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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: Retriever on Monday 17 September 18 16:07 BST (UK)
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I have received another letter from my electricity provider trying to pressure me into having a smart meter. As I do not want one I have been ignoring their letters.
They ask in the letter to call them if I do not want a smart meter at this time but I am wary of doing that as the phone number is the same as for booking an appointment to have one installed.
Has anyone phoned to say they don't want one?
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I received communications via email and also telephone. Finally said to the telephone operator, after yet again saying I don't want one - asked if they could take number off the call list. This seems to have worked - so far.
The email message had a place to click to say I did not want one. Again, this seems to have worked.
Surely, as long as you don't agree a date or time during the telephone call, then they won't turn up. It's probably a call centre that takes all incoming calls.
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We had one installed several years ago & the monitor lives in the kitchen, it's been very useful. At one point we noticed the daily usage had suddenly increased, this went on for some days with us checking all the electrical appliances but not a clue - till OH remembered he'd plugged the caravan into the mains electric so I could hoover it out & the caravan central heating was still on :o ::)
For us the smart meter seems to have been a good idea.
Pat
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I told them on the phone.
Tell them not to use your personal data to send you anything about smart meters. If they still do so it then becomes a breach of the Data Protection Act.
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Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I will ring them tomorrow.
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" For us the smart meter seems to have been a good idea.
Pat "
I think a change of OH would have been a far better idea ;D ;D ;D
It's actually a piece of junk. My unit resides in the junk drawer. Just where the
vast majority of consumers put theirs. The smart meters cost the consumer a
fortune just because some Politician fell for the spiel from the suppliers. Money
which could have been better spent on improving services and reducing the bills
of the consumer. In fact just like these useless windmills, another con trick.
More power to your elbow, Retriever. :D :D :D :D
P.S. Smart meters automatically send readings to energy firms via a wireless signal
Estimated cost of rolling out smart meters has gone from £11bn to nearer £20bn
This would wipe out all the savings households were promised they would make
If the £9bn cost is passed on in full, it would add £300 on to every bill by 2030
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This also makes interesting reading:-
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/six-reasons-say-no-smart-meter/
Have a nice day :D :D :D :D :D
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Get a barge pole and don't touch a smart meter with it. Everything ever written says don't get one. They are unreliable, ultimately cost you more, and make it difficult to change providers (which you should consider every year or two.)
Martin (who sells a lot of Grade A, bargain-priced, top quality barge poles. P&P extra)
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I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who doesn’t want or need one. I already have a digital meter, have no trouble reading it and letting them know if their estimates are out.
I will ring and tell them I don’t want one and put my foot down if they try the hard sell.
Regards
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I will ring and tell them I don’t want one and put my foot down if they try the hard sell.
I declined a Smart Meter too but I would save yourself the pennies for the call as you haven't asked for a Smart Meter i.e. you don't need to remind them ;D
Annie
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So you think I should carry on ignoring their letters, perhaps that’s the best idea just keep them guessing and wasting their time and postage ;D
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We have refused a smart meter too. Got a mail shot last week but just ignored it - gone into the paper recycle bin - best place for it.
Friends had one installed a couple of years ago and it drove them nuts watching the thing birl around so it is now living in a drawer.
Ignore all letters, emails and phone calls ;D ;D
Dorrie
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Thanks for that Dorrie, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one against having a smart meter.
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I don't want one either!
Someone told me there will be no choice but to change, I tried to read the link but I have adblocker and it cut in as I was readng about this.
I don't understand how it will save so much money because I'm always turning things off and not using standby etc. All the lights are now energy saving ones but they are so dull and LED's are so expensive. I wash clothes at low temperatures and don't have a dishwasher, don't even use the hairdryer/styler as much as I used to, so I can't see what else I can do!!
rayard.
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I don't want one either!
Someone told me there will be no choice but to change
rayard.
You definitely don't have to have one. My supplier contacted me by telephone earlier this year to say that my electricity meter was due to be changed and that they would take the opportunity to change the gas meter at the same time and put in a smart meter. I refused , very firmly , and they just changed the electricity meter for a new digital one. I wouldn't dream of having one as they are not compatible if you want to switch suppliers and people have had problems with them not being accurate.
