AIBU to not want a smart meter?

[Jamonfirst]

Just that really. For reasons I can't adequately articulate, I'm quite suspicious of them. Having just recently moved, am currently in discussions about moving electricity suppliers and can't see any benefits for actually having one.

Funnily enough I've recently complained to my provider (eon) and their response to my complaints (stop fucking harassing me about smart meters every few days/via every contact method idiot me gave you details for) was so bad I'm now planning to escalate it to the ombudsman.
Basically their response was "we can't stop other than for three months because the government are pushing it".

Sooooo they tell me to stop the SMS messages, emails, post, online login push every time I log in.. I need to contact them every 3 months to "opt out". Wtf?

This was after I explained originally that the fucking things don't work on our meter location anyway (zero mobile signal at that end, you need to be at the extreme opposite end of the house to get signal), even that hasn't stopped them!!!

I am on a key meter but it's a bit temperamental I usually have to put the key in 3 or 4 times to get it to work so I want to get it changed but I know as soon as I mention it to my provider ( eon ) i will get hounded into getting a smart meter which I do not want.

I genuine question to anyone that has one , does it make any difference to what you use . I get that it might at first but once you have had it a while do still keep checking it ?

It doesn't reduce what I use but it's handy for me because it means I don't need to remove everything from the cupboard under the kitchen sink to read the gas meter every month.

Nora that’s very interesting. We’re also being harassed by EoN because we won’t have a smart meter.

They keep sending threatening sounding letters about it.

One of them said it was a “legal requirement” (it’s not) another that we agreed to have them installed as part of our tariff (we didn’t).

It’s harassment.

Yes, I can definitely see the benefits to the energy company but not to the consumer as I can already easily see the current meter

This question is asked most weeks, I posted on a thread recently that had some very informative posts on, if you search for smart meters you should find it, it as was probably within the last month.

YANBU, we're not getting one.

We are with British Gas and just had one phone call about smart meters, a woman called and said we are planning to fix your smart meter next week. She seemed most put out when I told her no, not happening, when she said it was government requirement I said tough, still not having one.

Both gas and electricity from British Gas.

I'm with utility warehouse for everything, gas, electricity, phone, broadband. Very very happy with them, when I had a phone conversation with one of their (uk based) staff I said I wasn't going to have a smart meter until I was convinced that the technology was up to scratch. I haven't had a single bit of info about them since.

I agree OP. I saved a few of the points made on the last thread. For the next time the supplier's engineers try to force me into one..Here are some of those posts as one:

We are not having one fitted until the company can guarantee it will be a SMETS 2 meter, and will be interavailable between the different energy companies, if we want to change supplier.

The SMETS 1 meters that a lot of people have fitted now will not be inter-available if they switch energy supplier. The meter will still show them how much energy they are using, but will no longer transmit the data to the energy company, so they will have to go back to reading the meter again.

Ex-energy worker, waves to the others no way am I having one. They are there to facilitate half-hourly billing (tariff bands) and remote disconnection. I don't have enough faith in my supplier's billing system to run a direct debit for a bill that's not fully checkable to the meter readings (not that this is an option at the moment).

1. They are not compulsory - they are a choice. We had a lot of people often from deprived areas telling us they had door to door salespeole pressuring them to sign up for one - "its the law" NO IT IS NOT.

1. They are based on first generation (or a very few now) second generation mobile phone technology -0 I'm guessing youe current mobile is 4G or 5G. So their communications are way behind the times.

1. We had a lot of issues with some power companies switching people from credit (billing) meters to pay as you go if they got into difficulties - bypassing industry agreed timeframe and processes, agaisnt the law and Ofgen Guidelines.

1. If you have a missed metering appointment the power company must reimburse you £30 per missed call. You may need to remind them of this, but it is enshrined in Ofgem rulings.

