BG will not fix my SMETS2 gas smart meter in a timely fashion - what are my rights (if any) ?

Inigo_Montoya

I have asked BG (formerly BG Evolve) to fix my SMETS2 gas smart meter that is not providing automatic readings
but they said they are are not prepared to book an engineers visit to fix or  replace it  because its not their "policy"
to do so 
( nb : I can still use the meter to provide manual readings )

All they said I can do is register my interest for a new SMART meter at 
https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/smart-meter-register-your-interest.html 
which has no time limit on how long it might take or even any guarantee they will ever actually replace it

Are there any rules about this sort of thing I can use to make a complaint or are they just allowed to do this ?

For reference I had the same issue with my electric meter last autumn, again with British Gas (but NOT Evolve),
 & got that replaced without too much of a problem - booking an engineer to come out & (eventually) replace it was
not an issue in that case

Are there any other companies that would sort the problem out if I switched to them ? (eg Octopus ?) 

Ectophile

The law only requires that they provide a gas meter that correctly records gas usage.  There is no requirement for any meter to be smart.

MWT

Ectophile said:

The law only requires that they provide a gas meter that correctly records gas usage.  There is no requirement for any meter to be smart.

... but if they do fit a smart meter they are required to maintain it under the supply licence, Condition 39: Smart Metering System – Roll-out, Installation and Maintenance.

I doubt that quoting this is going to persuade them to do anything, but I would raise it as a formal complaint.

angela110660

Same prob here with SSE/OVO except the battery in the smartmeter has failed in less than 18 months so we cannot even read our gas meter manually as the readings are not going through.
waiting for an aptmt date for them to come and replace.

cannugec5

I got a “smart” meter installed yesterday. 

It will not communicate ( no surprise there, we live in an area of Scotland with minimal mobile coverage , and none of my neighbours has a functioning Smart Meter);
So we now have a shiny new meter. I will still have to do monthly manual meter readings, but at least they will stop badgering me to install a smart meter! 

eddddy

FWIW, my smart meter stopped sending readings while I was a BG customer.

It was only installed a few weeks previously, so I contacted the firm called SMS who installed it on BG's behalf. SMS phoned me back and were extremely knowledgeable and helpful - it was clearly a technical person who understood the technology and answered all my questions, rather than a call-centre agent with a script.


They said they had tried to 'contact' my smart meter remotely to run diagnostics, and could see there was a problem.

But they said the only way they could send out an engineer was if I arranged it through BG.

They also suggested that was a 'limitation' specific to BG. Other energy suppliers would allow them to arrange appointments directly with householders.

macman

Since it's BG who would be paying for the SMS callout, it's not unreasonable for them to have control of the appointments system. Your contract is with BG, SMS are merely BG's sub-contractor.

eddddy

macman said:

Since it's BG who would be paying for the SMS callout, it's not unreasonable for them to have control of the appointments system. Your contract is with BG, SMS are merely BG's sub-contractor.

Yep - but the SMS guy was suggesting that other energy suppliers are more flexible.

For example, perhaps he meant that when SMS's diagnostics show a problem with a smart meter, SMS can contact other energy providers to get authorisation for an engineer's visit (through their direct contact channels).

As opposed to making the customer call BG and wait in a long queue.

The SMS guy also asked me to call him back when I had a date and time for the appointment, so that he could find the appointment and add accurate notes for the engineer, as BG were unlikely to include any helpful notes.

[Deleted User]

eddddy said:

They also suggested that was a 'limitation' specific to BG. Other energy suppliers would allow them to arrange appointments directly with householders.

Someone has to pay the installers so it is logical that the authority for any smart meter task must come from the supplier.

I had a situation last month when the comms hub went into silent mode after a DCC-initiated quarterly software upgrade. As the DCC is responsible for all comms hubs, the supplier has to ask the DCC to investigate and to initiate a remote comms hub reset (power off for 15 minutes). For some unfathomable reason, this takes 10 days or more. Suppliers will take no further action until they have the DCC report.

As luck would have it, an Octopus installation team arrived to fit an EV charger 2 doors down from me. I approached the lead guy and asked whether he could pull the main house fuse for 15 minutes? He said that he would need to get a job number from the Octopus Smart Meter Team and if the job was approved, then he would be happy to do what was required.

All it took was a 30 second phone call; the fuse was pulled for 15 minutes, the fuse was replaced and new seals fitted. The comms hub re-established WAN and HAN connectivity. 

In sum, personally I doubt that any installer will take on a job just on the say so of a consumer. Remember suppliers are on the hook for 'no show' compensation.