British Gas now requiring smart meters with new tariffs

chrisw99

Yeah, I think that's the point I was trying to make. The law says these companies cannot force you to have a smart meter, but they're not forcing you to switch to the cheaper tariff. They just know most people will want to switch to the cheaper one. By having it in the T&Cs for all the cheap tariffs, then it's an underhanded way of getting more and more people to have to take one. I was all ready to click the confirm switch button when I thought I'd have a quick read of the T&Cs and noticed it.

Whether it would save me money over the full 12 months, I'm not sure, but the majority of my gas usage is over the Nov-Feb period, so would have been nice to have switched to a cheaper tariff during that period before I can escape in March.

The_Big_Bamboo

chrisw99 wrote: »

I check every month to see if there are any new cheaper tariffs I can switch to, and I've just noticed there are now a couple of new ones that would save me £200 a year.

But reading the T&Cs I've noticed this bit...

If you are eligible for smart meters and don’t already have them (either for both fuels or just one fuel), by signing up to this tariff you agree you’ll book a smart meter installation
appointment within 3 months and be at home for the appointment.

If you don't get the appointment done within 3 months, they automatically switch you back to the standard expensive tariff.

I've resisted smart meters so far (purely because everywhere I read people seem to be dead against them), but now it's looking like I can't switch to a cheaper tariff without it. Are they really that bad?

No, Smart meters aren’t that bad,...it’s Br.Gas that’s your problem, IMHO.

You shouldn’t necessarily let £80 exit fees stand in the way of a switch to another supplier. You could probably easily save more than £80 if you switch to another supplier on a fixed tariff with no exit fees.

Br.Gas tariffs are very pricey and if you choose another Br.Gas tariff you’ll feel locked in once again by their exorbitant exit fees;...and ‘locked in’ and ‘committed’ to Br.Gas is exactly how Br.Gas want you to feel.

I was a Br.Gas smart meter customer until the end of last year and believe me Br.Gas ain’t all that!...personally I’d tell Br.Gas to stick their extortionate tariffs and thinly veiled threats up their arse.

Get yourself out of Br.Gas and into a cheaper tariff with a new supplier,...it’s a simple process.:money:

I actually loved my smart meters and the functionality they provided,...it’s just a pity that they were intrinsically linked to Br.Gas.

chrisw99

The_Big_Bamboo wrote: »

ou to feel.

Get yourself out of Br.Gas and into a cheaper tariff with a new supplier,...it’s a simple process.:money:

Believe it or not, I have looked into switching a few times, and nothing was coming up particularly cheaper than BG. Probably because I've been on the "collective" deals for most of the past few years.

The few that do come up cheaper, when I go through the process, force me to have to go on to a fixed monthly direct debit.

At the moment, I give a meter reading on the 1st of each month and then the direct debit comes out for what I've used - so in August my gas bill was £5, in July it was £4. In February, it was £124, but I'd rather pay it that way, than have to pay £60 a month all year round. (works out great because traditionally the two expensive gas payments are the same months I have no council tax payment which is over 10 months).

If there's a cheaper supplier that works the same way, give the reading each month and pay for what you've just used, please let me know!

Merlin139

chrisw99 wrote: »

Believe it or not, I have looked into switching a few times, and nothing was coming up particularly cheaper than BG. Probably because I've been on the "collective" deals for most of the past few years.

The few that do come up cheaper, when I go through the process, force me to have to go on to a fixed monthly direct debit.

At the moment, I give a meter reading on the 1st of each month and then the direct debit comes out for what I've used - so in August my gas bill was £5, in July it was £4. In February, it was £124, but I'd rather pay it that way, than have to pay £60 a month all year round. (works out great because traditionally the two expensive gas payments are the same months I have no council tax payment which is over 10 months).

If there's a cheaper supplier that works the same way, give the reading each month and pay for what you've just used, please let me know!

Why not pay your council tax over 12 months then you can pay for your Gas monthly by direct debit paying a fixed rate and get a better rate?

giraffe69

I can certainly understand why people are waiting until the second generation of smart meters. I am.
There are quite a few who wish to go on about their inalienable right not to have one coupled with worries about secret collection of data and rays given off by meters and other equally unlikely things. In the end to force people to have smart meters will be extremely expensive and difficult so causing people to think the discount is worth giving up principles for will solve nearly all the meter installation problems in due course.
I'm not sure I believe the savings that are alleged to accrue but I don't have any strong opinion about getting one in due course and if I also get a cheaper tariff so much the better.

The heading of this thread is more than a touch misleading. There are any number of tariffs with a lot of suppliers that do not require any such meter.

chrisw99

Merlin139 wrote: »

Why not pay your council tax over 12 months then you can pay for your Gas monthly by direct debit paying a fixed rate and get a better rate?

There wasn't (and still isn't) a 12 month option when you set it up the first time.

Just done a search and it turns out if you are an existing customer you can now request a 12 month payment...

https://interactive.stockport.gov.uk/ctaxover12months/

I did look at this previously and nothing came up, so must be a new feature.

chrisw99

giraffe69 wrote: »

The heading of this thread is more than a touch misleading. There are any number of tariffs with a lot of suppliers that do not require any such meter.

Changed the title to hopefully be a bit less misleading.

AndyPK

Tick the quartley direct debit box. And see what comes up then.

Need to give meter readings 4 times a year and they bill you for exactly what you have used. You have ~ 30days to get the bill corrected if required. Obviously you get 2 big bills near xmas, but if you have plenty of money in the bank, its ideal for you

The_Big_Bamboo

chrisw99 wrote: »

Believe it or not, I have looked into switching a few times, and nothing was coming up particularly cheaper than BG. Probably because I've been on the "collective" deals for most of the past few years.

The few that do come up cheaper, when I go through the process, force me to have to go on to a fixed monthly direct debit.

At the moment, I give a meter reading on the 1st of each month and then the direct debit comes out for what I've used - so in August my gas bill was £5, in July it was £4. In February, it was £124, but I'd rather pay it that way, than have to pay £60 a month all year round. (works out great because traditionally the two expensive gas payments are the same months I have no council tax payment which is over 10 months).

If there's a cheaper supplier that works the same way, give the reading each month and pay for what you've just used, please let me know!

That’s interesting;...what collective deal are you on at the moment?...and how did you come by it?

My MSE collective Br.Gas deal ended last year and at that time there was no collective fix deal to be had anywhere;...I had to leave Br.Gas and my smart meters behind because staying with Br.Gas on the cheapest tariff they were offering would have meant a whopping 50% increase,... and that wasn’t on their standard tariff!:eek:

To be fair it was my high leccy usage that caused the massive hike in price when the MSE collective fix deal came to an end;...however, a much cheaper deal was very easily sourced through another supplier and it was only marginally more expensive than the MSE collective deal. Hugely cheaper than staying with Br.Gas.

Jonesya

Your main problem will be that if you get a smart meter now, there's a good chance it will be the old SMETS1 type meters which are the old generation and go dumb if you change supplier. Ideally you'd wait until at least next year when suppliers will no longer be allowed to fit these, so get a SMETS2 meter which remains smart even if you switch.

But it's all a non-issue really as you can switch to any of the smaller suppliers, probably save more cash and keep your old meter.