"if i was YOU, i would ask MYSELF this, AM I FIGHTING A BATTLE I CANNOT WIN ?"...

customer1980

• Smart Meter Display gadget doesn't Display my Electric & Gas Usage due to Very weak/no Signal from the electric smart meter that is about 8metres-9 feet away.
• Électricit! De France, my Gas & Electric Service Suplier, Says They Don't have a MANDATE from the government or have to GUARANTEE a working smart meter display, Also that they don't have provide one to the customer.
• They, my energy supplier are receiving my live up to date Smart Meter Usage Information but, i, the customer, am not, No Live usage Online or on the SMD.
  
• my energy supplier metering manager i complained Deadlocked my complaint and tells me that i can go to OFGEM, saying: "if i was you, i would ask myself, am i fighting a battle i cannot win ?"

[*]I believe in my heart, that i have been misled by my Energy Supplier with all the promises in the advertisements prior to me deciding to put one, Having now a Smart Meter put on the September 30th, and replaced with a different on the 14th October and i Still don't receive Up to date Information of my electric and gas on the SMD & Online, so that, as they convincingly promised, i would manage, Control, my usage and Save for peace & mind, and as i am wheelchair bound getting readings from the meter so that i can have my direct debit accurate and not too high and in high credit as i have been, Putting a Smart Meter in, sounded like a Smart Life Saver !

Today the 24th december, i receive a letter stating the DEADLOCK and OFGEM information, with a three line summary saying that they cannot resolve my complaint due to weak SIGNAL they suspect from HAN- Home Area Network....
The Letter says nothing of what the smart metering manager told me on the phone conversations that went for over an hour, which thank god i started recording after 6 minutes in when i realised he was pushing me into closing the complaint and repeatedly telling me they cannot repair, fix something they provided and promised because in HIS words : " THEY DONT HAVE TO !

am i just a fool to believe in my heart that this is not right , that if they get my Energy usage information Live and Up to date, and i am not, either Online, or on a Display although he SAYS they don't have to provide ??

I'm sorry for being so long but i have no-one to talk about this without feeling that i might be wrong like my Energy supplier tell me...

Norman_Castle

I might be wrong but I suspect they don't guarantee a working in house display because in many cases they won't work. Smart meters exist for the benefit of suppliers. Any benefits to the customer are secondary. It would be sensible if the meters had a wired output so in situations like yours a wired connection could be made.
Who is your supplier? Some suppliers have representatives on here who may be able to help.

customer1980

Norman_Castle wrote: »

I might be wrong but I suspect they don't guarantee a working in house display because in many cases they won't work. Smart meters exist for the benefit of suppliers. Any benefits to the customer are secondary. It would be sensible if the meters had a wired output so in situations like yours a wired connection could be made.
Who is your supplier? Some suppliers have representatives on here who may be able to help.

Thanks Norman for replying so quick to my issue, I believe that the Smart Meters Was Created for the benefit of the Customers as well as the suppliers, However as a Smart Meter Customer i am not getting the benefit promised, But the Supplier is getting it entirely, i feel its nor Fair at all, and i shouldn't be told to quit and that i won't win and to go away, It is about My Service that I pay for, It is about Information of that service that i use, it is about that Live up to date Usage information that i was led to believe from my Energy supplier i would get so i would be able to check my usage live, control my usage, and save on my bills. and that was how they convinced me to have it. since they put in only worked when the engineers were installing and never again, they say the signal is minus zero eigthy, why they don't strengthen the signal or move the meters indoors as they recognise its their signal that is faulty ? if a customers satisfaction is their priority surely they can fix, instead because they tell me they don't have to, they don't have mandate, they won'T . But they are getting my Live energy usage information so thats alright for them.

Carrot007

Not live, but I guess soon (if not now) you should be able to view your usage each day as a nice graph online.

This is the real help to cuting usage anyway. You have to be stupid to not know what you are using currently. But daily trends are harder to spot.

And no, no reason to fight they don;t have to give you a display as you say.

However 4 metres? What's in the way? Stone Walls or Old Brick (I mean the sort where you are out of luck without a SDS drill, say pre 40s) I bet. These are not good for signals. In my old house with old brick I had a smart meter. I had to put the display near a door where the meter was the otherside as the brick just stops signals. Maybe try moving it closer and if possible with less stuff in the way (boilers are another signal killer).

customer1980

Carrot007 wrote: »

Not live, but I guess soon (if not now) you should be able to view your usage each day as a nice graph online.

