Blown Gas Smart Meter

electriccafe

We watch your programme all the time, we love it, I'm getting the feeling that you are failing to inform people of issues when switching suppliers for Gas and Electric

For 3 years we were with EON, after the second year they told us that by replacing the meters to smart meters it would save us money. We did. They fitted us a new Gas and Electric smart meter, at the time we didn't know that the electric meter was an economy 7 meter. Not informing us they fitted a new economy 7 smart meter.

After that year we shopped around (advice given by you), completed the online form and switched over to SSE. Several days later we were told that we couldn't switch as we had provided false information. To cut a long story short we complained to EON about the electric meter, have since taken it to the ombudsman. Still waiting for a response

We eventually managed to go over to SSE however would have to change the electric meter in January. No issues

On Christmas Day around 5pm, our village received a power cut, 6 hours the power was out, during this time the power would intermittently switch on and off. We didn't know until Boxing day that it had blown our Gas Meter. We couldn't heat the house, hot water or cook. We had elderly parents and a disabled brother staying with us, we also have two children

For 9 hours we were battling between Transco and SSE Emergency as to who would foot the bill for a new meter, who would resolve it. SSE made it clear that a company called CH4 would fit a pre-payment meter to get us up and running, Wednesday morning arrange a new meter to be fitted.

Have done nothing but argue this morning with SSE as they CANNOT fit a new gas smart meter as the EON Electric one is not compatible with SSE's smart gas meter. They will have to fit an old style meter then make arrangements to fit a new SSE Electric Smart Meter and then a SSE Gas Smart Meter. We have been told by SSE that none of the suppliers Smart Meters are compatible with each others.

Our pre-payment meter is due to run out, we have no way of adding credit as our card won't be received for several days. The whole issue is a complete disgrace

I just wonder if you Martin Lewis are aware of these issues, if so WHY aren't you telling the public that switching can cause more issues in the long term. How is it environmentally friendly that smart meters by different suppliers are not compatible, the government will be making every home fit one. What a gimmick

In the meantime I'm having to make a sacrifice in telling my brother, parents and children to wear a coat in the house in case we run out of gas

System

I will let Martin answer you in detail. I am sorry to hear about your problems but the decision to agree to a smart meter is, I am afraid, down to you: they are not mandatory. SMETS 1 meters (as they are known) are supplier dependent: it was deemed essential to give suppliers time to develop their IT systems and this was the best way of doing it. I have looked at a number of suppliers' websites and then all mention that switching with a smart meter is possible BUT the meter will lose its connectivity. Non supplier-dependent smart meters (SMETS2) will roll out from late 2017 onwards. Again, it is not yet mandatory to accept one.

There is always a risk with anything electrical that a power surge could cause damage. At first, it was intended that gas meters that had gone offline could be re-set remotely; however, it soon dawned on the suppliers that someone needed to check that no gas appliances had been left on when gas was restored to a property.

As far as project management is concerned, this rollout will probably be used in industry/management schools as an example of how not to do it. For my part, I will continue to decline all offers of a smart meter until such time as I am confident that all the outstanding issues have been resolved. I fear that we are a long way off that.

electriccafe

Hi Hengus
Many thanks for coming back to me, when EON told us that switching to smart meters would save money, I did ask the questions about switching and they told me that there won't be any issues, this is why they are called smart meters. The internal meter which lets us know how much energy we are using has never worked. Not very smart

If I'd have known at the time that they would cause us so much grief I wouldn't have switched over, I could find nothing on EON's website about this issue.

SSE have since contacted us to say they will be fitting an old style meter until such time a new electric smart meter is installed afterwhich they will come back out and fit us a new gas smart meter.

Am still waiting for SSE to confirm when our new meter will be installed, their emergency part have not updated the computer systems which is causing us more grief. Depending on what type of gas meter they install (when they get around to it) I may just leave it as an old style. Less hassle

I find it very frustrating that the energy companies have failed to tell people about the issues, Martin Lewis has not mentioned it during his programmes. More people need to be made aware.

SailorSam

When we first started hearing about Smart meters, some years ago. I thought they sounded like a great idea. Not 'cos i could keep track of my use, but they'd save me having to wait-in when the reader was due. But when i started to read all the complaints; faults, and troubles people had with them, i changed my mind.
A few weeks ago i had a letter to say they were in my area and to ring and arrange a date, i ignored it. Then last week a woman phoned asking when i'd like my new Smart meter. I said, Never. I said in a few years when it becomes law and i don't have a choice, i'll have one. I told her i'd been put-off by all the stories i'd read in the press. She told me, most of them weren't true.
Sorry Op about your troubles, especially over Christmas, hope you get things sorted soon.

[Deleted User]

electriccafe wrote: »

EON told us that switching to smart meters would save money

Cutting your fuel use will save you money, not changing the meter. Unless you are singularly fascinated by watching an in-home display, a smart meter is unlikely to make much difference.

electriccafe

I've just been told that they are unable to fit a new meter until the pre-payment meter reads less than a £1, I'm to ring an emergency number and someone will be with us within 4 hours

They will fit an old style normal meter and then arrange a refit for a smart meter, I've told them not to bother after the old style meter has been fitted. We will stick with it. Less stress and hassle

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hello electriccafe and sorry you had such a miserable time over Christmas. Thought I’d pop on with some information about our involvement with the smart meters.

When we fit these meters, unless told differently, we’ll put in the same type of set up as already in place. I suspect there was an existing Economy 7 meter but we were charging as a single rate. This is usual for us. Some customers don’t use enough electricity during the cheaper off peak times to benefit from Economy 7 and ask to go on to a single rate tariff. To do this, we add the day and night usage together and charge at the one price per kWh. Not all suppliers do this and it might be why the switch didn’t initially go through. Guessing though.