1. If your smartmeter is set to "ping" your readings every 30 mins it can be useful to see how much electricity you are using. I had a client who swore she never used as much electric as she was being charged, but it was possible to see a peak at a specific time and she realised that was when she used her washing machine and tumble drier. These are the two biggest electric usage items in your home. Line dry if you can.

1. They can be hacked - if the MOD and the Pentagon, and the Iranian nuclear program can be hacked YOU can be hacked. Do you trust the power company sub contractors who could be anywhere with your details?

1. It has been said that with smartmeters the power company can switch your billing tariff without your say so. Theoretically it could charge by postcode, blackouts could be set and the consumer would be powerless to do anything. Theortically an extra charge coudl be made for power use at peak times - there are no plans yet for this but if you belive the "Climate Emergency" it is physically possible. There are a lot of conspiracy theories about smart meters - true or not?

1. They are free - of course they are freaking free. Well, no, you pay for them through your tarrif - Aint nothing free. Or, if a product is free, then you are the product.

They energy companies are getting paid by the government to fit them, that's why they are pushing them so aggressively.

I believe it's difficult to change Suppliers with a first generation one, but possible with a second generation one. The Companies are now saying the ones they are fitting are second generation, not all are, but it would be impossible for a ordinary person to know the difference.

I was having one fitted by Scottish Power and was given a date, the time slot was 11 until 4, they didn't show up. So they can now fuck off, they had their chance.

We’ve just had a second generation one fitted, don’t get why people object to them tbh. Don’t have to faff around with meter readings, no getting into debt or racking up loads of credit with estimated bills, and we have an electric car so we’re switching onto a tariff which gives us a super cheap in the middle of the night - so you set the car to charge between those hours. Win win.

YANBU

I don't want one and I've told them so and to stop pestering me. Not heard from them in months now 😀

What are people’s objections to them?
I understand that with the 1st gen ones you couldn’t change supplier but you can with the 2nd gen.

I've got economy 7 so couldn't have a smart meter anyway, but I can't see what's in it for me - it's no biggie to read the meter once a month and send them the readings. It literally takes a minute.
Call me cynical but anything the govt or power companies are pushing do heavily, is unlikely to me for my benefit.

I don't see the point in replacing a perfectly functional bit of kit.

Replacing stuff before you need to is an important factor in climate change (carbon in manufacture and transport, plus of course adding to landfill).

I wil, get whatever is best in market when I need to change. But no way am I upgrading for the sake of it.

What are people’s objections to them?

There is an 8 point list above your post for starters.

How do you know whether it's first gen or 2nd gen? Worried now though I'm not planning on switching. From my pov I know I'd never remember to send readings so I like that it does it automatically.

There is an 8 point list above your post for starters.

Well there is a list of stuff that mainly not true or scaremongering.

My biggest fear is them being hacked. When 99% of my life is online I dont want others to have access to it.
I'm with sse and I've told them every single time theyve rang me that unless I get written confirmation from them confirming they are unhackable then I'm not having one. Funny they never offer to send that letter.

How do you know whether it's first gen or 2nd gen?

Ask the company who are fitting it.

One of them said it was a “legal requirement” (it’s not)

It's not a legal requirement for you to accept it, but it is a legal requirement for them to give you one. Not too tricky to see the obvious flaw in the legislation there...

I don’t want one for many of the reasons listed above: I don’t want to get rid of a functioning piece of kit, I don’t want to hand over any sort of remote control to energy companies (fuck, SSE can’t even bill me correctly so I wouldn’t let them have this sort of access), I don’t want a meter that can’t cope with a supplier switch. I am also perfectly aware of how much my appliances cost to run so the whole “See how much electricity you’re using!” thing is worthless to me.

In addition, companies trying to force one on me just makes me dig in my heels harder. To be fair to SSE, much as they are generally a clusterfuck of the highest order, when I told them I didn’t want to hear another word about smart meters they stopped all communication on the matter.

I just don't want an extra piece of clutter in my house!