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Sorry to butt in on this but I wouldn't bother replying to their letters or phoning them. It won't stop them pestering you in the future. (Been there, done that!).
In another property we have, we use a different energy supplier, and have just been offered £30 if we have a smart meter installed! Our answer was still NO WAY!
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Thank you Christine53!!
That is such a relief. I know that might sound silly but I really don't want to change. The meter reader said they have to call regularly anyway to check the meters!
One good tip if you have to take your own reading but can't bend or reach, is to take a picture with the phone or tablet if you have one!!
rayard.
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I really seem to have stirred things up with this. I did wonder if I was making myself look a right fool posting in the first place.
I don’t see any advantage to me in switching, if I need power I use it. If I don’t I turn it off. I’m not going to spend my life wondering about the cost every time I want to watch tv or whatever.
They can carry on sending letters, I will carry on putting them in the recycling.
Many thanks and regards to you all for your comments, I appreciate them all.
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Thanks from me too, I did not want one and refused ,have not had any more
communications ,but it is good to know your initial instinct to refuse one
was not as daft as some tried to make out it was.
Viktoria.
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I THINK I've managed to make my supplier realise I don't want one when I scrolled right down to the bottom of the email and found an Opt Out button. This took me to a page asking me why but with a box to tick if I didn't want to say !!!!!
Anyway Ive not had a call/email for 2 weeks so fingers crossed.
BUT Im now being bombarded with emails telling me Id save money if I went with dual fuel from them. They already know I don't have gas to the property :-)
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I haven’t given them my email address luckily as their letters are irritating enough.
They have tried ringing me although I don’t remember giving my home phone number, but as their number is not in my contacts list my call blocker phone won’t put them through.
Why they don’t accept that as I don’t respond to their calls or letters I really don’t have any intention of having a smart meter I do not know.
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You probably gave your telephone number when you signed up with them in the first place? I found myself in a similar situation with one of the other utilities companies!
Personally, I don't mind the email - it seems easy enough to opt out or unsubscribe.
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The post has just arrived, with it is an "appointment to fit a smart meter in 3 weeks time", I've never asked for a meter and don't want one, so I'll politely decline their offer.
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Oh dear, perhaps that’s the new tactic.
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We did not have a choice to have smart meters fitted outside so that they could dial them up for meter readings. This was a condition of moving to a cheaper electric company. We live on a farm. Our domestic and business meters were fitted by different companies. The one works well, when we switch they have no problem downloading the correct meter readings. The domestic one was fitted by e.on and no one has managed to access it two companies later. On top of that the blessed thing gives you very little time to write the numbers down and taking a picture of it is nearly impossible as the numerals are so thin and fill the screen so the 9 looks like a 4 if you are not careful. :-\
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I have been following this thread with interest, as we had an appointment to have a smart meter fitted recently. Hubby arranged it, I wasn't bothered about having one or not. Reading this thread made me think that it probably was not such a wise move, but also that you don't lose anything as you can just hide the hand held devise and carry on as you did before. So I wasn't too bothered.
Have now had it for a few days. Cant say it will make any difference to our fuel consumption as we would turn off lights etc anyway. But it is quite interesting to see how the consumption varies through the day.
Our one gripe is that the little devise has to be plugged in - battery only lasts an hour - so we will be using electricity for that!
That is, until the novelty wears off and it gets put in the drawer like everyone elses!
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Smart meter fitted yesterday, OH decided to go ahead and get one, i wasn’t bothered as i, like others see no benfit. Instead of taking an hour the installer was here two and a half hours trying to get the gas meter to connect to the display. in the end he said to leave it (understandably he had other appointments to go to) and it may right itself. if not give them a call.
needless to say it hasn’t righted itself and although the gas is being registered as being used it isn’t showing on our display. The purpose, to my mind of having a smart meter is seeing how much is used, which with the gas at the moment we can’t! I thought OH was going to explode when waiting for a phone call back (within 10 minutes, they said, but after 40 minutes he was still waiting).
They didn’t waste any time in sending through a customer satifaction questionaire though! OH isn’t filling it in until everything is sorted.
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Our installer was here a couple of hours - but that us what he had said from the outset.
