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I should add that I have recently withdrawn some of the substantial credit balance on my account, leaving 2/3 months worth of direct debit.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.

We had smart meters in our old house and were paying more than we even pay today for gas and electric combined. It was a smaller house as well.

Dumb meters In this house as the company said can’t install smart here.

Water is smart though and well that was fun getting the threatening letters for weeks because WE had a leak and if WE didn’t fix it they would and FORCE us to pay for it. After weeks and weeks of us telling them we didn’t have a leak and the ltrs per hour of leak creeping up they finally sent someone and guess what was leaking? The connection where they fitted the smart meter 🙃

Whatever the reason for the higher bills at your old house, it wasn't the fact that you had smart meters.

I got relentlessly hassled about it during the RTS switch off, a man was even sent to my door. I ignored it and they've mostly given up now.

Maybe not but maybe because from the month they were installed the bills just kept seeing to go up and up and up no matter what we turned off or stopped using which . We stopped using the dishwasher, stopped using the tumble dryer, sold the hot tub everything they never once came back down again and our previous bill where not estimated we always sent reading and the boxes where outside for meter readers to read which they did roughly every six months so not a case of we had been under paying.

Id rather not risk it again but it doesn’t matter as this house cannot have them anyway.

The trouble is, that's not very scientific. Were the amount of kWh for electricity, and ㎥ of gas, increasing each month, despite a reduction in consumption? Without this information, it's impossible to know what was going on.

Oh ok. Thanks 🙏🏻

I had a replacement meter last year. I opted for a non smart meter.

I think it is through a mobile signal, definitely doesn't need your house WiFi

I'm with eon and when i signed up i told them never to contact me about a smart meter and they don't , incidentally for the first time in years this is the only company i have ever used where i am more often in credit than not and they lowered my dd without me asking.
I loathe how these companies lie and manipulate to get you to have a smart meter.

I think the smart meters are all going over to Vodafone 4g, we had to have our SMETS1 meter changed recently, maybe it was because of this. A the moment some in the north use radio signals and some in the south still use 2g/3g. I had a look at this when we had ours replaced

I didn't think it would but then the ridiculousness of the world never ceases to amaze me. My coffee machine demanded to be hooked up to the wifi. 🫪

Thanks for info!

Which lies are they telling you?

We relented after being hassled for years to get smart meters by Eon. 1st appointment they didn’t turn up. 2nd appointment they turned up and said it was too complicated.

3rd appointment - the engineer spent 3 hours changing the meter. Turned the power back on and there was a bang and a crackling noise. Said it wasn’t safe to turn the power back on and that it was our responsibility to get an external electrician in to restore power. And then left the property.

We had no power, no Wi-Fi (we both work from home) and very little battery life on our mobiles after being without power for hours and hot spotting off them all afternoon. Had to call out an emergency electrician, cost us £440. Eon have refused to refund the cost.

And to top it off the new meter doesn’t work as a smart meter so we still have to send readings in.

Giving the impression having a smart meter is a legal requirement, sending literature that appears to be an appointment -i'm sure you have seen or experienced similar.
As i said in my post it isn't a problem to me as receive nothing from eon re smart meters .
I'm not commenting on why i don't want one , just responding to the op, i feel the same about any business who 'harras' or use excessive pressure to sell.

No it is not compulsory to have Smart Meters fitted and we avoided this for years, preferring to send our own meter readings online. However, meters do have a shelf life and we were told that our current electric meter was too many years old and by law had to be replaced with a new one which of course was a smart meter. Having the little screen in the kitchen showing usage has been helpful though and it certainly hasn't cost us extra money.

I have had three separate visits from engineers and they cannot physically fit a smart meter to my home ( it’s very old) .
I have been assured in writing ( from my provider) that the old one will always work and the engineers say the energy companies just tell everyone that switching is essential- but it’s really not! !

A smart meter is not a legal requirement, specifically. However, having a certified meter is a legal requirement. Modern meters are smart meters, so suppliers fit smart meters. There’s no conspiracy.

I'm not suggesting there is a conspiracy .
I am fully aware a smart meter is not a legal requirement.
Isn't the point of this thread about companies harassing people ?

This is my situation. A better tariff is only available if on a smart meter. Blackmail and coercion.

I mean electric today is more expensive than five years ago and I pay less now and have everything I had before and more and pay less. No smart meter.

Agree they keep on. They are a pain in.tje arse. I've resisted one. Don't want one.

How often are companies ‘harassing’ people, ie contacting them multiple times, because those people are preventing their supplier from fulfilling their legal obligation to bill their customers via a certified meter? I would suggest this is very often the case.

I mean, at the height if the energy crisis, around 4 years ago, electricity and gas were a good bit more expensive than they are now, for most households. You’re now in a different property, so there are too many variables to make a meaningful comparison.

I am beginning to suspect ElatedOtter is in favour of smart meters....

It is if the smart meter was making incorrect readings which according to the industry, is not possible so they insist the consumer must be using more fuel. Then it turns out the meter is faulty. There are enough verified examples in the press of this occuring and how hard it is to get the utility companies to acknowledge it.