Economy 7 and ending of RTS (Radio Teleswitch Service)

[Deleted User]

N_Pars said:

Deleted_User said:

@Getferret that's a mechanical timer so not RTS.macman said:

I don't think that is an RTS meter.

Thanks. I'm not really sure how you would tell. I hear the meter switch from the cupboard when E7 hours finish.macman said:

I don't think that is an RTS meter.

OK, thank you. I'm not really sure how to tell. I hear the meter switch from the cupboard when E7 hours finish. 

 

An RTS meter often has another box next to it marked Radio Teleswitch or something similar.  What you have is just a dumb digital key meter.  It will switch when the clock inside it decides, not because of a radio signal.

N_Pars

[Deleted User] said:

N_Pars said:

Deleted_User said:

@Getferret that's a mechanical timer so not RTS.macman said:

I don't think that is an RTS meter.

Thanks. I'm not really sure how you would tell. I hear the meter switch from the cupboard when E7 hours finish.macman said:

I don't think that is an RTS meter.

OK, thank you. I'm not really sure how to tell. I hear the meter switch from the cupboard when E7 hours finish. 

 

An RTS meter often has another box next to it marked Radio Teleswitch or something similar.  What you have is just a dumb digital key meter.  It will switch when the clock inside it decides, not because of a radio signal.

Thank you. 
So nothing to worry about here? 

[Deleted User]

This is sort of how an RTS setup often looks.  There's the two-rate meter on the left, and the Radio Teleswitch on the right.

Rosie1001

That’s my meter … will it be affected by change ?.

QrizB

Rosie1001 said:

That’s my meter … will it be affected by change ?.

Yes, it says "radio telemeter" on the meter, top-left of your photo, just under the manufacturer's name Horstmann.

Be_Happy

I'm still not convinced this deadline won't be extended again and firms are scaremongering customers into making a quick decision to install a smart meter.   I've been through the March 22 switch, the March 20 switch and possibly one before that, all of which have been extended.

What confuses me also is that I'm on a very good 2 year fix with a Scottish Power comfortplus control meter which depends on the radio teleswitch.  How can SP offer me, earlier this year, a 2 year fix ending in February 24 if they know the meter type will end a year earlier.   Why did they offer 2 year fixes they couldn't honour?   Will they suddenly notify me that my fix is ending early?   E7 meters are not equivalent to what we have and are more expensive.

As it is, my DD was £63 but SP said it was too much and lowered it to £59 a month.   So for the next 6 months I'll be actually paying nothing and will have a small credit applied to my account.

[Deleted User]

Be_Happy said:

I'm still not convinced this deadline won't be extended again and firms are scaremongering customers into making a quick decision to install a smart meter.   I've been through the March 22 switch, the March 20 switch and possibly one before that, all of which have been extended.

What confuses me also is that I'm on a very good 2 year fix with a Scottish Power comfortplus control meter which depends on the radio teleswitch.  How can SP offer me, earlier this year, a 2 year fix ending in February 24 if they know the meter type will end a year earlier.   Why did they offer 2 year fixes they couldn't honour?   Will they suddenly notify me that my fix is ending early?   E7 meters are not equivalent to what we have and are more expensive.

As it is, my DD was £63 but SP said it was too much and lowered it to £59 a month.   So for the next 6 months I'll be actually paying nothing and will have a small credit applied to my account.

The deadline might be extended again, but until it is there is nothing wrong with contacting customers to say "this is presently the plan".  That's not scaremongering.

You will find a line in the T&Cs that says the fix will end if the system is no longer capable of supporting your meter, or words to that effect.  There's nothing wrong with that either.

pineapple

Gosh I didn't know about this. I need to check what type of meter I have. I have resisted a smart meter till now but in any case there is only an intermittent mobile signal at the house so I thought smart meters weren't possible anyway?

blueacid

pineapple said:

Gosh I didn't know about this. I need to check what type of meter I have. I have resisted a smart meter till now but in any case there is only an intermittent mobile signal at the house so I thought smart meters weren't possible anyway?

It depends where in the country you live. The line isn't too precise, but from what I can tell it seems to be that the North/South divide in this case is somewhere around Stafford. Ish.

If you're North of that, then no, Smart Metering uses a dedicated network, which has a lower frequency than mobile phones, so presence/absence of mobile phone signal doesn't necessarily indicate that smart metering will/won't work.

If you're to the South of that line, then SMETS2 smart meters will use the o2 phone network. Not sure if they're rolling out 4g-capable ones yet; they ought to be!

blueacid

Be_Happy said:

I'm still not convinced this deadline won't be extended again and firms are scaremongering customers into making a quick decision to install a smart meter.   I've been through the March 22 switch, the March 20 switch and possibly one before that, all of which have been extended.

What confuses me also is that I'm on a very good 2 year fix with a Scottish Power comfortplus control meter which depends on the radio teleswitch.  How can SP offer me, earlier this year, a 2 year fix ending in February 24 if they know the meter type will end a year earlier.   Why did they offer 2 year fixes they couldn't honour?   Will they suddenly notify me that my fix is ending early?   E7 meters are not equivalent to what we have and are more expensive.

As it is, my DD was £63 but SP said it was too much and lowered it to £59 a month.   So for the next 6 months I'll be actually paying nothing and will have a small credit applied to my account.

They might well try to extend it, but a lot of the kit running it is antique; with every good intention in the world it sounds like it's very much on borrowed time! So I presume that even right now we're well into the territory of "okay, we'll.. keep it going I guess? But there's actual rust on some of these boxes here, so for how long will it work? Who's to say.."

"How can they offer a fix?!". My best guess is that it's not a cynical ploy, but more a case of one hand not talking to the other!