Switching Energy Supplier and smart Meters

StarTrekkie007

Hello,

My current duel (Gas and Electricity) tariff is ending soon and I need to change to another one.
I've looked at the switcihng websites like comparethemarket and uswitch and a lot of offers
require mandatory installation of a smart meter. I prefer not to have a smart meter, so would like to ask, in these cases does the customer always have the choice to have the smart meter installed with the 'smart' functionality disabled (so it acts like a traditional meter), or can the energy supplier demand the smart meter be install will full 'smart' functionality active ?

If the latter, I would prefer to choose another energy supplier that does not have the smart meter installation requirement.

When looking at the list of energy suppliers there are a lot of UNKNOWN energy suppliers.
What are other forum members experience of these unknown energy suppliers ? Can they be trusted and what have your experience been like using these energy suppliers ?

Which energy suppliers would you recommend and which would you avoid ?

oldernonethewiser

When you say unknown do you mean smaller companies?

I have a couple of relatives who switched, neither wanted smart meters and both ended up with Yorkshire Energy.


No problems so far.

StarTrekkie007

oldernonethewiser wrote: »

When you say unknown do you mean smaller companies?

I have a couple of relatives who switched, neither wanted smart meters and both ended up with Yorkshire Energy.


No problems so far.

Yes, I mean smaller companies that are no so well known as the larger energy suppliers.

I will look into the energy supplier you mentioned

matelodave

Nowadays you'll find that most of the better deals will require you to have a smart meter so you need to check the T&C's of the tariff that you are interested in.
Although having a smart meter isn't legally mandatory it can be a condition that the energy supplier applies to certain tariffs, so you could end up paying more if you refuse to have one

As you say, there are plenty of unknown and new energy suppliers out there. Some are better than others and you can either stay with one of the big six or take a chance with one of the others.

I've saved literally hundreds of £££'s over the past ten years by swapping suppliers and taking a chance with the newer ones although at least two have gone bust (GB energy and IRESA).

It's not caused me too much of a problem because I keep track of my energy consumption, send in readings monthly and download my monthly statements so I know the exact status of my account. This means that if the supplier goes bust, mucks up the account or is just useless, I know where I stand and can get it sorted out relatively easily. I also make sure that my DD is set at the correct level to balance my account so I don't end up either significantly underpaying or overpaying

If you are happy to do that then you can save a lot of money but it can cause a lot of aggro if you don't keep on top of it.

Just look at some of the moans and complaints from other threads - usually because the customer hasn't done basic housekeeping (reading meters, checking bills and making sure they are correct). People still have problems with the big six so you aren't guaranteed a smooth ride whomever you go with.

I've just swapped to Symbio who are £150 a year cheaper than Yorkshire. Dunno what Symbio are like but I'm prepared to take a chance to save £150 or more

Gerry1

Don't even think of using Outfox the Market, Eco7 or Fischer Energy !

Avro and Yorkshire are OK.

Read the Ts &Cs very carefully for smart meter info; sometimes you only have to agree to be contacted about a smart meter, other suppliers will switch you to another tariff if you refuse. There's often a lot of confusion here - see the E.On thread.