Octopus: Action: Your meter is approaching its use-by date

[Deleted User]

Thanks very much,  pochase.

70sbudgie

Deleted_User said:

I don't really think like that, 2010.  I am a very satisfied Octopus Energy customer.  My first hand experience is that their customer service is excellent and they have been very good to me.

On this occasion it's my choice not to accept their offer of having Smart Meters fitted to replace my existing 'Dumb' meters.

I understand that there are some worthwhile benefits for some customers who choose to have Smart Meters.  

I have to admit to being super curious as to your reasons for not wanting a smart meter. I'm not interested in changing your mind, as it is clear throughout this post that would be pointless. But you have remained polite, grateful and steadfast. You seem to accept the benefits and have politely said it is not for you. So I am really interested why. 

I had a very strong reason for not wanting smart meters, but then found a stronger one for and got them. My original concerns haven't gone away though. But I'm not keen to share them on here (which may be the same for you? In which case I'll just have to live with my curiosity) because I believe it could stoke the conspiracies too much and that the greatest benefits of smart meters are social, not individual - which is good imo.

MalMonroe

Deleted_User said:

Thanks very much for replying Mstty.  I am happy and satisfied with the system I have and I really don't want any change.  

I understand that, in time, Smart Meters will be essential but I don't want to change from a system I know and understand.  I'm wary of them and feel unnerved by the number of problems associated with them.  Perhaps, in time, they will be fewer problems associated with them but, for now, I really don't feel comfortable about having to accept them.

Hi, you sound really nice. I am also with Octopus and I don't have a smart meter.

I would not ignore their email though. Instead I would reply and say thank you very much but I don't want to have a smart meter - and ask them what they can do to help you.

The problem with your electricity meter is that it is 'approaching its use by date'. So does that mean it will not be functioning properly as that date gets nearer? You don't really want that, especially if it breaks down altogether. 

In all my dealings with Octopus, they have listened to me and they have offered solutions. They keep offering me a smart meter but I don't want to change quite just yet. My meters aren't coming up to their use by date though. 

When a new neighbour moved in next door a couple of years ago, the property had a smart meter. She did not want it, she said they produced 'unhealthy waves' and would make her and her son very ill - I'm not sure what she meant by that but she was not prepared to keep it. I don't know which energy company she was with but she phoned whichever one it was and asked them to remove the smart meter and supply 'ordinary' meters. They did. So it isn't a case of you have to do as you are told. You can (or at least my very outspoken neighbour can!) have the meters of your choice as long as they are not obsolete. [That neighbour moved out again just before Christmas].

This is what Octopus says - https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/do-i-have-to-have-a-smart-meter/

This is what Citizens Advice says -  'You don't have to accept a smart meter if you don't want one. If your supplier tells you that you must have one installed, contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.'

I understand your fear of change but smart meters are easier to use because you don't have to send regular meter readings and you are always aware of exactly how much you are spending on energy. (Says me, who doesn't have one. But I will be applying later in the year.)

It would be wise to respond to their email rather than ignore it. It's courteous, if nothing else. Plus, they're really not unreasonable.

Spoonie_Turtle

MalMonroe said:

Deleted_User said:

Thanks very much for replying Mstty.  I am happy and satisfied with the system I have and I really don't want any change.  

I understand that, in time, Smart Meters will be essential but I don't want to change from a system I know and understand.  I'm wary of them and feel unnerved by the number of problems associated with them.  Perhaps, in time, they will be fewer problems associated with them but, for now, I really don't feel comfortable about having to accept them.

The problem with your electricity meter is that it is 'approaching its use by date'. So does that mean it will not be functioning properly as that date gets nearer? You don't really want that, especially if it breaks down altogether. 