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Here is an update on these abominations.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6419859/Smart-energy-meter-rollout-cost-taxpayers-500m-planned.html#comments
Martin
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Thanks for that. I will read it later.
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I'm waiting on them for 12 Noon to 4PM today. Wish I had said 'no thank you'. Still I had £30 for no show last time.
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Regorian, I like the idea of booking a 'no show'.
12:30 update, right now on Radio 4 there is a phone in and discussion with an industry expert and various people who have had bad experiences. It will be available on the BBC website on listen again.
Martin
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Radio4 Today had an item this morning Martin. New projected saving, £11 pa!!!
14.25hrs. now, over half way to 4 PM. Hope they don't arrive.
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Just listened to that, Martin.
A few facts that stood out for me.
Over 70% of customers complained that they were given little or no instruction as to how their smart meter was supposed to work.
Customer uptake is far, far lower than expected.
Industry experts said that if a householder took all the prudent and responsible actions towards energy saving (lights, insulation, lagging, draught exclusion), there was no need for a smart meter.
Lots of talk about 'expectations' and 'should' and 'possibly could' and 'hopefully',
and finally
The government has allocated £11 Billion (with a possible extra £1.6 Billion) for implementation.
What this all means and how it will all develop - I have no idea.
Regards
Chas
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16.15Hrs. and 'no show' again. Yippee! I'll slide out of this 'aberration'.
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Having now read the comments on the link posted by Mart ‘n’ Al, it would seem many more are against than for.
If the government are prepared to allocate all those billions of £s, then I suspect there is something we don’t know yet and when we find out we won’t be at all happy.
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Having now read the comments on the link posted by Mart ‘n’ Al, it would seem many more are against than for.
If the government are prepared to allocate all those billions of £s, then I suspect there is something we don’t know yet and when we find out we won’t be at all happy.
A smart meter would allow the electricity company to vary (ie. increase!) its charges during peaks in demand.
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Exactly - so why would anyone go for this "smart" device?
We have a fixed monthly income - pension - and so we have opted to spread our payments to the energy supplier over the year. We therefore, obviously, pay more in the summer than we use (especially as we are usually away from home for 2 months), but this is counteracted by our winter bills.
Or have we lost the plot? :-X
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I was thinking more of things neither presently known or suspected, totally out of the blue.
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There was an item on BBC Breakfast this morning too.
Their "expert" said every home will save £x if they have a Smart Meter, but unless I'm missing something, unless you watch it intently, see what is on when it is flying round and turn that off, you won't save anything. The device itself won't save you money, as was implied.
Interestingly, my stepson had one installed a few months back (fell for the "it's compulsory" line). Apparently, theirs keeps losing it's change very quickly, so they now use more electricity charging the thing up then they would have if it hadn't been installed. ::)
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Slightly off-topic, sorry. We also have solar panels. If I submit the readings by e-mail, then we may or may not get a correspondingly accurate payment. If, however, I ring the company and give the reading verbally, then it is accurate! :-\
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Exactly - so why would anyone go for this "smart" device?
We have a fixed monthly income - pension - and so we have opted to spread our payments to the energy supplier over the year. We therefore, obviously, pay more in the summer than we use (especially as we are usually away from home for 2 months), but this is counteracted by our winter bills.
Or have we lost the plot? :-X
Not at all but with a smart meter you can check your power company is not taking more in direct debits than is required and change the amount of the direct debit online.
There was an item on BBC Breakfast this morning too.
Their "expert" said every home will save £x if they have a Smart Meter, but unless I'm missing something, unless you watch it intently, see what is on when it is flying round and turn that off, you won't save anything. The device itself won't save you money, as was implied.
Interestingly, my stepson had one installed a few months back (fell for the "it's compulsory" line). Apparently, theirs keeps losing it's change very quickly, so they now use more electricity charging the thing up then they would have if it hadn't been installed. ::)
The point you miss is unless you keep track of things for example bank accounts, money can be deducted in error or by fraud.
Smart meters allow you to check what energy has been used and what is owed, reductions can be made to stay comfortable but still save money.
The smart meter does not use any more energy to run than a dumb meter. I take it the thing your stepson has to charge is the home display. This only needs to be plugged in when you want to check in real time what energy is used, not all the time.
