Being harassed about Smart Meter

[NewGirlInTown]

Does anyone know if utility companies can force homeowners to have a Smart Meter?
I don’t want one but am getting frequent calls and texts hassling me.
I told them on the telephone that I am not interested.
My meter is very accurate; estimated usages are incredibly close to actual, so no alarm bells there.
I should add that I have recently withdrawn some of the substantial credit balance on my account, leaving 2/3 months worth of direct debit. I did it all through their online service, but since then, I am being hassled.
Many thanks to anyone who can provide advice.

Ultimately yes you will have to have one. You don't own your meter, the enrgy company does. Eventually all meters have to be replaced due to age and for safety reasons (the companies are obliged to do that especially with gas) and the only meters available now are smart meters. They can operate in dumb mode if that olos your worry

We no longer get hassled to switch to a smart meter after 2 visits by the installer to try and replace one that their own meter reader broke!
There was some technical reason why a smart meter couldn't be fitted. We have an overhead power supply rather than underground and they couldn't see something that they needed to be able to see.
We now have a new "dumb" meter.

I have, and will continue to, resisted getting a smart meter for reasons given by PP.
I receive messages saying my meter may not longer be accurate or not work properly due to the RTS switch-off. Turns out this refers largely to the type of boiler. I have a combi-boiler with a 'segment' dial to set when the heating comes on. As these are adjusted manually (ie I have to flip the little segments up (off) or down (on) myself, these are not affected by the RTS switch-off.
I am with Octopus and got hassled a lot but told them about the horror stories where Octopus charged people thousands and blamed the consumer not the meter, then when it was proved to be the meter they were still unrepentant.
Eventually they gave up but it was after I sent an email all in capitals as I was so fed up.

In my long correspondence with Octopus re this, they said they definitely would not let my meters be in 'dumb' mode!

How irritating. Unsubscribe and block their number, unless this would cause you a problem. And leave a negative review on Trustpilot, they won't like that.

@Pudmyboy No you misunderstand. All new meters are smart meters but they can operate in "dumb mode".

Yes, sorry I realised I had not replied correctly and amended my post.

No. They might try and bribe you with 'good deals' or blackmail you by saying the unmetered bill will be ridiculously high?
But if you just state I do not want one and I'm not getting one. I will not allow access to anyone to fit one. They won't send anyone as it's a waste of their time and money.

Anyway you do you. My smart meter is ace. I get to see hour on hour how much I am using and spending and it allows me to take part in load shifting tariffs so I generally get free electricity on Sundays. I haven't paid to do a clothes wash for ages.

This is how I feel. I see no benefit to myself, so why would I want one? I just ignore any letters that my service provider sends. Once they called, and I spoke to them, and told them that I was not interested in a smart meter. The caller was quite rude in reply, so now if a call gets through from them, I just end it. I don't need to explain anything to them.

Why would anyone want to hack into your smart meter? What benefit would they gain? Do you believe the earth is flat too?

I bet the capital letters did the trick!

Just tell them you “have a pacemaker” - and aren’t able to have a smart meter.
That will shut it down.

As I understand it, once a smart meter is fitted, the power supplier has the right to switch off the supply remotely, with no reference to anyone nor anyone overseeing events. With a normal meter, a court warrant must first be obtained.

Given the amount of technology cock-ups now known about, why would anyone willingly give the power supplier that amount of control over something so basic and essential?

I totally understand the reluctance!! We had a smart meter installed by Octopus at the beginning of August. The reason I succumbed is because we have recently installed solar panels, and some electricity is being fed back into the grid.

18 emails later and heading into October, and the smart meter is still not communicating with Octopus 🙄. Bloody useless. I am still able to take a meter reading (thank God) so that is okay.

But if I hadn't had the solar panels, no way would I have got one. Pain in the arse.

Hi op I used to work for an energy company.

Sometimes they will increase the contact about smart meters if they have engineers already doing jobs in that area. It will die down eventually. I sometimes still get it as I still have dumb meters.

The time when you do need to take notice is when your current meters are ‘end of life’ but even then you can get them exhanged for more dumb meters.

Cases of smart meter hacking abroad (Puerto Rico, Spain, Greece) have involved trying to under-report energy use (and so get cheaper bills). There aren't any documented cases in the UK. Studies have raised the (small) possibility of identity theft through hacking, but these are simply theoretical, and work has been done to reduce that possibility.

I went to an industry seminar for the housing developers about 15 years ago where infrastructure resilience was being discussed. At that time smart metres were seen as a way of measuring usage but also of managing supply In future at times of peak demand (which I understood to be different tariffs for different continuity of supply e.g. Those paying the least would be cut off at peak times to ensure those payin g more on top tier tariffs would always have gas and electricity). This couldn't be controlled through standard metres. I've been very resistant to getting one

We were the same,always told them we were perfectly happy with doing our own monthly reads,right up to when our meter's 25yr certification ran out last October.
Had to have a smart meter at that point and now don't know why we resisted for so long!

Thank you very much everyone for the helpful replies.
I don’t want a smart meter as I heard about the problems outlined by so many of you above.
I don’t need more hassle in my life!
My current meter works absolutely fine. I’m with OVO at the moment.
I will check my account and see if I can ‘switch off’ these calls.
Very grateful for all the advice. 👍🏻

Smart meters are not dangerous for people with pacemakers.

Please don't scaremonger with whatever conspiracy theory nonsense you read on Facebook.

Actual science:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23875951/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pace.12225

They are safe.
They allow you to access lower tariffs and reduce your costs.
While in theory, anything could be hacked, the smartphone or laptop you are using to access Mumsnet is much much higher risk of hacking and accessing your personal financial or health info. Anyone backing your smart meter would find out you use some electricity. There is nothing else on it.

But sure, don't get one. You are allowed to be irrational and economically inefficient if you want. Just send them an email stating you don't wish to get one and then send all future messages to spam folder.

We held out against the endless phonecalls for a long time and eventually our energy supplier offered us £50 and a much better tariff to get one fitted. Energy companies want everyone to get smart meters because it makes the company's life easier, so I think it's fair to make it worth our while.

If they need to physically force entry to your house, they need a magistrates warrant.

If your dumb meter is outside your house, eg in front garden, they don't need a warrant.

It's not the type of meter that defines the need for a court order, it's whether they need to be inside your property.

Regardless of meter type, there is a long process that must be followed before supply can be disconnected.

I have a smart meter, though its anything but.

The in room display screen stopped working 6 months after it was installed. Then the meter itself stopped automatically communicating readings so we had to manually do them. Now we cant get readings of it at all.

Our energy supplier has done sod all to help, because they have targets to fit them but not replace or repair.

I wouldn't have one again.

My experience is not unique

This exact thing happened to us ( except the dogs). He claimed we were out , then said he couldn’t park , we’d left the drive empty.
Another person came and said there wasn’t room in our meter box.
We just ignore them now.