Your meter is 'out of date'

[Pebbles16]

So we've been jumped around with suppliers recently and now told our meter is out of date. It probably is as it's likely 25 years old. But is this just a tactic to get a smart meter put in which then ties me to the supplier?
Possibly paranoid

Yes, I wasn't suggesting putting in a suitcase!!!?? I am here for the long term

Why does it need to be updated? Can't be that old can it?

Also (everyone!) with the price cap going up 10% on 1st October, now is a great time to check if you can get a cheaper unit rate elsewhere. If your current supplier is great and the cheaper rate isn't much cheaper you may choose not to move, but definitely look at quotes, and also ask about what fixed deal they can give you. Some suppliers have 12 month fixes with no early exit fees, which are ideal

I had an email saying the thing that makes my electric switch from a day rate to a night rate is now obsolete so I need a new meter. Friend is an electrician and confirmed that this is true. I've done absolutely nothing about it 😂

Quite middle aged but we have decades old toaster, kettle, hairdryer and oven.
No point buoying something new unless the old thing gives up.

Hmm but google does not reflect people's real life experiences

Energy suppliers have legal obligations to provide customers with accurate meters. When a meter is out of certification they might not be accurate. Also, if a meter breaks they may not have the parts to repair an older meter. You can try to insist on an older meter being fitted but they may charge you for that.

That's not true on SMETS2 meters I don't think. The older SMETS1 ones were a bit of a nightmare but I'm pretty sure they've fixed that for the 2nd generation.

Thank you, I'm not that dippy

You didn't read my post correctly. I said you can change suppliers, but it doesn't always remain smart, it just reverts back to a normal one.

Actually you are right to be cautious. When they install the smart meter they may change your account so you are tied in to a new tariff for X amount of time, so while you can change supplier, there may be w time to wait to do so

You can get a new meter but keep it in "dumb" mode I know several ppl who've done it on the past year or so .

Our water company wanted to 'service' our meter. It broke. "What. A. Shame," they said, "you'll have to have a smart one now."
Be warned! Don't let them anywhere near you unless you actually want a smart meter.

My mother used her first washing machine for 25 years! I'm not suggesting buying everything new if your old appliances still work but newer electrical goods tend to be much more energy efficient and therefore cheaper to run (even if they probably won't last as long) so replacing them occasionally makes sense.

The problem us that all suppliers are as flakey as hell.

I made an appointment to have a new meter fitted and organised to WFH for the day (not easy in my field) and no one turned up and I wasn't contacted to say that no one would come. I contacted them - no apology, just a vague oh someone was ill

So now when they contact me re fitting a new meter I give Saturday dates I can manage.
I'm then told that appointments are 9-4 Mon-Fri
I explain that I will be at work then so can't help them and they say they'll contact me when Saturday appointments are released

This has been going on for a couple of years now, I still don't have a smart meter.

Yes meters go out of date. As a result they can incorrectly record the energy you are using as they stop working properly. If you have worries about a smart meter, ask for it to be installed in dumb mode (and you can definitely change supplier if you want to).

Unless you have a supplier who offers a cheaper tariff for a smart meter. Or you use information from the smart meter to adjust how much/when you are using energy to access better tariffs. Or simply use information from the meter to see what in your house uses most energy. Or you have difficulty reading your meters for any reason. Or you want to keep a close eye on how much energy you have used today/this week. Or...

You are wrong. Generally smart meters remain smart when you change supplier

We had his, got them to come round to fit one and when they actually looked inside our property they said they couldn't 😂

That's not the case any longer. It used to work that way when smart meters were first introduced, but since the upgrade of all existing smart meters to SMETS 2 all smart meters retain their smart functionality when switching supplier.

All meters have a manufacturer's warranty date which means they are guaranteed to work within that time frame although sometimes they do go haywire before then. Yes, I have actual insider knowledge because I used to work for a utility company, both before and after the markets opened up and you could choose your supplier. As part of my training I went out with meter readers and saw meters changed for out of warranty because if I am going to book those types of jobs in I need to see the conditions in which the meter people worked.

You don't own the meter, it belongs to the supplier and they need to ensure their equipment works, I am sure you would be mightily pissed off if your out of date warranty meter ran fast and charged you more. Before smart meters meter readers were required by regulation to visually check meters a certain number of times a year, less so rurally as more difficult to get meter people to. However now with smart meters they are read far more frequently and the system is able to monitor that the meter is working within parameters.

Smart meters feeding back information to suppliers ie Octopus meant I got free electricity and also got paid not to use as much during certain time frames, usually an hour. This was offered to everyone and you could opt in. We just ate slightly later as the oven went on later.

Yes the fear is that they can turn off your meter remotely should there be blackout requirements but considering they did this in the 1970s before smart meters do you not think there is a way that electricity companies can already do this? Of course there is.

One of the benefits of a prepayment meter for people is to see the amount of electricity they are using. As I am with Octopus and on a smart meter I can see when the most electricity is being used, show my children so that they in turn can have a quicker shower and be aware of things like gas, electric and water that they too will one day pay in their own homes.

Yes, it's bullshit. Don't switch. Your bills will jump up considerably.

Absolutely no reason your bills will change unless you have been wrongly charged previously. Or you use your new smart meter to reduce your usage or access a better tariff, in which case your bills will drop

It's the new tactic to force a smart meter on you.

Aggressive tactics aren't for our benefit. We'll all have one of the sodden things eventually.

People tie themselves up in knots on here trying to convince you they're for your own benefit though. Something that is forced on you, is never for your benefit. Boggles my head

@HotCrossBunplease

Smart meter resisters are tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists.

😆😆😆
No, actually it's just that we've had enough experience of life to know when companies are doing something for THEIR benefit, rather than OUR benefit.

It's the way the business world works ....... something you'll learn in time 🙂