This is the real help to cuting usage anyway. You have to be stupid to not know what you are using currently. But daily trends are harder to spot.

And no, no reason to fight they don;t have to give you a display as you say.

However 4 metres? What's in the way? Stone Walls or Old Brick (I mean the sort where you are out of luck without a SDS drill, say pre 40s) I bet. These are not good for signals. In my old house with old brick I had a smart meter. I had to put the display near a door where the meter was the otherside as the brick just stops signals. Maybe try moving it closer and if possible with less stuff in the way (boilers are another signal killer).

Thanks Carrot007 for replying, the SMD changes Message instead displaying usage from "no signal please contact customer service", to "connecting to smart meter, please wait..." and online, in my account's Energy Graph, shows Electricity two days late, 21st december, and gas readings information usage 14 days late, 10th december, and on the Gas smart meter outside installed against the wall i got the SMD on, the display is blank, no numbers, no reading to take so i put it online so to have more accurate billing, direct debit... I'm on high credit , high direct debit on my account they refused to refund until the annual reading..-. despite just being billed 32 pounds for the last 34 days and yet they charge me 92 pounds a month direct debit with 526 credit balance... maybe i am missing something and i am stupid as you say, carrot007, but in my heart something is not right.

System

OP - I fear that you are fighting a losing battle. There is no legal requirement which states that In House Displays (IHDs) have to work. The reason for this is simple: no supplier can afford to go round millions of properties just to check how the structure of your property and your various wifi devices - and those of your neighbours - will affect the smart meter to IHD signal. Sadly, these systems are so late in delivery that the Government has ruled out Apps as the preferred way forward. The Government also acknowledges that up to 42,000 properties - mainly apartments/flats - will never be suitable for smart metering. The industry has said that it will ensure these users get smart meter data: I doubt that this will be in real time. Arguably, you are getting the major benefit of accurate billing and, in time, you will be able to select time of use tariffs.

It is also worth pointing out that the majority of people who have been surveyed about IHDs state that the thrill soon wears off, and most sit in a draw somewhere. The average energy saving is estimated to be about £11 a year but only if the consumer turns things off. Moreover, suppliers will be under no obligation to replace a failed IHD after the first 12 months.

That said, if the issue is a faulty smart meter then the supplier is obliged to test and fix it. It may warn you that a No Fault Found will result in a charge.

Robin9

Customer 1980 - I don't know why you are so bothered about a working inhouse display.

Most of the people on this forum have found them of little use or at best a novelty and have discarded them to the back of a drawer.

They tell you nothing that common sense tells you

EssexExile

My In House Display was in the kitchen for a while, then it went up into the spare bedroom/office, then it went out into the garage. Then one day I noticed it wasn't working so it went in the bin. I never used it for anything.

System

OP, just give up your battle, its not worth it . You are receiving live up to date meter info, its all on the meter four metres away at the press of a button, so straightaway you have lost the argument. The little cheap gadget does nt work so do as I did and throw it in a cupboard/dustbin .Many meter fitters don t even give the customers an IHD. Smart meters are there for the benefit of the supplier as is any meter. The meter, smart or dumb is not your property and it has nt cost you anything. The gadget does cost you approx a quid a year to run, so you are up on the deal by dumping it.
Smart meters save US all money by stopping people getting themselves into large debts by setting themselves deliberately low direct debits and failing to admit meter readers ( me ) to check their actual usage. We don t have to pass on their warrants and failed debt payments onto the rest of the paying customers.They also help in the huge amount of meter fiddling going off nowadays which is increasing year on year when people realise the suppliers are hopeless with their non existent revenue protection units. I m currently doing some work for a really shockingly lax supplier (Utility Warehouse) who are getting a complaint to OFGEM from me about their antics.Only BG operate a properly run one. The rest of Europe had smart meters foisted on them with no chance of refusing them ( liberal Germany and Sweden excepted ). We also gave people the right to refuse them.Big mistake !

victor2

Customer1980, one major benefit to customers is that they no longer risk having bills based on estimated reads, as the supplier regularly gets actual readings. That has nothing to do with the IHD working or not.
Just look through the threads on here for examples of how many people have been shocked by a large energy bill after months of low estimated reads...

C_Mababejive

If you meter leaked and/or became faulty such that you had no gas, the emergency service provider would likely come and put a standard meter in to re-instate your supply.