EDF Smart Meter Harassment

Mister_G

@melbury. You are not the first this has happened to and, no doubt, not the last!

There are many posts telling the same story.

victor2

Nice that @melbury came back to tell us his conclusion. More disappear than admit their misunderstanding.

melbury

victor2 said:

Nice that @melbury came back to tell us his conclusion. More disappear than admit their misunderstanding.

Thank you but I am a her

victor2

melbury said:

victor2 said:

Nice that @melbury came back to tell us his conclusion. More disappear than admit their misunderstanding.

Thank you but I am a her

Apologies. Bit of a sexist remark! 

xetchar

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters, which is my right under GDPR. I've decided that since they won't stop, I'm going to book smart meter appointments every time they contact me and then not let the engineer in when they come to my property. If they have no respect for me, I have no respect for them.

[Deleted User]

xetchar said:

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters, which is my right under GDPR. I've decided that since they won't stop, I'm going to book smart meter appointments every time they contact me and then not let the engineer in when they come to my property. If they have no respect for me, I have no respect for them.

Best you cancel it at least one hour before or you may be charged for a missed appointment. 

[Deleted User]

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters

This letter explains why you are being contacted by your supplier. Put simply, the Government through Ofgem wants a successful deployment of smart meting in the UK:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Smart%20Meter%20Rollout%20Energy%20suppliers%20Rollout%20Delivery%20Open%20Letter%20April%202023.pdf

Not the use of the word ‘obligation’.

Come what may, you will get smart meters as your option to refuse does not apply to end-of-life meter replacements.

ArbitraryRandom

xetchar said:

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters, which is my right under GDPR. I've decided that since they won't stop, I'm going to book smart meter appointments every time they contact me and then not let the engineer in when they come to my property. If they have no respect for me, I have no respect for them.

It really isn't... 

GDPR requires businesses to only hold, share and use your data for essential purposes unless you have given them consent to use it for non-essential purposes. 

Energy suppliers are required (legally, via regulations) to roll out smart meters to all customers by 2025 - to comply with this legal requirement, they must be able to contact customers and arrange appointments, hence it not being considered 'marketing communications' for the purposes of GDPR and does not need your consent.

What you can do, however, is remove their permission to contact you by phone - which will cut down on the irritation you experience.

Or, you know... you could just make an appointment and get it done before you're forced to do it in a couple of years anyway.

Come to the dark side - we have cookies we can save you money on your energy bills

MeteredOut

[Deleted User] said:

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters

This letter explains why you are being contacted by your supplier. Put simply, the Government through Ofgem wants a successful deployment of smart meting in the UK:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Smart%20Meter%20Rollout%20Energy%20suppliers%20Rollout%20Delivery%20Open%20Letter%20April%202023.pdf

Not the use of the word ‘obligation’.

Come what may, you will get smart meters as your option to refuse does not apply to end-of-life meter replacements.

As I read that, that obligation is on the suppliers to meet their targets, not on consumers to accept the smart meter (other than in the end-of-life etc scenarios).

MeteredOut

ArbitraryRandom said:

xetchar said:

I've also been getting harassed daily by EDF and they've paid zero attention to my requests not to be contacted about smart meters, which is my right under GDPR. I've decided that since they won't stop, I'm going to book smart meter appointments every time they contact me and then not let the engineer in when they come to my property. If they have no respect for me, I have no respect for them.

<snip>

Energy suppliers are required (legally, via regulations) to roll out smart meters to all customers by 2025 - to comply with this legal requirement, they must be able to contact customers and arrange appointments, hence it not being considered 'marketing communications' for the purposes of GDPR and does not need your consent.

<snip>

What will suppliers do for customers who, for whatever reason, cannot have a smart meter installed? (eg, local comms issues, space limitations)

Does this regulation mean they have to be smart enabled, or does installing a smart meter in dumb mode (as has happened to many) count in the rollout figures?