ChatterBank3 mins ago
Smart Meters
21 Answers
ive heard that not all smart meters are compatible if you change energy suppliers, so is it just a case of asking a potential supplier if the one I have is ok to be with them if I switch
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Touch wood mine has been ok, I was a bit apprehensive about getting one due to all the problems I had read about but found out that people has a lot of problems when they were first introduced so it seems at least to me that all if not most of these problems have been sorted out. I will probably have to ask a potential supplier if mine is ok or if they will install their own but thanks all for replies.
Baldric, you read my post wrong, probably my choice of words.
I did not mean the energy company has control over your decision to have a smart meter - they are not (yet) compulsory but they do have control over what they charge and they can get a court order to cut you off if you don't pay the bill. They need that court order whether you have a smart meter or not. They can also insist that you have a pre-payment meter if you owe them money or have a bad credit rating when you sign up for them. They can also refuse to supply you if you want to change to them.
I did not mean the energy company has control over your decision to have a smart meter - they are not (yet) compulsory but they do have control over what they charge and they can get a court order to cut you off if you don't pay the bill. They need that court order whether you have a smart meter or not. They can also insist that you have a pre-payment meter if you owe them money or have a bad credit rating when you sign up for them. They can also refuse to supply you if you want to change to them.
“I'm with British Gas and they've never asked me to have a smart meter installed.”
I change suppliers most years. This year BG was offering the best deal I could find (£250 cheaper than the next best). The condition was I had to have smart meters installed. (As an aside I’m surprised that more energy suppliers have not adopted this ruse).
Anyway, whilst I’ve no wish to have a Smart Meter (they don’t save you anything – only switching things off saves you money) £250 is not to be sniffed at and at some point I will have to have my meter changed anyway so I’ll go for it. The conditions stated that I had to make an appointment within 3 months of my contract start date and keep that appointment.
So I did. Engineer arrives on the appointed day and I’d cleared the junk from under my stairs (vacuum cleaner, drawers full of light bulbs, shopping bags, “spare” wine, etc.). I invited the engineer in and showed him under the stairs. The conversation went something like this:
NJ: “Off you go then. Leccy’s there and gas is outside.”
Engineer looks under stairs and takes sharp intake of breath.
Engineer: “’Ang on guv. I’ll have to ring my handler”.
NJ: “Handler? Why do you need handling?”
Engineer: “Well, I’m not fully certified yet and what you have here is an asbestos cut out.”
NJ: “What, you mean that big metal box with the main fuse inside” [It’s a large fuse holder, made of asbestos, holding single two pinned fuse].
Engineer: “That’s the one guv. Asbestos, see. I can’t touch it. I’m not certificated”
NJ: “But you’ve only got to pull the fuse out. You’re not going to cut it or drill it are you?”
Engineer: “No. But I can’t touch it. Asbestos, see. Regulations.”
NJ: “Well I’ll pull it out for you. You can wait in the front garden”. [I'd seen inside the metal box a few months earlier when I'd had a new consumer board fitted. My electrician remarked how most houses of mine's age had them. He sat happily next to the open box with the fuse removed whilst he did his work].
Engineer: “No. Can’t possibly let you do that, guv. More than my job’s worth. If you do that I can’t touch it. I’ll ring my handler to see if there's anybody in the area who’s certificated.”
He did. There wasn’t.
Engineer: “Well that’s it for today guv. Anyway, I’ll soon book you in for another appointment. Get someone round here who can do the job.”
NJ: “No you won’t. I’ve kept my part of the deal. I've only done this to get a cheap tariff. I’ve made an appointment and kept it. That’s me done as far as I’m concerned.”
Engineer: “But don’t you want Smart Meters?”
NJ: “No I don’t. Good day to you”
Engineer: “So I’ll say you’ve cancelled then?”
NJ: “You’ll say nothing of the sort. I’m here, you’re here. It’s not my fault you can’t do the job.”
I expected contact from BG suggesting I had not kept my part of the contract and expected an argument (I’d read my T&Cs thoroughly by then and there was no mention of a second or subsequent appointment. It stated that if they could not fit a Smart Meter for any reason I would be allowed to retain the cheap contract). But lo and behold two days later I received an e-mail apologising for being unable to fit the meters and outlining “other ways I can reduce my energy bills”.
Another giant leap forward in the battle against Climate Change!
I change suppliers most years. This year BG was offering the best deal I could find (£250 cheaper than the next best). The condition was I had to have smart meters installed. (As an aside I’m surprised that more energy suppliers have not adopted this ruse).
Anyway, whilst I’ve no wish to have a Smart Meter (they don’t save you anything – only switching things off saves you money) £250 is not to be sniffed at and at some point I will have to have my meter changed anyway so I’ll go for it. The conditions stated that I had to make an appointment within 3 months of my contract start date and keep that appointment.
So I did. Engineer arrives on the appointed day and I’d cleared the junk from under my stairs (vacuum cleaner, drawers full of light bulbs, shopping bags, “spare” wine, etc.). I invited the engineer in and showed him under the stairs. The conversation went something like this:
NJ: “Off you go then. Leccy’s there and gas is outside.”
Engineer looks under stairs and takes sharp intake of breath.
Engineer: “’Ang on guv. I’ll have to ring my handler”.
NJ: “Handler? Why do you need handling?”
Engineer: “Well, I’m not fully certified yet and what you have here is an asbestos cut out.”
NJ: “What, you mean that big metal box with the main fuse inside” [It’s a large fuse holder, made of asbestos, holding single two pinned fuse].
Engineer: “That’s the one guv. Asbestos, see. I can’t touch it. I’m not certificated”
NJ: “But you’ve only got to pull the fuse out. You’re not going to cut it or drill it are you?”
Engineer: “No. But I can’t touch it. Asbestos, see. Regulations.”
NJ: “Well I’ll pull it out for you. You can wait in the front garden”. [I'd seen inside the metal box a few months earlier when I'd had a new consumer board fitted. My electrician remarked how most houses of mine's age had them. He sat happily next to the open box with the fuse removed whilst he did his work].
Engineer: “No. Can’t possibly let you do that, guv. More than my job’s worth. If you do that I can’t touch it. I’ll ring my handler to see if there's anybody in the area who’s certificated.”
He did. There wasn’t.
Engineer: “Well that’s it for today guv. Anyway, I’ll soon book you in for another appointment. Get someone round here who can do the job.”
NJ: “No you won’t. I’ve kept my part of the deal. I've only done this to get a cheap tariff. I’ve made an appointment and kept it. That’s me done as far as I’m concerned.”
Engineer: “But don’t you want Smart Meters?”
NJ: “No I don’t. Good day to you”
Engineer: “So I’ll say you’ve cancelled then?”
NJ: “You’ll say nothing of the sort. I’m here, you’re here. It’s not my fault you can’t do the job.”
I expected contact from BG suggesting I had not kept my part of the contract and expected an argument (I’d read my T&Cs thoroughly by then and there was no mention of a second or subsequent appointment. It stated that if they could not fit a Smart Meter for any reason I would be allowed to retain the cheap contract). But lo and behold two days later I received an e-mail apologising for being unable to fit the meters and outlining “other ways I can reduce my energy bills”.
Another giant leap forward in the battle against Climate Change!
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