Smart meters

We put one in to take advantage of really really cheap night rates. They installed meter it didn't work, they stopped the tariff we wanted. Took 4 months and the ombudsman to get the meters working and we are still arguing over the bills for the period they weren't working.¹

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

(Or change it).

What Dickens said. 👏

vickymeldrew

I really don’t understand the fuss about smart meters. For years, I’ve been grovelling on the floor trying to read the old type meter and then submitting readings. That was very annoying.
Now I have a smart meter, the readings go directly to my provider EE. The figures for gas weren’t automatically collected for a while, but that wasn’t up to me to sort it out, the company did that !
The companies are required to install as many smart meters as possible to meet green targets. I say ‘pick your battles’ and get a smart meter !

I really don’t understand the fuss about smart meters.

Well you wouldn't if it works well for you.

But there are around 4 million people who have had or are still having problems with them who are experiencing quite a bit of "fuss".

And for those of us who don't have to crawl along the floor to read the meter but find it quite convenient to just open a small door, take a reading and ding it over the App... the prospect of being in a lottery where you could be a winner or loser, tends to make us want to just stay with the devil we know.

Bearing in mind the hassle and faff many people have getting in touch with various suppliers and other organisations when "things go wrong"; the endless press-this-that-and-the-other options, promised call backs that don't happen, being "number 14 in the queue" etc, I think it's quite justified to not disturb a situation that is, currently, stable.

Important: Take a photo of your old meters before they are taken out.
A few years ago we switched to smart meters and the engineer wrote down one wrong digit (a 9 instead of a zero). Consequently our reading was recorded as 90,000 units more than it actually was! It was the xmas period so it took weeks to sort out. My photos were the proof.
We have had no problems at all with them since then - it was purely human error on the day.

vickymeldrew
You just explained your POV perfectly.
You wanted a smart meter, you got a smart meter, you’re happy with it.

The fuss as you call it, is about those who don’t want one, but are told they need to have one or those who have had problems with them.

I’m glad you had the choice of whether or not to have one and that you have had no problems with it.

Fortunately, so far, I still have the choice.

I really don’t understand the fuss about smart meters. For years, I’ve been grovelling on the floor trying to read the old type meter and then submitting readings. That was very annoying.
Now I have a smart meter, the readings go directly to my provider EE. The figures for gas weren’t automatically collected for a while, but that wasn’t up to me to sort it out, the company did that !
The companies are required to install as many smart meters as possible to meet green targets. I say ‘pick your battles’ and get a smart meter !

I’m with Octopus, have traditional metres and Octopus do not badger me to have a smart meter
I do not need a little gadget with the wheel spinning round madly when I use the kettle to tell me that. I use what I use and that’s that.

I'm stingy in the first place, so I don't think I could cut down usage.

I may be tempted by a lower overall rate, though.

We also have smart meters from EDF. The electricity meter failed completely and we tried for 2 years to get EDF to fix it. The meter had no reading at all so bills were estimated. During this time they were even sending meter readers round, who reported the fault also. I was very concerned and anxious about it because I wanted to know our usage, and didn't want to be faced with a huge bill if usage had been underestimated.
I complained to EDF and after I think 8 weeks with no satisfactory response, I took it to the Ombudsman. This resulted in a new meter being installed, which has worked fine since. I had a refund from them and a credit against my account as a goodwill gesture. (£100).
One of the meter readers said the problem is EDF has no target to repair or replace faulty meters, as they do for new installations.

We had one from a previous supplier about ten years ago. To this day we still have no idea what it does or is supposed to do. The instructions are gooble-de-gook to us. We've never seen anything that tells us usage of gas or electric, no idea what buttons to press for info, don't even know if it still works - or ever did.

As someone said, it is obvious that a tumble dryer costs a lot to run, as does an electric heater, so we are very careful with those - but at our age we sometimes need a bit of convenience.

However, the smartmeter must do something cos we have not had a physical meter reading of either gas or electric in all that time, though our bills seem a lot higher than our neighbours.

We opted for a water meter around the same time and that significantly reduced our bills to around 25% of what they were but it isn't a smartmeter - someone has to stick their head down a hole in the street to read it. The bills often say they have been read by the water company and then the next reading is lower!!! In 2020 we went on a 3-month World Cruise in Jan/Feb/March and managed to use twice as much water as we did the following July/Aug/Sept with a garden full of flowers and vegetables!

I never switched our display on 4allweknow it’s unwrapped in a cupboard, I can manage and view our account from the app if I want to.

Had a smart meter for years with no problems. As for the monitoring gadget I moved mine from the kitchen to a shelf in the attached garage.. I only see it when I intentionally want to.

Have a smart meter that sits quietly in the corner. Updates usage. Octopus. They seem quite good for an energy firm. Who knows with these companies

Missiseff

What have people got against them?

Against cards or smart meters?
I think there’s enough information on here to answer your question.

What have people got against them?

Almost everyone around this area has the card.
Theyre fine,until they malfunction.

My neighbour had a card meter where you top up the card. She changed supplliers and was assured it would work. It didn't and 9 hours on the phone trying to get through to them. We charged her phone and stored meds that needed to be in a fridge.
A bit off topic but perhaps might help someone not to trust what new supplier will say

Our old victorian house had smart meters but though they sent a signal to octopus they would not connect to in home display due to being in cellar wìth the thick old stone walls/floors.

I wish British gas would give me £100 voucher- im doing their job for them, despite having the "smart meter"😆

Yes I know about this Sakura4 and I have already checked mine. It’s good for another 12 months so I will change then. Thanks for the info anyway.

No you don't and I wouldn't. Wish I'd never got one. It's never worked in 8 years! Will not pair..

New built house-10months old- complete with so-called 'smart meters', by british gas- worked fine till they went on a 'new' system- now wont send signal to them so for last 6months theyve been asking me to read meters & send it- we 3 all have disabilities so cannot get down to do this- i tried my best last week, but i must have pressed wrong button or something- they told me my bill was £1,102.16- FOR ONE MONTH!!! (other months has varied from £68- £110!) SO theyre coming to read them tomorrow.And to see why it wont send signals back.I'm wondering if they have turned it off like other poster said EDF had? 🤔

PS. A beautiful period house in Bradford on Avon lost it’s roof , attic and first floor due to an electrical arc from an out of date meter. No-one had notified them, they were unaware that the meter might be obsolete. Don’t learn the hard way.

I was nagged for YEARS by a major supplier and always refused including the ‘we are coming to fit a SM next week’ and banning all post and phone calls about it. However, having recently downsized to an older property our new supplier politely informed us that the certification on our meter was going to be obsolete within a few months. They sent us the link below, I checked it and they are right. I sent the same link to my DinL who rang her supplier direct and found her meter is good for another 10 years. So I would suggest you do either of those and check for yourself. In the end everything has a sell by date and this after all is a vital safety issue.

www.gov.uk/guidance/electricity-meter-certification