Have you read the first few pages of the thread?  Or even just the page previous to this.  We've established that their meter is a model certified (even recently) as being reliable for 45 years, of which they have twelve left.

ariarnia

70sbudgie said:

I had a very strong reason for not wanting smart meters, but then found a stronger one for and got them. My original concerns haven't gone away though. 

we have a smart electric meter but dont really want a smart gas meter for a very practical reason. you have to press a button on the smart gas version if you want to take a manual reading (and you really should at least a few times a year as there battery powered so more likly to fail/will fail eventually than the electric version).

i have mobility problems and where it is basically means i wouldn't be able to take a reading (at the moment i can take a picture on my phone at arms length). oh can do it but i dont like anything really that relies on one of us and the other can't do (not just is difficult). i no if something happened to him they could send someone to read it (if THEY thought it needed it) but i just dont want to get it changed until it has to be. 

why i was asking if there was anyway for a person to work out when there gas meter might need replacing but there doesn't seem to be an easy way. 

[Deleted User]

I had typed a reply for 70sbudgie and MalMonroe and thanks also to Spoone_Turtle, doing my best to explain.  I don't know what happened but I 'lost' what I had typed and the comment did not post - maybe my post was too long.

As Spoonie_Turtle and pochase confirmed, my present electric meter is not nearing it's end of certification date.

Thank you for your kind words, MalMonroe.

Although I find it difficult to articulate, I am comfortable and happy with my present 'Dumb' meters and don't want to change to Smart Meters.

Mstty

2010 said:

The post is about whether the OP is being misled by the email that he received and it seems he has listened and has made up his own mind and decided he has been and they can keep their SM.

If smart meters were for the benefit of the consumer --------------- they wouldn`t fit them.

Mutual benefit isn't too bad though is it?

We would not be without our smart meter.

Recent benefits are the many time of use tariffs coming to the market now that will be in full swing come the end of our current fix. 

The DFS national grid energy shift events. We estimate £200+ payback from these events. (10% of our bill this year)

The recent downsides

None for us
.

t0rt0ise

I have a friend who is autistic who doesn't like anything changing. This all sounds familiar.

[Deleted User]

Deleted_User said:

I had typed a reply for 70sbudgie and MalMonroe and thanks also to Spoone_Turtle, doing my best to explain.  I don't know what happened but I 'lost' what I had typed and the comment did not post - maybe my post was too long.

As Spoonie_Turtle and pochase confirmed, my present electric meter is not nearing it's end of certification date.

Thank you for your kind words, MalMonroe.

Although I find it difficult to articulate, I am comfortable and happy with my present 'Dumb' meters and don't want to change to Smart Meters.

So you would rather believe forum posters rather than your energy supplier? 

Why would a supplier make this up - and before you answer I do not buy into the conspiracy theories that emerge on this forum. As Octopus has said in its blog, if you have concerns about the meter certification date then speak to it about it.

You use words like ‘comfortable’ and ‘happy’ as if they have some legal basis when they don’t. The legal position is that suppliers have to change meters when they reach the end of their certificated lives. To do otherwise would be breach of the Law. Working does not mean accurate.

To re-iterate, Octopus does not need your approval to fit a smart meter in the circumstances described in the message that you received.

[Deleted User]

Mstty said:

2010 said:

The post is about whether the OP is being misled by the email that he received and it seems he has listened and has made up his own mind and decided he has been and they can keep their SM.

If smart meters were for the benefit of the consumer --------------- they wouldn`t fit them.

Mutual benefit isn't too bad though is it?

We would not be without our smart meter.

Recent benefits are the many time of use tariffs coming to the market now that will be in full swing come the end of our current fix. 

The DFS national grid energy shift events. We estimate £200+ payback from these events. (10% of our bill this year)

The recent downsides

None for us
.

People need to read the Smart Meter Cost Benefit Analysis which shows savings of £6Bn to the domestic energy sector. This is not money saved by energy suppliers but the sector as a whole. Without smart meters, consumers would end up paying these costs via their standing charges. 

It is true that smart meters do not in themselves save consumers a penny but they do encourage different behaviours, and make available money-saving tariffs.