Smart Meter mandatory in t&c

moonpenny

I want to change my energy supplier but don't want a Smart Meter.

I am with EDF but when I signed up for their cheapest deal, I spotted in the t&c that I had to agree to a smart meter.
I realized that if I refused to have one then they would probably charge me the fee for moving.

As I had had enough of comparing at this point I cancelled the deal and went with a dearer one that didn't force a smart meter on me.

I am so angry that this mandatory smart meter requirement only comes up if you read all the t&c when you have already signed up for the deal.

It seems that all the cheaper deals are with a smart meter but on comparison sites they are not mentioning this.

Why aren't the utility sites made to state this along with unit prices etc?

Don't think I can go through trawling the sites again for a reasonable deal only to find that yet again they have hidden the smart meter blackmail clause.

missykaren

I've signed up with edf too. I'd actually like a new meter, as my old non-smart one makes some very odd noises. But they're apparently not able to replace mine or schedule replacement at the moment - so you might just be left alone.

PennineAcute

If it is in their T&Cs then they are not hiding it. If you are prepared to pay extra, then go ahead and waste some money - after all, you are already funding the smart meter change.

matelodave

There are lots of T&C's and having smart meters is only one of them. How do you expect the comparison sites to list all of them.

It's up to you you to check the T&C's before signing up for the deal.

I cannot see why you are so opposed to them that you are prepared to pay extra. It's not a blackmail clause, it's what will be happening in the future and I guess you'll find that non smart meter tariffs will be reflecting the extra costs of processing bills from those who refuse to have a smart meter.

I don't have a problem with that

Hasbeen

moonpenny wrote: »

I want to change my energy supplier but don't want a Smart Meter.

I am with EDF but when I signed up for their cheapest deal, I spotted in the t&c that I had to agree to a smart meter.
I realized that if I refused to have one then they would probably charge me the fee for moving.

As I had had enough of comparing at this point I cancelled the deal and went with a dearer one that didn't force a smart meter on me.

I am so angry that this mandatory smart meter requirement only comes up if you read all the t&c when you have already signed up for the deal.

It seems that all the cheaper deals are with a smart meter but on comparison sites they are not mentioning this.

Why aren't the utility sites made to state this along with unit prices etc?

Don't think I can go through trawling the sites again for a reasonable deal only to find that yet again they have hidden the smart meter blackmail clause.

Personal choice that you want to go for a more expensive tariff.

But smart meters are here and eventually you will have to get one.

You have already paid £100s in your bills for them anyway.:(

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/gas-electricity-smart-meter-costs-rise-further-citizens-advice-a8719771.html

Takmon

moonpenny wrote: »

I want to change my energy supplier but don't want a Smart Meter.

But why not? I bet you didn't care what type of meter you had before they started installing smart meters, so why care now?.

It's crazy that you want to pay more just to avoid having a different electric meter. Do you refuse to use certain fuel stations because you don't like the type of meter they have on their pumps :rotfl:

Lagamorph

The meters themselves aren't the problem, but the reports of rushed fittings by people who are barely trained to do so, causing electrical and gas leak issues. That and I'm not 100% sure that all suppliers are guaranteeing to fit a SMETS2 meter, I'd imagine some suppliers are either still purchasing SMETS1 meters, or at the very least have a backlog of pre-purchased ones they're shifting through before getting newer ones.

nigelbb

Lagamorph wrote: »

The meters themselves aren't the problem, but the reports of rushed fittings by people who are barely trained to do so, causing electrical and gas leak issues. That and I'm not 100% sure that all suppliers are guaranteeing to fit a SMETS2 meter, I'd imagine some suppliers are either still purchasing SMETS1 meters, or at the very least have a backlog of pre-purchased ones they're shifting through before getting newer ones.

I agree. There is literally no advantage to me in having a smart meter fitted. It's simple enough for me to take a photo with my phone of the electricity meter in the hall or gas meter in the downstairs toilet. The smart meters that I have seen don't even show energy consumption they just show a display with pounds & pence.

I have been constantly nagged by EDF to get a smart meter fitted since they started supplying us a couple of months ago. Having a smart meter fitted was not in the T&Cs of my tariff. I had to get quite rude with yesterday's unsolicited phone call & told them I wasn't interested & not to phone me again. We shall see.

[Deleted User]

I saw this T&C when I signed up for EDF's cheapest deal (I'm already an EDF customer). It's well buried in the text. I engaged them in an online chat about it. Their response was that I wouldn't be forced to have a smart meter (probably a lie) and anyway, they are not scheduled to be installed in my area during the next 12 months. I've got a printout of the chat - just in case. If it came to it, I'd move to a different deal, or a different supplier, to avoid a so-called 'smart' meter and I'd wave the online chat in their face if they tried to charge me for leaving. That said; I like EDF, because they don't report your account to the credit reference agencies, which is obviously a big plus these days.

[Deleted User]

nigelbb wrote: »

I agree. There is literally no advantage to me in having a smart meter fitted. It's simple enough for me to take a photo with my phone of the electricity meter in the hall or gas meter in the downstairs toilet. The smart meters that I have seen don't even show energy consumption they just show a display with pounds & pence.

I have been constantly nagged by EDF to get a smart meter fitted since they started supplying us a couple of months ago. Having a smart meter fitted was not in the T&Cs of my tariff. I had to get quite rude with yesterday's unsolicited phone call & told them I wasn't interested & not to phone me again. We shall see.

The Labour government , under Ed Miliband as the then energy meter, made smart meters mandatory , like most of the EU countries did.
Expect a future Labour government , which could happen this summer, to once again make the fitting of them mandatory and change the Tories weakness in giving the UK public the ludicrous rights to refuse a smart meter . Quite a stupid change of the rules in order to get a public to accept them. Every one would know where they stand with the new technology and we can get an almost 100% smart grid in operation.
The way things are going it will be a feeble 65%.

matelodave

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

I saw this T&C when I signed up for EDF's cheapest deal (I'm already an EDF customer). It's well buried in the text. I engaged them in an online chat about it. Their response was that I wouldn't be forced to have a smart meter (probably a lie) and anyway, they are not scheduled to be installed in my area during the next 12 months. I've got a printout of the chat - just in case. If it came to it, I'd move to a different deal, or a different supplier, to avoid a so-called 'smart' meter and I'd wave the online chat in their face if they tried to charge me for leaving. That said; I like EDF, because they don't report your account to the credit reference agencies, which is obviously a big plus these days.

Cant see why not reporting you is a big plus - unless you don't pay your bills.

Perhaps if a few more people were actually reported then they would think a bit more carefully about not paying or running up big arrears