Replacement meter letter

Swipe

Have any British gas customers out there had a letter from Onstream about arranging an appointment to have your electric meter replaced? I have only recently had a brand new digital meter so I contacted that to tell them it won't be necessary. They asked me for the serial numbers of the old and new meters so they could update their records, which I sent them thinking it would all be sorted. Then I received this reply from Onstream:

Onstream appreciate that your meter may not be very old and may have only been changed recently,

Your supplier British Gas has now hired our company Onstream to take over the maintenance of the meter.

Therefore since the meter in your property is not an Onstream meter we will still need to exchange it.

Please contact us at your earliest convenience to make a suitable appointment.

This seems like a total waste of my time and their money to me. I don't want to have to waste one of my annual leave days, waiting in all day for someone to come and replace a perfectly good electric meter. I think I may just ignore them.

System

Swipe wrote: »

I think I may just ignore them.

Good idea.They can then go and get a warrant to force entry to replace it.

Swipe

!!!!!! wrote: »

Good idea.They can then go and get a warrant to force entry to replace it.

It's outside anyway I've no problem with them replacing it while I'm out but they insist that someone has to be there.

Haarlem

Swipe wrote: »

This seems like a total waste of my time and their money to me. I don't want to have to waste one of my annual leave days, waiting in all day for someone to come and replace a perfectly good electric meter. I think I may just ignore them.

Its all part of the high infrastructure, system costs, administration and error costs of the open competative market.

I have a friend who is a meter fixer, and he often has to travel vast distances between jobs, eg. Mansfield to the Gloucester area to instal one domestic meter. A round trip af around 320 miles. Only time to do one on those days.

If only the total true cost of supporting the open competative market was known.

Joyful

Why not tell them that you are available for an appointment after 5pm?

zzzLazyDaisy

I wouldn't worry too much about it - over the past two years I have had three letters telling me that someone was coming to change my electricity meter - no-one has ever turned up.

The only time someone did turn up it was to tell me that they were unable to complete the work that day as arranged.... but I hadn't had a letter that time and knew nothing about it anyway!

When the lady came to read the meter last time I mentioned this to her, as I still have the old style meter, and she said that she hears this all the time from customers (I'm also with BG, but not for much longer as I am in the process of changing to scottish power - and BG have completely b*llsed that up as wel!!).

PNPSUKNET

With electric meters, they are the operators property. BG will be doing it to cut down on cost. You will have to have it done though, they will get a safety inspection warrant which you cant stop.

Be_Happy

Swipe wrote: »

It's outside anyway I've no problem with them replacing it while I'm out but they insist that someone has to be there.

We had ours replaced recently and the reason they need someone at home seems to be that you are asked to unplug certain appliances eg microwave oven and put them on again after the meter is replaced.

spiro

Be_Happy wrote: »

We had ours replaced recently and the reason they need someone at home seems to be that you are asked to unplug certain appliances eg microwave oven and put them on again after the meter is replaced.

Agreed and it also ensure you do switch everything off so they dont get claims like 'my tv, pc and dvd recorder worked this morning but since you have swapped my meter they have stopped working.

They also do thinks like polarity and earth checks which if they fail may result in you being left off supply until you get an electrician out which wont be much good if you are vaway for 2 weeks with a freezer full of food that is slow getting warm/rotting.

DVardysShadow

!!!!!! wrote: »

Good idea.They can then go and get a warrant to force entry to replace it.

Hmm. I would think that they would have to have a good reason to change a meter
Agreed change of tariff requiring specialised meter eg Economy 7 or prepayment
Change to prepayment meter due to debt
Meter believed to be faulty
Meter outside calibration period [15 years]

I can't see it is justified just to change meters on a whim and expect to get a court warrant

Haarlem

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Hmm.
I can't see it is justified just to change meters on a whim and expect to get a court warrant

Different Suppliers have different Meter Operators, and so making a meter change necessary.