Smart meter removal/Economy 10

Ultrasonic

For info if/when you get to a deadlock, it's the energy ombudsman you contact, not OFGEM. I feel for you but can't offer any real help I'm afraid.

GoneWestWoman

Thanks Ultrasonic, I did mean the energy ombudsman, a slip of the memory!

MWT

AnnieRichards said:

I need to know if I have the right to ask them to put the old meter back or something similar?  Any help gratefully received Guys!

When you get to the Ombudsman with your complaint you can certainly ask for this, but the reality is that the meter you had will be on the scrap heap by now for recycling and there is no right to have a non-smart meter fitted as the suppliers are obliged to fit smart meters these days.

I really don't know what the Ombudsman is going to do with this one as you were using a meter configured as E10 on an E7 tariff and Octopus does not have an E10 tariff to offer you.

I would suggest that you ask for Octopus to configure the ALCS on the smart meter to match the original E10 settings on your old meter.

It can be done, but it is not something that the normal CS staff are going to be able to sort out, it will need to go to the Smart Meter team.

It will be an odd request, and anything you have in writing that shows that Octopus knew about the hours that your meter was set to would help in getting the Ombudsman to accept that as an equitable solution.

GoneWestWoman

Luckily I realised fairly early on in the situation that this was not going to be an easy fix and have refused to answer any telephone calls from Octopus which means that everything has been via email so that I have an accurate record of my requests and suggestions to correct the error and also their responses (where they also confirm that they have listened to the original call and admit that they said the meter would still run the Economy 10 hours).  I am barely sleeping because of the worry about what will happen when I need heating, also WHAT is my landlord going to say??  I checked that it was no problem that I am a tenant!  At least my neighbour is a tenant with the same landlord and also an Economy 10 customer with Octopus so I have some real time comparisons.

pochase

I don't think you can get the old meter or a E10 meter back. Problem is that E10 is removed by more and more suppliers, and they just don't produce them any longer or have them in stock.

If you read through the link that @Gerry1 provided earlier

https://economy10.com/forum/t/octopus-energy/

you will see for example a statement that the E10 meter would be listed as a E7 meter on the national database because Octopus does not have a E10 tariff. It is also mentioned that E10 meter that break will no longer be replaced. Also it seems that everybody has a different E10 replacement on the E7 tariff, some have just 10 hours at night, some have 5/5 or 7/3.

Fact is that they should be able to program the smart meter that you can get a usage profile similar to E10.

But it is also the case that nothing would stop them from cancelling this agreement at a later stage, due to the fact that they just stop providing any E10 at all. You would than either go onto E7 or switch to one of the few suppliers that still offer E10, but they get less and less as E10 is phased off.

Last point is the question did you pay for E10 rates, or did you pay for E7 while getting the benefits of E10?  If you paid E7 rates you are not a "good" customer as they lost money on you.

Mstty

If you were with anyone but Octopus I would be concerned but reading through posts form customer her they do mess up, but they do make up for it and generally the customer does not end out of pocket.

Sounds like you have a great paper trail so stick with it and I am sure they will compensate you accordingly and make it right👍

GoneWestWoman

@pochase - I paid for the Economy 10 hours at the reduced rate and the other 14 hours at the slightly higher rate as is standard for both Economy 7 and Economy 10 tariffs.  The reduced rate is lower because all the hours are out of the heaviest usage times which all energy companies promote as it eases the load at peak times if some of us don’t use power during these hours, particularly 16:00 - 19:00.  Octopus were completely aware that I had an Economy 10 account with a dual band meter, one MPAN and all their statements also show as E10 not E7.  At no point have I been trying to pull the wool over their eyes or sneak more units than I pay for (wouldn’t have a clue how to even if I wanted to, which I don’t).  The unit rate for E10 is the same as E7.  My neighbour is still with them and his account also shows “Economy 10” on his statements.

I also believe that it is possible for them to program the new Smart meter to match the E10 hours but I can’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do, can I.  

Octopus have been brilliant since I switched to them 3 ½ years ago - helpful, honest and reassuring.  They have made an error in this instance which does not impact them at all, it will in fact bring them more money because I will be forced to use my heating in the peak charging period, which is more expensive than standard tariffs if you are on an E7 tariff.  

The problem is that I genuinely don’t think I can afford to do that.  I work full time 07:00 - 15:00, am not in a particularly well paid job (retail), have no underlying health issues and do not qualify for any help with heating costs because I am 58.  I have already done everything within my remit to reduce my energy usage because I believe in everyone cutting their carbon footprint.

GoneWestWoman

@Mstty I’m hoping it can be sorted because I’m at my wits end trying to make them understand the impact their error is going to cause.

Strangely I don’t want any compensation.  I just want to be able to heat my home in winter!  I’m sure that any compensation would not cover the future years, nor the financial impact to my landlord who has not done anything other than renovate a few houses with a system that was financially better than the only other alternative - storage heaters - 7 years ago.  If I receive “compensation” who is going to provide for any future tenants?  Far better to have the off peak hours reinstated rather than financially compensate?

 I cannot give this fight up but was hoping someone would know if it is possible to swap back to the dual band meter I had before Octopus made their error.  I think @Gerry1 is the nearest to being able to point me in the right direction.

MWT

Keep working with Octopus and do suggest that they refer this to their Smart Meter team, as what you need is technically possible just through an alteration to the ALCS configuration on the meter.

... but... I really don't know what the long term solution is as E10 is essentially a dead tariff these days, but Octopus are better than most other suppliers when it comes to keeping the customer happy when they make a mistake, so lets hope they can do it this time...

GoneWestWoman

@MWT Octopus really have been great to deal with before this and I hope the correct resolution can be found.  I have asked for the Smart Meter team to look at the problem only to be told that the Advisor has already spoken to them and they said there is nothing they can do.

I also did what one of their earliest messages suggested and contacted 2 other companies who do still support E10 only to be told that as I now have a Smart meter they wouldn’t be willing to take over my supply - also both companies were currently trying to deal with the takeover from the failed smaller suppliers and couldn’t tell me when they could take me over as a regular non-E10 customer either. 

I feel like marching up to their offices, banging on the door and shouting very loudly with my hands on my hips for someone to sort it out! 😆

But I get the impression that they’re all working from home nowadays and I’d just be shouting at the poor security guard in an echoing empty building 🙄