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

molerat

steve65e wrote: »

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?

That depends on the type of meter and tariff you are / were on. If it is a restricted hours meter then it is obsolete and, even though you may have changed to a standard tariff, they are replacing those meters. It could also simply be that a batch of meters has flagged up as unreliable.

steve65e

Thanks, although I'm not really sure what a restricted hours meter is. We're on Economy 7 if that helps.

Anyway I'm sure they'll write again if they really want me to have one. And I'm sure they'll change their mind when I tell them I'm about to switch.

pineapple

My elderly neighbour has had a letter saying that a smart meter is to be installed. She is with Eon though not sure if the letter was actually from them. She said there was no phone number to ring and discuss.
I am asking about this on her behalf as she isn't on the internet.
I didn't think smart meters were compulsory at this point?
Also she is on E7 - a weird 5/2 split. I thought smart meters were not compatible with E7? She certainly doesn't want to change. She says she filled in a form asking for location of meters etc but not details of her tariff.
Can anyone advise? Thanks

Edit just seen the discussion above but I thought I would ask anyway.
Plus - if they need to replace the meter because it is outdated anyway and even if the make it 'not smart,' would she end up losing her tariff - either E7 as a whole or the 5/2 split?
This would be disastrous for them as they rely on storage heaters and off peak use and the 5/2 split works for them. I used to be with Eon and on E7 and asked about having a 5/2 arrangement myself and was told it only applied to old meters.

Raxiel

pineapple wrote: »

My elderly neighbour has had a letter saying that a smart meter is to be installed. She is with Eon though not sure if the letter was actually from them. She said there was no phone number to ring and discuss.
I am asking about this on her behalf as she isn't on the internet.
I didn't think smart meters were compulsory at this point?
Also she is on E7 - a weird 5/2 split. I thought smart meters were not compatible with E7? She certainly doesn't want to change. She says she filled in a form asking for location of meters etc but not details of her tariff.
Can anyone advise? Thanks

Edit just seen the discussion above but I thought I would ask anyway.
Plus - if they need to replace the meter because it is outdated anyway and even if the make it 'not smart,' would she end up losing her tariff - either E7 as a whole or the 5/2 split?
This would be disastrous for them as they rely on storage heaters and off peak use and the 5/2 split works for them. I used to be with Eon and on E7 and asked about having a 5/2 arrangement myself and was told it only applied to old meters.

E.ON have a complex metering team, I don't know their direct line, so the best bet is to call the general CS number and ask to be transferred to that department, rather than letting the first line attempt to deal with it.
They won't discuss it with you, your neighbour will need to call them herself. If she's happy for you to handle it for her though, you can call in her presence and put her on to give them consent to talk to you.

House_Martin

Raxiel wrote: »

E.ON have a complex metering team, I don't know their direct line, so the best bet is to call the general CS number and ask to be transferred to that department, rather than letting the first line attempt to deal with it.
They won't discuss it with you, your neighbour will need to call them herself. If she's happy for you to handle it for her though, you can call in her presence and put her on to give them consent to talk to you.

I may be able to answer this to save you the trouble of a call.
Eon now use Secure Liberty electric smart meters and they can cope with normal economy 7 meters in smart mode.
Its odd that the other suppliers have not been able to match this with the more common Landis and Gyr smart meters. So far they don`t seem to be able to automatically read the day/night readings.

Raxiel

House_Martin wrote: »

I may be able to answer this to save you the trouble of a call.
Eon now use Secure Liberty electric smart meters and they can cope with normal economy 7 meters in smart mode.
Its odd that the other suppliers have not been able to match this with the more common Landis and Gyr smart meters. So far they don`t seem to be able to automatically read the day/night readings.

Yeah, but Pineapple is talking about (what I assume is) some weird legacy tariff where the 7 hours is split into two separate periods (5+2). I don't see why the meter couldn't handle it, but the complex metering team would be better placed to confirm it than some random phone monkey on first line support.

As for the other suppliers with L&G meters, perhaps there's actually more to some suppliers picking the Secure meters other than just the cost.

pineapple

Thanks folks. Will ask to see the letter (if she still has it). She is usually quite savvy (operates the village post office one day per week from her home) and I think she can handle further enquiries. It's just that she wasn't aware there might be issues. Also I forgot to mention that we have poor mobile reception here - mostly you have to run round the garden looking for a signal - and apparently that might also cause problems with a smart meter.. I think she needs to talk to the complex metering team as suggested about this and her split tariff. The lucky so and so has 2 of her 7 'off peak' hours in the evening when normal folks are still up and about.;)

Raxiel

pineapple wrote: »

Thanks folks. Will ask to see the letter (if she still has it). She is usually quite savvy (operates the village post office one day per week from her home) and I think she can handle further enquiries. It's just that she wasn't aware there might be issues. Also I forgot to mention that we have poor mobile reception here - mostly you have to run round the garden looking for a signal - and apparently that might also cause problems with a smart meter.. I think she needs to talk to the complex metering team as suggested about this and her split tariff. The lucky so and so has 2 of her 7 'off peak' hours in the evening when normal folks are still up and about.;)

Regarding the signal, it might be a problem, but the protocol meters use is akin to SMS, which works with a much weaker signal than a voice call, so it might not.

pineapple

Raxiel wrote: »

Regarding the signal, it might be a problem, but the protocol meters use is akin to SMS, which works with a much weaker signal than a voice call, so it might not.

Ah that would explain why I can sometimes pick up an SMS from inside the house though it is hit and miss. Also I usually have to go outside to send.