Having Smart Meters Removed - Advice Please

chris301up

Hi guys

I have had so called Smart Meters installed at my property for between 12 - 18 months or so, but have never been happy with them has the cost for topping up increased dramatically. Prior to having these installed I had key and card pre-payment meters and was lead to believe that these would be comparable. Not so!

It seems now that I'm having to top up close to double the amount has previously, and although I understand that costs have increased, this surely cannot be correct?

I really want to go back to the analogue meters. I have been in contact with my energy supplier - British Gas - regarding these excessive charges and to request a meter change, but they simply will not entertain the idea!

Can anyone advise how I can actually get this done please?

Robin9

There may be an error in the set up.

I'm sure one of of our meter readers on the forum will advise you on which screen to check that the payments / debits are correct.


BG won't go back to analogue meters - they don't exist anymore.

[Deleted User]

chris301up wrote: »

Hi guys

I have had so called Smart Meters installed at my property for between 12 - 18 months or so, but have never been happy with them has the cost for topping up increased dramatically. Prior to having these installed I had key and card pre-payment meters and was lead to believe that these would be comparable. Not so!

It seems now that I'm having to top up close to double the amount has previously, and although I understand that costs have increased, this surely cannot be correct?

I really want to go back to the analogue meters. I have been in contact with my energy supplier - British Gas - regarding these excessive charges and to request a meter change, but they simply will not entertain the idea!

Can anyone advise how I can actually get this done please?

i must admit that British Gas standing charges are higher than most, 27p a day but their current tariff charges for their prepayment meters, which are more important, are up there as some of the cheapest gas in the UK, matching current yearly fix tariffs. BG gas is 3.4 p kwh , and electric is 15p kwh. That is the rates for my area in S.Yorks
You could switch supplier to Bulb Energys prepay rates or credit and lower even more to 12.4p/kwh ( about the lowest rate I ve seen ) and 3.24p/kwh for gas, also an excellent rate..
Prepay prices , because of the subsidies and tariff capping, are not what they used to be..
British Gas can switch the meter remotely to a credit meter mode , if you pass their stringent credit checks , but you may face higher prices.
Virtually everyone pays standing charges, usually between 18p to 30 p a day.
Rather than fight a battle which cannot be won, switch to Bulb. The meter becomes dumb on a switch if you have an issue with a "so called " smart meter

chris301up

I have been in touch with British Gas regarding this and they tell me all is well. I only have their word for this of course. I even asked them to put the meters into 'dumb' mode, but they had no idea what I was talking about.

I am not on my own wanting these removed, including my Daughter and Son, and know some people on the internet have been successful regarding this.

I have no use whatsoever for these new contraptions so any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Surely if these meters are being removed from a property then they could be installed into mine? Just a thought!

matelodave

They are not allowed to remove smart meters once they've been installed - if you dont like your tariff then try another supplier.

The fact that you've got a smart meter hasn't increased your costs although if you are using more energy or if you are paying back some arrears it will appear as though your costs have gone up.

The cost of energy has increased dramatically over the past year or so, not really helped much by the imposition of the price cap which has all but levelled out energy prices for pay-go tariffs but it's worth checking whether you could get a better deal.

You could possibly do something about saving energy as well which would help reduce your costs.

Alternatively get your pay-go meters changed to a credit meter and see what tariffs are available.

Robin9

Chris301up - please change your font and colour to a normal one

chris301up

It's only so called company policy that prevents removal happening. I have read several articles relating to this. One quote simply says "Ofgem, the regulator for the energy industry, says no-one has to have a smart meter".

I have just looked at Bulb and that could be a good alternative. I don't use these modern smart phones or the like and still go to the shop for my top ups.

I'm currently using my Sons laptop to access the internet and this site
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chris301up

This is the colour and font I always use. What's the problem?

[Deleted User]

chris301up wrote: »

It's only so called company policy that prevents removal happening. I have read several articles relating to this. One quote simply says "Ofgem, the regulator for the energy industry, says no-one has to have a smart meter".

I have just looked at Bulb and that could be a good alternative. I don't use these modern smart phones or the like and still go to the shop for my top ups.

I'm currently using my Sons laptop to access the internet and this site
[/FONT]

Bulb give generous referral fees as well. I think you could collect £50 and also arrange with someone to also receive £50..
Before you switch , go onto Ukpower.co.uk and fill in their initial details being careful to select "prepayment " as your preferred ways to pay, and also to select "show all suppliers " or they won`t show the cheapest suppliers.plus prices vary from area to area. .

Hasbeen

chris301up wrote: »

This is the colour and font I always use. What's the problem?

Changing your font and colour to a normal one means people can see and reply your posts without sunglasses on and also signifies a more mature aspect that they could reply to?:)

Robin9

chris301up wrote: »

This is the colour and font I always use. What's the problem?

In 2014 you were using a more standard Arial 10 .

The Comic Sans MS 4 fills the page and it is necessary to scroll down to read it all.