Cheers
Guy
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Not at all but with a smart meter you can check your power company is not taking more in direct debits than is required and change the amount of the direct debit online.
We pay a standard amount by DD each month for gas & electricity (much like the previous poster). The company can not charge more than we have agreed to without our further agreement. When necessary (I have done it) I can vary the monthly payment myself on-line already (up or down).
Until the company can provide us with satisfactory answers any answers regarding data security, the data they will take from the meter and how they will use that data in conjunction with other data they hold then we will not agree to a so-called smart meter being installed.
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The current roll out of Smart Meters being pushed by the Government and Suppliers. They tell you that it saves you having to submit meter readings as the meter sends it for you.
BUT they fail to say that if you switch suppliers regularly then the Smart Meter you've had fitted probably won't work with your next supplier.
I wasn’t aware but my parents were talked into having one fitted a few years ago. They’ve since changed supplier twice and this meter hasn’t worked with either of the new suppliers so they’re back to reading the meter and submitting. So it’s not so smart.
I understand that somewhere in the system is a universal one, until this is available I will not be getting one.
Nic
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Worryingly, a friend had the smart meter installers turn up uninvited at her door, saying that a booking had been made to install the meter. She had not made any booking. It appears that it had been made by the people who had serviced ner cenfral heating boiler a few weeks earlier. All very odd.
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I too pay a fixed amount each month by direct debit.
This summer for example there were long periods when Ineeded no heat at all so only hot water and cooking to use gas.
So I will be very much in credit for gas when the expensive months come along.
So I am not worried about that..
I read my meters about every week ,gas and electriciity.
With the aid of a calculator I can manage to work it out but the calculations are difficult.
Electricity.
Multiply units used by 12.48+20 p per day.That is easy.
Gas.
Units used by39.5,x1.02264,divided by 3.6xunit price plus20 p per day.
That is so complicated,!
It is like cavity wall insulation. My daughter’s was done free on a local council scheme.Her house was quite newly built and privately owned.
Grants were given by some councils but now people are having to have it
removed as their houses are showing signs of dampness.
How much will it cost to remedy that?
All these flash in the pan schemes cost money and end badly for unsuspecting people who are bamboozled by the blurb!
Years ago there was much made of the way children “tidy up” in the classroom.
It was called Schemers.We all had to go on courses to analyse why when for example the children put dolls in the playhouse oven.
Pots and pans in the doll’s beds etc..
The time and expense involved and then it all quietly died down
So much was made of things like this it was ridiculous.
-Of course they were not psychopathic lunatics,just little children who wanted to make it look tidy quickly so they could go out to play.
Well no smart meter for me,not if I can possibly help it.
What a waste of money!l
Viktoria.
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The smart meter does not use any more energy to run than a dumb meter. I take it the thing your stepson has to charge is the home display. This only needs to be plugged in when you want to check in real time what energy is used, not all the time.
Cheers
Guy
Can this home display be plugged in anywhere in the house? How long does it take to charge and how often?
Why can't I simply look at the meter as I do at present? Electricity consumption is low and predictable.
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Had great fun and games with them wanting to put a smart meter in at work. They came out the first time and realised the info the company had was wrong and couldn't fit one. Same power company rang up again a year later wanting to fit smart meter. Told them what the first guys said but person on the phone said that was wrong. In the end I told the person if she wanted to waste an engineers time go ahead. The engineer came out but most of the info he had been given to get there was wrong except the bit about me saying they wouldn't be able to fit the smart meter. Took one look at the meter and said you're right. I can't put a smart meter on your meter.
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The home display unit has a limited wireless range to talk to main meter.
I ended up plugging in the kitchen.
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The home display unit has a limited wireless range to talk to main meter.
I ended up plugging in the kitchen.
Thanks. My electricity meter is in front porch. There are no sockets anywhere near.
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Can this home display be plugged in anywhere in the house? How long does it take to charge and how often?
Why can't I simply look at the meter as I do at present? Electricity consumption is low and predictable.
That depends on the construction and size of the house, I have no idea how long it takes to charge as there are a number of different types but I simply plug mine in if I want to check something and unplug when I am finished using it.
You can simply look at the meter (by pressing buttons on the meter you get different information) but the home display is in effect a mini computer that gives additional information and the basic information in a more user friendly format.
