British gas smart meter not working - they want to replace with old meter

Dominho1972

Hi, total newbie here and at my wits end so hope you can help!

We had a British gas smart meter installed a year ago for electricity and gas and over the winter the gas meter stopped sending readings. Also, when I try to take a manual reading, the display stays dead. As a result we've had estimated readings through the winter - which seem crazy high.

Had numerous calls to BG about it - they say the battery on the gas meter itself has gone and it needs to be replaced. So they sent an engineer... and he said he doesn't do smart meters, only old-style meters. Sent him away, spoke to BG, another engineer came - and the same thing happened. And again a third time.

Every time I talk to BG the same thing happens - they say they can't replace my smart gas meter with another smart gas meter, only an old style one. In the meantime we've got these super-high estimates that I think are way off.

So my question is - should I just go back to an old style meter? At least that way I can take accurate readings. And what will happen to the high estimates it's given for the last eight months? Will that be corrected or will it effectively start from zero again?

Sorry for all the questions - really hope someone can help! Thank you!

Annemos

I have just had a refurbished old Meter installed last October by British Gas. 

I am very happy with it. It arrived super-clean. 

Yes, if you go that route, be sure to record your readings manually, so you can check it is working properly and also have a warning if there is a leak. 

I cannot comment on whether others think you SHOULD be given a working Smart Meter. 

(Shortage of Smart Meters due to Supply problems, perhaps??)


PS This meter started at about 24,000. So it still does have somebody else's old reading on it. Be sure you take photos of the new one. And he/she should leave you a card with the date of installation and the Meter reading.

CSI_Yorkshire

Annemos said:

(Shortage of Smart Meters due to Supply problems, perhaps??)

Correct   

EssexHebridean

Ultimately it comes down to what is more important to you - accurate bills, or the convenience of having a smart meter. personally I would have the meter changed, then look to change supplier to one who might be able to fit a replacement smart meter... 

Dominho1972

Thanks all - I guess the thing to do is get the non-working smart gas meter replaced with a working non-smart meter? Will it have an accurate reading of my gas consumption since the winter, or will I have to argue the case?

Annemos

My impression is.... the refurbished non-smart meter will not be reset when you get it. So take photos of it when you get it to show what the reading was when they installed it. Also the meter changer should leave you with a card. (So you will be fine going forward.)    As to the past... 

Normally that card he will give you shows the reading on the old meter. And also the meter reading on the replacement meter. 

In your case, am I correct.... your current meter has not been taking accurate readings and is acting 
"dead"? So he will be unable to put any meter reading on this card, relating to the current faulty Smart Meter? 

I presume they will have to use an estimate based on prior year usage to generate your use and cost for that period on the old faulty Smart Meter. 

Do others agree?  

Gerry1

Annemos said:

I presume they will have to use an estimate based on prior year usage to generate your use and cost for that period on the old faulty Smart Meter. 

Do others agree?

If smart meters were half as good as they're cracked up to be then it should still be possible to extract the usage data from the optical port.

However, I've never seen any report in the forum saying that this has happened.

QrizB

Gerry1 said:

Annemos said:

I presume they will have to use an estimate based on prior year usage to generate your use and cost for that period on the old faulty Smart Meter.
Do others agree?

If smart meters were half as good as they're cracked up to be then it should still be possible to extract the usage data from the optical port.

If the problem is that the battery in the meter has gone flat, there won't be any recent logged data to extract!

You could run a gas meter from a fuel cell rather than a battery, but I suspect the cost & safety implications make that a non-starter.

Gerry1

Surely the readings should be held in non volatile memory that can always be extracted?

This was always the case with mechanical meters, so there's no excuse for smart meters being less functional.

It's just another example of Hutber's Law, Improvement Means Worse.

QrizB

Gerry1 said:

Surely the readings should be held in non volatile memory that can always be extracted?

Yes but OP says the battery went flat over the winter. That's six+ months without a reading where they will be stuck with estimates.

Annemos

Wonderful. Had to look it up. 

From Wikipedia.     Hutber's law states that "improvement means deterioration". It is founded on the cynical observation that a stated improvement actually hides a deterioration.

The term has seen wide application in business, engineering, and risk analysis. It was first articulated in the 1970s by Patrick Hutber, an economist and journalist who was the City Editor for The Sunday Telegraph in London from 1966 to 1979.