Dumb meter, dumb company

[Murox]

I finally succumbed to the demands of electric company X and allowed them to fit a smart meter. Another company had tried some years ago and took it out again as it couldn't communicate . I warned company X that this was the case , they were of course quick to claim SMETS2 would work well.
The installer duly arrived today having driven four and a half hours to get here since the ferries were broken, again! and it was his only job down here today. He predicted that the meter wouldn't work but at least I would get a shiny new one.
He duly removed the clockwork device that's been happily whirring away since the early 1970's and fitted a very neat looking box of tricks.
Unsurprisingly when it came to communicating, it couldn't , so I will continue to do as I have done for years and send in the meter readings each month.
Why is it that these dumb companies will not believe the householder or even take heed of previous experiences and still insist on sending an engineer on a nine hour round trip to supply and fit clever electronic devices to areas in which they don't/can't work??

 

[Jules59]

Why did it take Eon 9 weeks to tell me they couldnt erect "compliant " scaffolding around my house to install solar panels? That was after a surveyor had been out, taken lots of pics and said he thought it would not be a problem.

Suffice to say Ive now found a local company that will carry out the same installation for £2K less, and erect scaffolding.

 

[The Poot]

I finally succumbed to the demands of electric company X and allowed them to fit a smart meter. Another company had tried some years ago and took it out again as it couldn't communicate . I warned company X that this was the case , they were of course quick to claim SMETS2 would work well.
The installer duly arrived today having driven four and a half hours to get here since the ferries were broken, again! and it was his only job down here today. He predicted that the meter wouldn't work but at least I would get a shiny new one.
He duly removed the clockwork device that's been happily whirring away since the early 1970's and fitted a very neat looking box of tricks.
Unsurprisingly when it came to communicating, it couldn't , so I will continue to do as I have done for years and send in the meter readings each month.
Why is it that these dumb companies will not believe the householder or even take heed of previous experiences and still insist on sending an engineer on a nine hour round trip to supply and fit clever electronic devices to areas in which they don't/can't work??

It’s a reflection of how determined they are that EVERYONE must have one. (I wonder why).
Yesterday I tried to change my supplier as my tariff was ending. I could roll on to a new tariff with X, but I noticed lots of info in the Ts and Cs about smart meters….so I looked elsewhere.
I found a supplier that was roughly the same price, that openly specified there is no compulsion to have a smart meter.
I went through several screens to sign up and, at the payment prompt, the usual “by ticking this box you’ve agreed to our terms and conditions “ appeared. So I thought to check them - and lo and behold a clause stated that I was agreeing to have a smart meter.
So they didn’t get my business!

 

[Sutty]

I finally succumbed to the demands of electric company X and allowed them to fit a smart meter. Another company had tried some years ago and took it out again as it couldn't communicate . I warned company X that this was the case , they were of course quick to claim SMETS2 would work well.
The installer duly arrived today having driven four and a half hours to get here since the ferries were broken, again! and it was his only job down here today. He predicted that the meter wouldn't work but at least I would get a shiny new one.
He duly removed the clockwork device that's been happily whirring away since the early 1970's and fitted a very neat looking box of tricks.
Unsurprisingly when it came to communicating, it couldn't , so I will continue to do as I have done for years and send in the meter readings each month.
Why is it that these dumb companies will not believe the householder or even take heed of previous experiences and still insist on sending an engineer on a nine hour round trip to supply and fit clever electronic devices to areas in which they don't/can't work??

There is a second longer range communication system they can install which doesn't use cellular phone systems, but the engineer i had didn't seem to be aware of it! To my surprise, despite thick stone walls, the standard unit worked!

 

[enrico]

I finally succumbed to the demands of electric company X and allowed them to fit a smart meter. Another company had tried some years ago and took it out again as it couldn't communicate . I warned company X that this was the case , they were of course quick to claim SMETS2 would work well.
The installer duly arrived today having driven four and a half hours to get here since the ferries were broken, again! and it was his only job down here today. He predicted that the meter wouldn't work but at least I would get a shiny new one.
He duly removed the clockwork device that's been happily whirring away since the early 1970's and fitted a very neat looking box of tricks.
Unsurprisingly when it came to communicating, it couldn't , so I will continue to do as I have done for years and send in the meter readings each month.
Why is it that these dumb companies will not believe the householder or even take heed of previous experiences and still insist on sending an engineer on a nine hour round trip to supply and fit clever electronic devices to areas in which they don't/can't work??

Pity because a smart meter let's you into so many cheaper tariffs. I have two meters as I have two incoming lines. On one I never pay more than 7p per kWh
My house with an air source heat pump runs at 11p per kWh

 

[Sutty]

Pity because a smart meter let's you into so many cheaper tariffs. I have two meters as I have two incoming lines. On one I never pay more than 7p per kWh
My house with an air source heat pump runs at 11p per kWh

Can I ask what/who's tariffs those are?

 

[JamezF]

It’s a reflection of how determined they are that EVERYONE must have one. (I wonder why).

As far as I'm aware all the electricity suppliers have been told that they have to get a given number of connections (80%?) switched to smart meters or be fined (which happened to a number of them last year).

We don't have one, in part because the mobile coverage around here is very poor, but also our meter is in the cellar where the stone walls of the house are several feet thick. There's very little chance of a signal from anything getting down there. I haven't even installed Faraday cage in the meter cupboard

Actually there are two (one fairly petty, I admit) other reasons that we won't have one. The petty one is because of the deceitful ways they've repeatedly tried to get one installed. For example, they'd phone up and say something like "We want to confirm your appointment to have your smart meter fitted", as if I'd already asked for it to be done when I hadn't. The other is that I see no value to me in it. It will not save me money by reducing my electricity consumption because we use what we use. It's not like we "waste" it to start with. If I wanted to reduce our bills any further I'd need metering per circuit, for example for each MCB. Now that actually would be useful.

James

 

[The Poot]

As far as I'm aware all the electricity suppliers have been told that they have to get a given number of connections (80%?) switched to smart meters or be fined (which happened to a number of them last year).

We don't have one, in part because the mobile coverage around here is very poor, but also our meter is in the cellar where the stone walls of the house are several feet thick. There's very little chance of a signal from anything getting down there. I haven't even installed Faraday cage in the meter cupboard

Actually there are two (one fairly petty, I admit) other reasons that we won't have one. The petty one is because of the deceitful ways they've repeatedly tried to get one installed. For example, they'd phone up and say something like "We want to confirm your appointment to have your smart meter fitted", as if I'd already asked for it to be done when I hadn't. The other is that I see no value to me in it. It will not save me money by reducing my electricity consumption because we use what we use. It's not like we "waste" it to start with. If I wanted to reduce our bills any further I'd need metering per circuit, for example for each MCB. Now that actually would be useful.

James

Similar here - deceitful contacts and poor signal. My neighbour gave in to pressure and had one fitted. It doesn’t work.