Cheers
Guy
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the home display is in effect a mini computer that gives additional information and the basic information in a more user friendly format.
Massaged to make it look good?
Cynical, moi? ;D
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It is like cavity wall insulation. My daughter’s was done free on a local council scheme.Her house was quite newly built and privately owned.
Grants were given by some councils but now people are having to have it
removed as their houses are showing signs of dampness.
We live in a flat on the ground floor of a house built in 1926. The woman who lived here before us had cavity wall insulation put in - which naturally went up to the first floor flat too. It had to be removed, a costly job, as apparently the dampness was horrific and one complete wall had to be tanked.
Attached to the back of our flat is a very large conservatory built on top of a brick wall - this is only about 15 years old, so we got someone to look at it with a view to cavity wall insulation being installed. As the wall wasn't that old, cavity wall insulation was appropriate, but the man who did it looked at the rest of the walls of the house and said that under no circumstances would his company, or any reputable company have agreed to put cavity wall insulation into the walls of the original house. Figures - the woman who lived in our flat before had so much work done, most of it shoddy that we are slowly remedying, that she could be sold anything.
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My mum has had a smart meter for electricity for some time now. The first was fitted under her previous supplier and the plug-in display had a "traffic light" indicator to show consumption as well as the detailed figures.
It took her new supplier a year to provide a replacement, prompted only by a refusal to provide our own readings, pointing out that all smart meters can be read remotely.
The new plug-in only has an LCD display (no backlight), so gives no hint of usage unless you examine it very carefully.
So the only benefit to her is the remote reading.
As to gas, the last accurate reading is now over four years ago, because the battery for the little digital display ran out. It seems that there is no current model of gas meter, smart or not, which will fit in the same space as the old one.
A complaint to the Ombudsman has prompted yet another engineer visit this coming Monday. Well into double figures now. I suggested that they remove the existing meter and refurbish it. I also suggested that while it was in the workshop they could determine the correct reading and adjust four years' worth of estimated bills appropriately. Knowing what I do about the internals of meters, it is extremely unlikely that they can actually read it, but appearing "reasonable" usually gets you a better outcome. ;)
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Andrew that's why we won't have one. It won't save money, it's just a con trick, people are led to believe that having one of these meters means they won't pay as much for fuel. These smart meters will only save money if you keep your eye on the readings and keep turning everything off. Quite frankly, I'd rather live as I do, even if it does cost me an extra couple of £s each quarter.
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Following on my last post and second 'no show', today recieved an e-mail from my energy supplier asking me to make an appointment. Followed this afternoon by another one....oops sorry, only if you have not had one fitted already. These clowns have no idea whether they are coming or going.
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Regorian - all the more reason not to trust these people and have their smart meter fitted.
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I won't Lizzie. Legal requirement seems to be 2020, hopefully I will be a dead parrot by then. I heard they had installed 29Mln with 39Mln to go.
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Luckily, so far, the only offer of a smart meter (received this week) has been from the utilities company we left 3 years ago :o :o
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I won't Lizzie. Legal requirement seems to be 2020, hopefully I will be a dead parrot by then. I heard they had installed 29Mln with 39Mln to go.
I think you will find 2020 is only the Government target date, not a legal requirement, although I stand to be corrected on that.
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We have turned down offers to install a smart meter - so far :)
Our meters are outside our house but I believe they need access inside too.
Will drag our feet as long as possible and when the inevitable happens put the control thing in a drawer like our friends have done.
The only way to save money is to switch things of including turning down your heating - no way ;D ;D
Dorrie
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The only way to save money is to switch things of including turning down your heating - no way ;D ;D
Exactly what I said. :)
Our meters are outside our house too, and that's where they'll stay. We won't be having smart meters - as we live in a flat (bottom floor of an old house, top floor is the other flat) we can't even have a water meter, which we would have liked. Apparently we share a water supply from the road which then divides to the two separate properties - I thought that's what happens with all houses - but water board said impossible to fit a meter to our part. ???
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May I ask ..... you have the water connected but no meter installed and they decline to install one..... so .... they cannot measure your usage .... so ... how can they charge you for any water .... I reckon you could decline to pay for water on the basis they cannot provide you with access to THEIR meter for you to monitor ANY water you MAY use...
