to think people who don't have Smart Meters and who pay monthly or quarterly are going to be in for a shock at their next bill?

[cakeorwine]

Gas has gone up from 4p a kWH this time last year to 10p a kWH this year.
Obviously people with Smart Meters can see this on their display.

But if you still give readings and wait till the bill arrives, I think there are going to be some real surprises. Gas use is at its highest over the next few months.

I know people will have the £66 off their bill - but it's going to be high.

At least with Smart Meters, you can see daily use. Submitting a reading and then getting a statement and bill is going to be a shock for some people.

We are electric only and have economy 9 (yes 9) and storage heaters. Smart meters can't cope with this apparently. We just pay monthly, in arrears, for what we have actually used. I can't believe people are paying so much "forward" to energy companies. They must be sitting on billions of pounds of your money.

That's why we increased our DD in the Summer, OP. It's obviously going to be higher and no-one in the UK can be unaware.

We just adjusted the budget to absorb the increase.

I've been overpaying since the whispering started about prices rocketing, so now have over £800 in my octopus account.
I'm also on a fixed rate until next winter, so although I'm expecting a whopper of a bill, I'm hoping it won't be too troubling for me!

THIS IS NOT ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING A SMART METER

It's about those people who aren't aware - especially with the fact that gas is 2.5 times more and who will be submitting a reading and will be paying a large bill.

I don’t have a smart meter. We are fully aware of how much prices have risen, hence sitting freezing cold with the heating set to 15 and only on this week rather than start of November.

We submit regular meter readings and the direct debit amount goes up if we are using more than the direct debit covers.

I agree with this. Also there are many elderly or disabled people with reduced mobility who cannot check their meters regularly if they're located somewhere awkward to get to, as many are. And people in these groups are more likely to need the heating on much more than younger, more mobile people.

I'm not sure why the OP is getting so much stick tbh, it's a fair question. There's a lot of "I'm alright Jack" type comments on this thread.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4695949-to-think-people-who-dont-have-smart-meters-and-who-pay-monthly-or-quarterly-are-going-to-be-in-for-a-shock-at-their-next-bill?reply=122199696

Ah - the wonderful Smart Meter. Making it easy for energy companies to switch customers over to pre payment weather they like it or not ...

''Energy firms can switch the meter type remotely, and the speed leaves little time for debt advisers to intervene. It also increases the chance of “inappropriate” conversions forced onto vulnerable people, Richard Lane of debt advice charity StepChange said''.

**

Well, I don't have a smart meter, but then, I don't have a meter either. I rent in a complex which sorts out heating and all other bills centrally and divides it up amongst the residents, a portion of our rent is for the utilities and that's all we pay. It's an extremely reasonable amount and covers everything, I could have the heating on 24 hours a day (I don't, of course) and the amount would still be the same.

Another plus for renting...although, to be fair, we don't get the government money off the bill either, the landlord gets that.

However, even if this weren't the case, and I was in a completely different set-up, I wouldn't need a smart meter, I'm quite capable of reading the meter and working it out myself. Always have been. I expect there will be those who are caught out though, as others have said.

www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/vulnerable-smart-meter-customers-could-be-forced-onto-prepayment-as-energy-bills-soar/

Sorry - link to article.

There's still meter readers in these parts, if you can't/don't/won't do it they come along and get one.

Same here.

I submitted my meter readings online earlier today, and it immediately updated with a summary of how much we’d spent on gas and electric since the last meter reading.

Although I’d agree that if someone hasn’t been paying much attention to the news, never looks at their meter, and just waits for the energy company to send someone out to take a reading, then they could well be in for a nasty shock.

If I wanted to start a thread saying " You should get a Smart Meter, I would have"

But I didn't

This is a thread about the effect of people in society who submit manual readings, who don't pay by DD and who will be getting large bills in January and April. People who may well be vulnerable in society - for a range of reasons.

I'm taking a monthly meter reading and it adjusts my bill accordingly. I have the benefit of not constantly being reminded of how much my energy is costing me and the reliability of an old fashioned meter.

Many people with smart meters seem to be getting stressed with checking it very frequently, I would suggest this is a huge risk to people's health as they would not have had this constant reminder in their face in the past.
Not knowing to the penny is actually ok for many people, knowing the approximate amount they're using and paying is ok and how they've managed their bills in the past. Smart meters can be useful to optimize costs but not always as a constant visual.

no. we submit readings weekly and receive a monthly bill.

we know what we use and how much we need to set aside for the bill. we can look it up on the energy comp app as well.

Are they? Are these your friends? My Goodness! My checking of it is a glance at it when I make a coffee.

My smart meter just told me I have been consuming electricity & gas this week at a prodigious rate. So I have now put the heating on timer and reduced the number of hot showers and laundry loads and greatly reduced using the tumble dryer. If not, I will be receiving a heating bill of GBP700-800 this month. Fingers crossed what the time tally will be.

The smart meter is good advance notice of the bills. Prior to this week, we were ok but just this week has gone a little nuts and will continue as long as the cold snap is with us. Jan & Feb not expected to be better.

Submit regular readings, upload to an app, check online,

There are people out there who don't . can't do that - for a range of reasons that I am sure people can figure out.

Yep, me too. I put the monthly meter reading into my energy providers website and get an immediate view of my monthly bill. I don't have a smart meter and I don't want one.

I don't need a smart meter.

What I would like is a device that shouts at DH :-

Don't fill the kettle for one cup of tea.
Put the lid on the saucepan when you're cooking
Shut the effing front door when you pop to the car "for a moment".
Turn the lights off in rooms you're vacating.
etc etc

This is a thread about the effect of people in society who submit manual readings, who don't pay by DD and who will be getting large bills in January and April. People who may well be vulnerable in society - for a range of reasons.
No I think your post is specifically about vulnerable people who might not understand the smart meter either.

Mine doesn't do that - what company are you with? I need an upgrade 😂

I can work out what I owe from my meter readings, thanks.

I am aware that most of the population aren't MNers, but I still think YABU.

I'm not sure why you think all these people, who pay their bills on receipt (which I suspect is a small % of the population), have somehow not heard or read or seen ANY of the VAST number of news articles on this over months and months.

I’ve been pretty shocked, in a good way, by my bills. We have smart meters but the in house display doesn’t work to track our usage. We spent money on onesies, those big hoodies, long hot water bottles and put the reflective stuff behind the radiators in preparation. We did take a 2 year fixed rate out when this started kicking off and it was pricey but seems to have paid off. This last month our heating was on every day, not to mention the tumble drier and my bill was still was short of the £161 we pay per month, that was an increase of £67 pm when we started the new rate. I know there are people really struggling which is shocking and I hope that they get any help or support they need. I know how worried I felt at the thought of it so can’t imagine how it would be as a reality.