Compulsory Smart Meters.

Rubidium

molerat wrote: »

Your personal insults do not help your case.

I am not against smart meters, I embrace technology but I am not an early adopter of new shiny goods for the sake of it, for anything I would rather wait until the mk2 that actually works comes out. This applies to smart meters, one would be of minimal benefit to me so why bother.

If they would solve so many problems then why are these problem customers not being targeted, using court enforcement if necessary ?

As for updating to SMETS2 standard, you seem to know more than the meter industry who have stated that although many later models should be updatable many will need to be replaced.

Agreed, he resorts to insults because he is incapable of sensible discussion based on real world facts and is so fanatical about smart meters that everybody else is wrong in his radicalised mind.

Who would your rather believe, the BG insider on the TV program last night, who actually fits these meters daily and knows what is going on or this obsessive, fantasist meter reader who thinks that he is the font of knowledge but knows jack and continues to post his wild assumptions at every opportunity.

Best to ignore his silly propaganda and make your own minds up folks!

Norman_Castle

House_Martin wrote: »

self appointed rank amateur smart meter "experts "

I suspect a lot of people would say that describes you.

System

What is insulting about that phrase, "self appointed rank amateur smart meter experts ?" strikes me you are a sensitive bunch . I have not made any personal "insults " at all.I get that sort of thing all the time from Rabidman and accept it all in good grace and don t find any of his stuff insulting at all. We can have a bit of banter about smarts without some of you pretending to be insulted for gods sake ! Please dont act like a premiership footballer slinging himself to the ground and rolling over ten times in agony (like Klinsman did )..no one likes a fraud !
Rabidman, if you think the people who run the Energy market are experts and know what they re doing you have dropped down a peg or two in my estimation. I thought you was a pretty smart cookie !

System

haha well done mate ! nice one ..keep up your absolute guff !. That is easily the best post this year !! very entertaining .Now you can see why I added the phrase "rank amateurs "..thats YOU.. who has zero experience of working with UK public. I also work for Scottish Power, EDF, Eon, and no end of little " here today gone tomorrow " suppliers who come and go. Can I just try and get through to you that many, many people are not at all interested in ever reading a meter at any time in any year because to them the "direct debit " is THE bill. That is what they have used and that is what they should pay.. Is that too advanced for you to believe ? but its absolutely true !
My days are definitely numbered, nearly put my notice in today ! Its time I retired to grass and started pottering around the house and garden and walking the Springer Spaniel !
Thanks for editing out your "personal insult " where you called me a "twaart " Don t worry, I m not at all offended, go back and reinstate it !

davidgmmafan

If the only benefits are that the suppliers cost money isn't that a legitimate investment for a business to make? Why therefore are customers expected to bear the cost of this? It seems reasonbale for a business to put in the money and reap the benefits in years to come.

Assuming it does save money why would power companies pass this on? They don't exactly have a great record of passing savings on to customers.

Finally you keep referring to British Gas . Are you employers aware you are posting in a public forum? Most have policies on that these days.

Are you acting as some kind of industry spokesperson???

System

DavidP24 wrote: »

For you Guff, for everyone else The Facts

Let us be CLEAR it is the responsibility of the Energy Companies to read meters, just as it is any company to have evidence of what they bill (Lawyers = Timeslips). Yet by some bloody con, the energy industry has managed to get the Consumer to pay 12bn for this kwap.

I have worked with the public all my life, I consider them CUSTOMERS, that is, people who pay my income, people who deserve respect, even if they do not have all the knowledge, I just like to help them get what they NEED, not force some shiiittee kit on them.

It is bloody energy companies who refuse to put account balance on the bill, so no wonder bill payers just worry about the direct debit. So no wonder people are not worried about readings, they know you will sting them one way or the other. Also it is complete twhats like YOU who transpose digits and get them billed badly.

I really wish you would retire, FROM THIS THREAD

Excellent, keep it up, don t stop , I like your passion. Maybe YOU have had your credit meter ripped out and a prepay installed because you could not understand the deliberately complex billing the suppliers use. Of course they all add an account balance to the bill but its hard for them to do that correctly because you won t give readings on a regular basis, monthly is ideal, quarterly ok but NEVER is a recipe for failure..and I m sorry, but that is what many do..and then they create fury, like you, come on a forum and make a fool of themselves.
So once again, its a great advert for smart meters. The UK is full of davidmmgf...s ( plural)

Norman_Castle

House_Martin wrote: »

What is insulting about that phrase, "self appointed rank amateur smart meter experts ?"

You're a self appointed rank amateur smart meter expert. Please don't be insulted by this.

System

Oh please - people can make up their own minds about the benefits v costs of smart meters but require accurate and informed information to do so. This is not coming from the suppliers if 4 out of 5 people surveyed think that they are free.

No one doubts the value of smart meters in terms of the management of energy demand; however, the benefits could have been achieved with smart meters which cost a 1/3 of what we are paying. We have gone for a 'bells and whistles' - the consumers will pay - solution which has just added cost and complexity to the whole project. It is no wonder that 'experts' in this sector are becoming worried about the project as a whole: costs are escalating and security risks are being played down.

As an aside, I have to wonder why meter readers are so keen to see smart meters being installed. Isn't it a bit like train drivers voting for driverless trains?

System

You are jumping the gun a little Hengus. The boss of SSE was a little stumped about the question of the cost and who is actually paying.He did say he was going to look more carefully into the wording and come back with a suitable honest reply.At least give him a chance .You seem to be grasping at the cost of installation as a huge negative, any negative will do to some people.Don t forget that these new meters are not that expensive an item and all the old meters need to be replaced anyway. The figure of £350 per customer has been bandied around and used as a trophy in the anti smart flat earthers who would like to return to the horse drawn plough of the dreadfully inefficient old meters from the 1940 s. The cost of ALL meter exchanges is payed for by the consumer. No one has ever complained about this. Over the last 20 years it amounts to billions .This figure for smart installs would be spread over 20 years I believe, £17 a year. Compared to the green energy tax over £100 yearly its great value.You yourself have cobbled up a very low figure of £20 a year per customer lost in the form of theft of energy, so straight away the smarts are yeilding a profit on theft alone because smart meters will greatly reduce theft and limit how long anyone gets away with the theft. Then there is the huge cost of bad debts which never get repaid due to incorrect billing. It all makes terrific economic sense to embrace smart meters.I have nt found ONE smart meter fiddled or bypassed in all the years BG have been installing them.Last week I found TWO big theft of gas and electric meters fiddles, one had nicked many thousands of pounds worth of electricity ( it can be measured )in his grubbly house growing a cannabis crop.He s skidaddled of course but at least its at an end
Meter readers are now doing many different jobs other than day to day cyclic meter reading. I deliver reminders to homes without a valid TV licence, I check pubs and clubs for BT sports correct licences, radio licence for restaurants , National Grid work checking gas meter regulators and lots of other work as well as smart meter checks for BG every 5 years.Not exactly turkeys voting for christmas

facade

Everything is sorted now. :cool:

The advert I heard on the wireless yesterday about "Leccy & Gas" said

"All homes can have a smart meter fitted by 2020 at no extra cost."

Which is quite correct, as everybody is paying for them anyway, whether they have one fitted or not.