Having smart meters doesn’t stop people changing supplier. It’s more that the meters are likely to revert to a traditional or dumb type. They may need to be read manually as they won't be able to send readings remotely. Smart meters are relatively new and the industry is working on ways to make sure everyone can benefit. At the moment, different suppliers are at different stages with the smart meter roll out. The aim is for customers to be able to switch supplier without losing smart capability but we're not at this stage yet.

Also, as jack_pott says, a smart meter itself won’t save money but they give lots of information to highlight usage and help consumers recognise areas where they might be able to cut back and budget more effectively.

Hope your situation is sorted sooner rather than later and this helps a little when talking to the Ombudsman.

Malc

electriccafe

Hi Malc

I understand that smart meters won't save money itself, we were initially told by EON that we would receive a discount if we had them fitted, no mention of the issues if we changed or encountered problems

As for being on an Economy 7 tariff, there was no mention of this on any of our statements or online accounts, as you have already told us, this rate is slightly higher than a standard tariff which is probably the reason why you failed to inform us. I highlighted this issue when we moved over to SSE, your sales staff agreed that it should have been highlighted on our account somewhere. This is the reason why I've decided to take it to the ombudsman.

SSE have just fitted a new standard gas meter, I will NOT be having another smart meter fitted, they are not fit for purpose. Surely before fitting them in peoples homes you iron out the issues first. I'm asking for too much there.

We had a lovely Christmas, thankfully it was 5pm when the village lost power, its amazing how many board games you can get through. It turned miserable due to the issues with customer services from SSE

I read the reviews for SSE's customer services and they came out top, I must have been one of the unlucky ones. It angers me when you see large companies like EON, Npower and SSE mistreating their customers. You forget that it's us the customer which pay your salaries and profits to greedy shareholders. This is probably why you charge extortionate amounts for our utilities. Same applies to the railways and anything else which the government have decided to privatise.

[Deleted User]

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Having smart meters doesn’t stop people changing supplier.

No, but changing supplier renders the smart meter a waste of money that we're all paying. Even if the predicted savings were realised, it would take about 10-15 years for a meter to pay for itself, few are going to stay with the same supplier that long.

System

I take it the OP does not look at his meter very often, and if he does he does not understand it. You seem to have blundered your way into trouble because you were not aware that the meter was an Economy 7. That is only your fault. The meters clearly show day and night rates and a total reading.Any replacement meters will always have to be Eco 7 until the wiring is changed slightly and this sort of thing is usually charged for by the suppliers because you are changing your domestic heating method and therefore no longer need night storage heaters. This is a cost you should have to bear.Also I m a little confused because you appear to have had an Economy 7 prepayment meter then expect to simply exchange prepayment meter for a smart credit meter. This is always subject to a credit check by all the suppliers and Eon are one of the strictest with credit checks. I can t see how the Ombudsman is going to help you because it is all of your own making not understanding the meter in the first place. New meters of course woould not save any money and no one has ever said they would. They will help you in finding out which appliances are expensive to use and that is all. Smart meters are here purely for the benefit of suppliers only to enable correct billing for the hundreds of thousands of people who never look at their meters from one year to the next because they believe in magic and second sight by suppliers,
I have not seen any Smart Eco 7 credit meters as of yet although smart prepays are appearing in very low numbers. Many of the smart meters will work with different suppliers as meters in their own right. Eon do use the same meters as other suppliers, Landys and Gyr. The meters will be dumb and they are not compatible with smart switching until SMETS2 meters start to be fitted next year

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

electriccafe wrote: »

Hi Malc

I understand that smart meters won't save money itself, we were initially told by EON that we would receive a discount if we had them fitted, no mention of the issues if we changed or encountered problems

As for being on an Economy 7 tariff, there was no mention of this on any of our statements or online accounts, as you have already told us, this rate is slightly higher than a standard tariff which is probably the reason why you failed to inform us. I highlighted this issue when we moved over to SSE, your sales staff agreed that it should have been highlighted on our account somewhere. This is the reason why I've decided to take it to the ombudsman.

SSE have just fitted a new standard gas meter, I will NOT be having another smart meter fitted, they are not fit for purpose. Surely before fitting them in peoples homes you iron out the issues first. I'm asking for too much there.

We had a lovely Christmas, thankfully it was 5pm when the village lost power, its amazing how many board games you can get through. It turned miserable due to the issues with customer services from SSE

I read the reviews for SSE's customer services and they came out top, I must have been one of the unlucky ones. It angers me when you see large companies like EON, Npower and SSE mistreating their customers. You forget that it's us the customer which pay your salaries and profits to greedy shareholders. This is probably why you charge extortionate amounts for our utilities. Same applies to the railways and anything else which the government have decided to privatise.

Hello electriccafe

Not sure what discount you mean. We've never given a discount for having a smart meter. Guessing but we might've been talking about the benefits of going from prepayment to credit meters? This is the same whether the meters are smart or traditional.

Meters are marked as Economy 7 and, as House Martin says, have different registers for day, night and total usage. As I mentioned before, we're happy to put customers on single rate tariffs even if they've an Economy 7 meter should this be better for them and they agree. If you were on a single rate tariff, the bills/statements wouldn't show Economy 7 prices. They would, though, show two sets of readings as we need to account for the total amount of electricity used. If, though, you were on Economy 7 prices this would be highlighted on the bills/statements as well as showing day and night readings.

Sorry if my speculation is off track but glad you had a good Christmas despite the loss of power.

Malc