;D ;D
JM
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They charge us on rateable value (council tax) but with a deduction as there are only 2 of us in the property. However, it costs much more than when we had a water meter at a previous property.
Sorry majm - I didn't realise you don't live in UK. The way they charge us is the way people used to pay for water before meters became more common. Even now there are many properties without water meters.
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I finally gave in, the engineer called. Faffed around for a bit then said because I had storage heaters it was more complicated and the power would be off for longer. Then faffed around for a bit more and told me that it couldn't be installed as there was no consistent phone signal at that location, packed up and left.
The silly thing was that. on booking, when asked for a mobile phone number for contact I explicitly said that I had no signal and gave the landline number instead.
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They used to use that rateable value in NSW my youth.... my dad wrote letters to our council (shire .... rural NSW) and basically said ... we lived on rain water from out of the sky .... now you put reticulated water in and tell us to take our tanks away ... and we now must pay you for the water ... which is now a percentage of the value of our home in town .... I prefer to bring my own water into town from our farm ... the council sent him many letters ... and at last they gave up .... too many had same thoughts as dad and the council bought in meters .... and promptly discovered everyone used their own water for most tasks and the town water for drinking.... took a generation to sort ... but basically only NEW buildings needed to have a meter and unless you had a meter your water was not chargeable... but your property could not be sold without a new meter installed...
JM
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My mum has had a smart meter for electricity for some time now. The first was fitted under her previous supplier and the plug-in display had a "traffic light" indicator to show consumption as well as the detailed figures.
It took her new supplier a year to provide a replacement, prompted only by a refusal to provide our own readings, pointing out that all smart meters can be read remotely.
The new plug-in only has an LCD display (no backlight), so gives no hint of usage unless you examine it very carefully.
So the only benefit to her is the remote reading.
As to gas, the last accurate reading is now over four years ago, because the battery for the little digital display ran out. It seems that there is no current model of gas meter, smart or not, which will fit in the same space as the old one.
A complaint to the Ombudsman has prompted yet another engineer visit this coming Monday. Well into double figures now. I suggested that they remove the existing meter and refurbish it. I also suggested that while it was in the workshop they could determine the correct reading and adjust four years' worth of estimated bills appropriately. Knowing what I do about the internals of meters, it is extremely unlikely that they can actually read it, but appearing "reasonable" usually gets you a better outcome. ;)
I take it the replacement meter is a smart meter, if so why can’t you get accurate online reading on demand I can with both of mine.
Smart meters are not simply about saving money though they can be used to reduce your bills and still live comfortably. The main use of a smart meter is convenience but convenience is not sexy like saving money so it is not stressed.
Smart meters mean the customer can send the latest meter reading in to the supplier anytime they want this allows the customer to adjust their direct debit anytime they want instead of being forced to accept the suppliers review and price increase. The customer can also adjust the direct debits reducing them in the summer and increasing them in the winter if they want to do so, you cannot do that with a dumb meter.
If you have been overcharged a not uncommon occurrence you can request repayment anytime you like, this again cannot be done with a dumb meter.
In addition you no longer have to stay in for the meter reader to avoid an estimated bill.
If you have vulnerable relatives or friends you can check they are heating their homes anytime you like by checking their account only and seeing their gas or electricity use is what would be expected.
Cheers
Guy
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Households in Scotland don't have water meters. Water & sewerage rates are charged with Council Tax.
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EU member states are required to implement smart meters under the 2009 Third Energy Package wherever it is cost-effective to do so, with the goal to replace 80% of electricity meters with smart meters by 2020....... But progress has been sluggish, with few countries having completed their roll-outs and a number of nations – most notably Germany – having so far decided against a nation-wide deployment of smart meters. http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n4b/
Stan
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Gosh Stan,who did you have to bribe or even torture to get that info?
And Germany are not even thinking(well as far as I know)of leaving the common market,note the lower case letters.
And they do as they want.
So it all boils down to each individual country,ours being like a flock of sheep,following they know not why to they know not where.
ANOTHER reason for leaving,well in my book.
I can see myself in the newspapers,”Octogenarian ,protesting against forcible installation of Smart Meter ,in house siege”.Oh well as was said of Davey Crockett at The Alamo:-“He (She) went down fighting”.
