Eon want to change my electricity meter - can I refuse?

Robin9

A question for sacquacco.

As a man in the field what meters are fitted when they are not smart ? Are they smart meters without the communications sim ? ie by adding a sim could they become smart ?

[Deleted User]

If you dont accept a smart meter they will fit, probably, a small white digital meter made by Ampy or Landys and Gyr.Thats a very common meter. Its cheap to buy and has a lot of problems. There are many other digital meters around .The latest smart meters fitted by BG have done away with sim cards and now use a hub .I ve no idea what a hub is ! but apparantly it works much better.
No meter fitter would fit a smart meter without the sim/hub to connect to the server. If you happen to join those odd people who dont want one then you will not get one fitted by pretence.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

gsmlnx wrote: »

@Stompa

Also as the smart meters use mobile signals to transmit the meter readings, if you live in an area of bad mobile reception then the meter may not work. It does happens and then you will have to make arrangements to have a normal meter fitted instead most likely at a later date.

Spot on gsmlnx and thanks for posting. I'd missed this off previous posts on this thread. The quality of the mobile signal at the electricity meter is very important as we need to make sure it can communicate with the gas meter, the Energy Display and us.

Any material between the two points that are trying to communicate (that's between the electric and gas meters) can affect the signal quality. Wood, plasterboard and most other building materials will have a minimal effect but things like thick stone and concrete may have a bigger impact. Metal has the biggest effect on the signal.

Thanks again for adding this gsmlnx.

Malc

caveman38

Is it still the case that I can refuse a meter change. I ask as this thread is 2 years old and since then I have had 3 telephone calls and received another letter today (my third) and I may have received emails too.

badmemory

Yes you can still refuse

Raxiel

caveman38 wrote: »

Is it still the case that I can refuse a meter change. I ask as this thread is 2 years old and since then I have had 3 telephone calls and received another letter today (my third) and I may have received emails too.

It depends why they want to swap it.

If it's just to offer you a smart meter, then yes you can refuse.

If, however, they are saying the existing meter has reached end of life, they have the legal right to replace it, and can cut off your supply if they don't get access. This is a right that pre-dates smart meters and has nothing to do with the rollout.

If it's the latter, and you don't want a smart meter, they will likely fit one of the smart models with the communications hub disabled so it operates like a non-smart digital meter.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

caveman38 wrote: »

Is it still the case that I can refuse a meter change. I ask as this thread is 2 years old and since then I have had 3 telephone calls and received another letter today (my third) and I may have received emails too.

Don't worry caveman38. As others have said, yes, you can refuse a smart meter. They're optional and you don't have to have one if you prefer not to.

Just make sure, as Raxiel says, we're not trying to change the meter because it's reached the end of its guaranteed life.

If we're contacting you as part of the smart meter roll out and you would like this to stop please let us know you don't want a smart meter and we'll take you off the relevant marketing lists. If you're registered with our website, you can opt out of various forms of contact online too. This is through the 'update your details' section.

Hope this helps caveman38.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Raxiel wrote: »

It depends why they want to swap it.

If it's just to offer you a smart meter, then yes you can refuse.

If, however, they are saying the existing meter has reached end of life, they have the legal right to replace it, and can cut off your supply if they don't get access. This is a right that pre-dates smart meters and has nothing to do with the rollout.

If it's the latter, and you don't want a smart meter, they will likely fit one of the smart models with the communications hub disabled so it operates like a non-smart digital meter.

That's a good point Raxiel. At the moment, if a customer qualifies for a smart meter when their current meter reaches the end of its guaranteed life, they'll be offered one. We'll write to them to explain this and ask them to contact us.

If they decide this isn't for them, we'll opt them out and book an appointment to fit a classic/traditional meter instead.

Hope this is of interest.

Malc

Raxiel

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

That's a good point Raxiel. At the moment, if a customer qualifies for a smart meter when their current meter reaches the end of its guaranteed life, they'll be offered one. We'll write to them to explain this and ask them to contact us.

If they decide this isn't for them, we'll opt them out and book an appointment to fit a classic/traditional meter instead.

Hope this is of interest.

Malc

Thanks Malc, it is.

The Liberty Secure smart meters that E.ON fit are not the easiest to read manually. So it's good to know you don't fit them unless its intended to be smart. I understand from other posters on this board that some suppliers operate differently.

steve65e

Hello E.On

I have a letter saying you want to replace my 'old' meter, which is being phased out. 'Old' as in fitted in December 2014.

Can I assume that 'old' now just means 'not a smart meter' and ignore the letter?