes. Just ignore the letter. If they have put a date cancel it.

[woofgang]

it depends. Some of the tariffs now make having a smart meter a requirement.

[Puzzled001]

Yes you can refuse,It's a 'government initiative' and at present is not enforceable. I've informed my supplier, Scottish Power, that if they make it 'compulsory' then I will change supplier Smart Meters are not 'consumer friendly'

[gingejbee]

^Yes, you can refuse to have one...as I have done on a number of occasions.
However, you may not be able to choose the most beneficial tariff ie cheaper one/ones.

[Old_Geezer]

I just ignore the letter. If it mentions a date they need confirmation anyway in order to avoid a wasted visit.

[New Judge]

The overall problem is that everybody's meter will need replacing at some time due to (alleged) obsolescence. When that time comes you cannot refuse to allow your meter to be replaced and the replacement will be a so-called smart meter.

In the meantime you can decline their generous offer of a meter which will do nothing for you, will possibly present problems if you want to change supplier and will, eventually, allow the supplier to have control over your supply. It is true that some suppliers are only providing their best tariffs on the condition that the customer has a smart meter. I did read some time back that there was a court case pending challenging that stipulation but I cannot find any trace of it now.

[francish]

ta u all for brill info

[Peter Pedant]

dont answer the letter
if they phone when you know it is THEM so a funny voice

[Peter Pedant]

they would be OK if they worked
like lot of things on AB - they dont
OK for that firm but are prone to malfunction if you change supplier

[and as far as I know both parties both say - so what/]

[allenlondon]

All for the funny voice response. Sometimes I am my brother (haven't got one). Sometimes Mrs A is me (surprisingly high voice for a bloke). Confuses the **** out of them.

A

[barry1010]

Check your contract, francish. It might be a condition of your tariff.

[francish]

i just phoned e.on he said if i get a smart meter i could save £143 a year true or false i wonder

[barry1010]

Did you ask him how he came to that figure? If it's a cheaper tariff, probably true. If it's because he believes you will use less electricity because you have a smart meter, it's false.

[francish]

thank u

[Vagus]

Ask them to explain how the saving would be arrived at.
We have a smart meter, which we asked for, we weren’t approached, and have had it for about five problem free years.

[brainiac]

Vagus, why did you ask for a smart meter? What benefits do you get from it?
I have always refused one, as they seem to be all about convenience and control for the energy supplier, not the customer.

[Arksided]

As above yes you can refuse to have one, Myself I'm happy with mine as I know exactly where I stand with it when I need to top up etc... (Utilita, both Gas and elec) much better for me than a hefty quarterly bill from British gas who I wouldn't recomend even to a Liverpool or Leeds United supporter.

[theshedman]

I copied this from another thread I answered.

When I was offered a new tariff with EON they did the same saying I had to have a smart meter. I contacted them and was told they have to say that but if I didn't want one just to tell them when they phone to arrange a date to install it. I did this and got the cheaper tariff. When they phoned I told them I would only have a smart meter when they have sorted out the problems they have with some of them and have one that will work if I change suppliers. They said that was fine but they had to offer me one because of regulations.

[Canary42]

The Government balked at making them compulsory (a sure vote-loser) and instead they set energy suppliers goals for installation of Smart Meters, so inevitably the suppliers will always try it on. Needless to say goals haven't been met.