Viktoria.
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The main use of a smart meter is convenience but convenience is not sexy like saving money so it is not stressed.
Smart meters mean the customer can send the latest meter reading in to the supplier anytime they want this allows the customer to adjust their direct debit anytime they want instead of being forced to accept the suppliers review and price increase. The customer can also adjust the direct debits reducing them in the summer and increasing them in the winter if they want to do so, you cannot do that with a dumb meter.
If you have been overcharged a not uncommon occurrence you can request repayment anytime you like, this again cannot be done with a dumb meter.
In addition you no longer have to stay in for the meter reader to avoid an estimated bill.
Cheers
Guy
I suppose we are all different, Guy, but those factors are irrelevant for me.
I do not find it inconvenient to read our meters (under the stairs) whenever I wish.
I can send the latest meter reading in to my supplier anytime I want already. I can also adjust my direct debit anytime I want already (including reducing them in the summer and increasing them in the winter if I want to do so) - so that is perfectly possible with a dumb meter.
If I have a credit balance (whether through overcharging or simply building up during summer) I can already request repayment anytime I like - so that is also perfectly possible with a dumb meter.
I already don't have to stay in for the meter reader; I avoid an estimated bill by supplying the readings myself. Indeed, I can't remember the last time I saw a meter reader.
Graham
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So it all boils down to each individual country,ours being like a flock of sheep,following they know not why to they know not where.
Viktoria.
The Government, or Civil Service is well known for "gold plating" EU directives. Other EU countries not so much, including France. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22277927
Stan
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Thanks Stan,wonder how effective that willi be?
Viktoria.
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The Government, or Civil Service is well known for "gold plating" EU directives. Other EU countries not so much, including France
:'( :'( :'(
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The Government, or Civil Service is well known for "gold plating" EU directives. Other EU countries not so much, including France. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22277927
Stan
Typical of so much that came out of New Labour. Working in IT I used to cringe every time Blair said "we'll have a database" (or words to that effect) because he patently didn't understand what he was talking about. NPfIT was, perhaps, the biggest disaster before "smart" meters.
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Here in Sydney, our power meters are located on the outside of the house, and read every quarter, by a meter reader who goes to each house to read the meter/s.
Being the old curmudgeon that I am, I refuse to use direct debits for any of that sort of thing for the reason that they can "adjust" what they take out of your account, without your permission. I pay by cash, as it is non traceable ;D ;D
In January this year, we got a letter, old style, from the power company, stating that our meters were due for maintenance or replacement.
I rang to find out what the go was, and was told that as the meters were "old" (agreed, as they were here when we moved in in 1971!) they would probably need replacing. I asked would they be "smart meters" , and was told they would be "like for like", but probably digital, not analog.
I was also told that I was not on a "plan" which would require a smart meter.
As I understand it, the Victorian government is forcing the replacement of dumb meters with "smart" meters, but NSW has not been that stupid, (yet)
AC
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As I understand it, the Victorian government is forcing the replacement of dumb meters with "smart" meters, but NSW has not been that stupid, (yet)
Correct - I have a smart meter and it hasn't made any difference to my bill so far - and I watch it like a hawk and ring them up if there seems to be a discrepancy. ;D ;D
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I refuse to use direct debits for any of that sort of thing for the reason that they can "adjust" what they take out of your account, without your permission.
Strange. That can not happen in the UK. Businesses can only vary DD amounts if the customer has previously agreed to them doing so.
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I refuse to use direct debits for any of that sort of thing for the reason that they can "adjust" what they take out of your account, without your permission.
Strange. That can not happen in the UK. Businesses can only vary DD amounts if the customer has previously agreed to them doing so.
They have to give you fourteen days notice of any change.
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On a quarterly plan, paid by DD, your payment is variable.
On a monthly DD, it's fixed (unless you agree to any change(s))
Both are available in the UK, monthly is more usual, simply to spread payments over the year
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On a quarterly plan, paid by DD, your payment is variable.
On a monthly DD, it's fixed (unless you agree to any change(s))
Both are available in the UK, monthly is more usual, simply to spread payments over the year
Both are what the customer has previously agreed.