Smart meter minutes away from starting a fire

[Lianne1977]

Just wondering what you would all do in my situation. So last night after rechecking our son was asleep my DH realised the lights were not working. He went down to the garage to check the box and found it full of smoke and the box was red hot. He immediately called northern power grid who were fantastic coming straight out and making everything safe (took 11 hours and and dug up pavement)
Turns out the wires in our new smart meter box had not been tightened properly so box was on fire and the neutral wasnt fastened at all anymore so had literally made our, and our neighbours house “live”. Had my DH not felt something wasn’t right we would most likely have had a burnt down house today. Worst part for me is our sons room is above the garage so it would have got to him first.
So here’s my IABU, I’ve obviously emailed EDF with a harsh email but would you push it any further ie post in social media, local press? I feel I need to warn people about this danger but I’m so over emotional at “what could have happened” that it’s clouding my judgement. Thanks

That's horrendous and I would be the same as you, thinking about what could have happened.

I would wait for a response to your email before doing anything else. This will give you time to calm down also.

I'm not sure what going to press/social media would achieve really. It's not like it would be advisable for members of the public to go poking round their smart meter to ensure theirs is installed correctly.

Thanks for responding and feel a bit better my response is not bonkers. Only reason I want to spread the word is really to warn people about smart meters. The engineer who was here reiterated it’s not the meter but the people that fit them, they are under so much pressure to get them installed and most energy companies sub contract so standards are obviously slipping. Really just want people to be informed before they do this. We had avoided it for 5yrs but agreed as wanted to keep an eye on usage 😢

You don't need to do a sad face story on social media.

Surely the issue is with meter fitting and not smart meters specifically? This is not a reason not to get one.

Why all the sarky responses? OP is right to warn people.

Alright EDF

Alright British Gas

🙄

Was it fitted recently OP?

It’s nothing really to do with smart meters though, it’s just fault wiring.

It could have been your washing machine, hair dryer etc.

Would you go to the daily mail warning people off kettles because yours had an electrical fault?

Did you notice any warning signs, OP? You mentioned lights not working, what about strange smells, sounds, anything else? I would go public with those so that people know what to look out for and to contact their supplier straight away.

That is exactly why I have refused to have a smart meter fitted in my house. I remember watching a program where someone someone's house burnt down because their smart meter wasn't fitted properly.

October

Yea DH said it was an acrid smell like burning plastic

surely if you were about to get something fitted to your electricity supply you would want to trust the people who are fitting it. The guy from power grid said he’s seeing more and more as the contractors are under so much pressure to hit targets to get these fitted. If they can fit them safely then sorry but yes it needs flagging to others don’t you think swiftswatch?

Sorry second half of message was to swiftswatch and should say it they CANT fit them safely.

as for the signs it was burning plastic, but this was the very end sign. We had no idea it had got so bad till power grid opened it up and it had literally burnt through the wall already. Sad thing was they were not at all surprised 😢

We had resisted for years because of the various reports but assumed technology had moved on. In the end can’t blame the smart meter it’s the people that fit them that are at fault. Wires were not tightened and had my husband not been unsure we may well not be here now

I would do it, OP. I wouldn't trust power companies to be upfront about the scale of the problem so the more people who know, the better.

Difference is I don’t have a professional to plug my kettle in. Reconnecting my electricity supply to a smart meter or any meter needs to be done by a professional and if it done wrong can kill people.

Yes we’re still refusing ours on safety grounds. Too many rushed botched jobs. I know someone who has had theirs abandoned halfway through as it was in a difficult spot and the engineer just gave up and blamed the lack of signal on Menwith hill and pissed off to the next job!

I don't see the point unless you're going to warn people off poorly trained and overworked electricians in general?

She absolutely does. Or should it wait until someone's fried in their beds.

If smart meter installers are cowboys then there needs to be tighter regulation. Not wait until people die and then 'lessons will be learned'

Nothing to do with the meter. Report the company that installed it.

I have had letters from SSE (now OVO) saying in attempted scary bold font that my electricity meter is ‘dangerous and outdated and soon to be condemned’ so I simply must install a smart meter immediately
how do they’d know this ? They will do anything to flog those smart meters

Lmao, something similar happened to me about a month ago with an EDF meter.

When the Economy 7 switched on, all electricity went off which isn't fun especially with storage heating. Apparently the E7 meter wasn't connected properly. The meter cupboard outside was black with smoke and the noise was awful.

😂