Smart Meters. Usage.

Well, when the meter reader comes, he will see your readings are accurate, won’t he?

I too don’t have or want a smart meter,

I don’t want a smart meter thanks I know lots swear by them but I also know people who have had big problems I m happier doing my own meter readings monthly

I don't have one either.

The energy companies are paid an incentive by the government to install these meters. If you are not in debt to said company they are not allowed to insist.
Just say No!!

I don’t want one either. Nor will I have one unless it is required by law. I will continue sending my readings to Ovo each month and if they want to read my meter they can, by appointment.

I send my readings in too, and like Greciangirl my much lower gas reading was queried by our supplier. I invited them to come and read the meter themselves, and offered them a photo of the meter.

I have one, and surely if you check your reading with the one the smart meter has sent then your bill will be accurate?

Mine still does not send gas readings ( after 3 years), and the latest excuse is that the meter is outside, so too far away ( though they didn’t say far away from what!) I just send in readings.

We’ve got one and it’s fine, I don’t know of anyone who’s had problems.

Mine’s in the garage, largely ignored.

I don’t have one, don’t want one, and Octopus don’t pressure me to have one
I send my gas and electric meter readings once a month..

If you go on any of the complaints threads on the various fuel providers you will see numerous complaints about smart meters Jaxjacky

We have been in dispute with Scottish Gas since June 2023. According to our faulty smart meter, we had used enough gas in two months to cover the whole street for a year.
They took £700, two months in a row from our bank account, despite us asking for the payment to be put on hold.
Three meters later and now with a non smart meter in situ, we are hoping to see our complaint resolved. However, I am not holding my breath.
The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing, nor their axxx from their elbow.
I wouldn't have another one if you paid me.

I have smart meters, I asked octopus to install them. They are the newest version and have never caused a problem

It was interesting to watch the monitor display but I have put that away now, I have a pretty good idea on consumption values

BlueBelle

If you go on any of the complaints threads on the various fuel providers you will see numerous complaints about smart meters Jaxjacky

Thanks BlueBelkebut I’ve had no need to, my usage is similar to that pre smart meter, bills as expected with the various price increases.

Do not have a smart meter fitted. Utility companies are I believe paid commission by the Government to push for installations. The artist Grayson Perry has highlighted a recent scandal where customers with smart meters were being charged ridiculous sums of money, I mean thousands, when their usage had not altered.

Many ordinary people's bank accounts were emptied leaving them unable to pay mortgage, rent etc and in seriously dire straits. The last I read it was all going very slowly through solicitors but meanwhile those affected remain out of pocket.

You are no legally obliged to have one but they make it sound as if you are.

"not legally obliged"!

Jaxjacky I didn’t mean go on the complaints site for your needs but you said you didn’t know anyone who’d had a problem and I was advising if you were to look on the complaints page you will see many people have problems with them

DH would never have one but when he died I had them fitted because I was unable to get on my hands and knees to read the meter and to use my phone to photograph the reading.
There has never been a problem and I have not had to submit a reading since, makes life so much easier.

That must be very frustrating for them BlueBelle.
Daddima Octopus replaced our gas meter as it wasn’t displaying or sending readings.

I didn’t have one until moving over to Intelligent Octopus which has a very low electricity tariff during the night so I can charge my car. So far I’ve had no problems (and saved £100s).

It's good to hear that many have had no problems.
However, the stress of being harassed by constant emails, ridiculous amounts taken from our bank account and patronising communications offering debt counselling and payment plans to manage a debt, which was totally false and not of our making, had a detrimental effect on my already fragile health.
Shades of the Post Office scandal. Anyone with half a brain would have realised something was far wrong, but no-one would help us.

We are now on our fourth gas meter in a year, the other three being faulty. The chap who installed the most recent one (now a non smart one, at our insistence) informed me that all he does all day is replace faulty smart meters.
Unfortunately, the new meter wasn't put on the system, so we are now once again being persued for the original debt.
On two occasions, we closed the complaint, rather than contact the Ombusman, after being promised that everything had been resolved.
We are now on complaint number three.

For those of you, who say their meter has given no problems, keep checking your readings and contact your provider ASAP if you think something is amiss.
Our meter worked fine in the first instance, then it started sending rogue readings.🤬

I have the same problem, harrigran, and, like you, I am very happy with my smart meter, supplied by Good Energy.

Why I m am very cautious like Marydoll I had a yearlong constant worry with the fuel provider going from my usually £110 a month readings (always sent in on time) to being told I owed £6000 and nothing, no letters, no phone calls could get them to see it wrong. It was a series of their mistakes eventually after being quite ill with the worry I got the ombudsman involved and although it took him another 3 months it was resolved
The whole problem started when they replaced a faulty meter of mine that had a gas leak this was a few years back, BUT the old meter number was never removed from the system and basically for years they were charging me for running two meters which obviously built up as they never changed my DD

It was awful after lots of nagging I did agree to a smart meter stayed in on the allotted day the man came to change it got the old one out ready to install the new one got a phone call to say something was wrong with the system reinstall the old manual meter which he did that was well over 12 months ago I ve never heard another word about a smart meter but will decline if they do start asking again

When I moved into my wee flat there was already a smart meter installed. To begin with there were no problems and I was pleased to see that my Direct Debit was much less than when I was in my old, much bigger house. Occasionally the power for the sockets would trip over night and as time went on this became a regular almost daily occurrence. I contacted Scottish power and eventually an engineer came, inspected, found no fault and advised that I should try unplugging a different one of the sockets overnight to find out if one was faulty.

I tried this for a while but the tripping continued. I went away for a fortnights holiday and came home to find the socket circuit tripped. The fridge freezer had defrosted and the entire contents had to be thrown away.

I hired a local electrician who diagnosed the problem, which was that the old fuse box was incompatible with any smart meter . He said he had seen this before where the power tripped in the early hours, when the smart meter sent the usage to the power company. he offered two solutions viz 1. have a more modern fuse box installed or 2. dump the smart meter. I chose No 2. - No problems since then.