Smart gas meter blank since April. Octopus unresponsive.

aaronhero

Sago said:

Here's an update. I didn't hear from the Octopus meter exchange people so rang them a week ago. Apparently appts are released as and when, and there weren't any left. Told I should ring every week to try to get an appointment. I asked were they bothered that my gas meter wasn't working, and if they weren't I wasn't really bothered about it either. Rang again yesterday and the Octopus agent said he would keep an eye on available appointments and get me one today or Monday coming. If this doesn't happen I made a decision to try one more time and then stop. I'll check on how to make a complaint and to whom, but I can't see that Octopus would be any better at that than all the other stuff. Meanwhile the electricity bills continue to be raised and paid.

Sago said:

Here's an update. I didn't hear from the Octopus meter exchange people so rang them a week ago. Apparently appts are released as and when, and there weren't any left. Told I should ring every week to try to get an appointment. I asked were they bothered that my gas meter wasn't working, and if they weren't I wasn't really bothered about it either. Rang again yesterday and the Octopus agent said he would keep an eye on available appointments and get me one today or Monday coming. If this doesn't happen I made a decision to try one more time and then stop. I'll check on how to make a complaint and to whom, but I can't see that Octopus would be any better at that than all the other stuff. Meanwhile the electricity bills continue to be raised and paid.

Did you get sorted with this problem. I'm facing the exact same problem with the gas meter and octopus and was wondering whether you managed you sove it 

Raysablade

aaronhero said:

Sago said:

Here's an update. I didn't hear from the Octopus meter exchange people so rang them a week ago. Apparently appts are released as and when, and there weren't any left. Told I should ring every week to try to get an appointment. I asked were they bothered that my gas meter wasn't working, and if they weren't I wasn't really bothered about it either. Rang again yesterday and the Octopus agent said he would keep an eye on available appointments and get me one today or Monday coming. If this doesn't happen I made a decision to try one more time and then stop. I'll check on how to make a complaint and to whom, but I can't see that Octopus would be any better at that than all the other stuff. Meanwhile the electricity bills continue to be raised and paid.

Sago said:

Here's an update. I didn't hear from the Octopus meter exchange people so rang them a week ago. Apparently appts are released as and when, and there weren't any left. Told I should ring every week to try to get an appointment. I asked were they bothered that my gas meter wasn't working, and if they weren't I wasn't really bothered about it either. Rang again yesterday and the Octopus agent said he would keep an eye on available appointments and get me one today or Monday coming. If this doesn't happen I made a decision to try one more time and then stop. I'll check on how to make a complaint and to whom, but I can't see that Octopus would be any better at that than all the other stuff. Meanwhile the electricity bills continue to be raised and paid.

Did you get sorted with this problem. I'm facing the exact same problem with the gas meter and octopus and was wondering whether you managed you sove it 

My Gas meter display is also blank so I’m venturing down this rabbit hole now. Emailed Photo and Video to Octopus as they requested as unable to display anything. Been given an appointment a month away from now for meter to be charged. I won’t hold my breath

Sandgrown1

I have a problem with Octopus and a non communicating gas meter. We were transferred from Shell Energy to Octopus at the end of 2023. In January 2024 we were informed that our gas meter was faulty and not supplying readings. The meter occasional readings and I started a year of emails to and from Octopus about the meter. All our gas bills have been estimated and the Octopus account shows a credit of over £1,100. This is excessive. After months of being told that they were having difficulty replacing meters due to lack of engineers. On 30 December 2024 I rang Octopus Engineering - and in 24 hours an engineer came and installed a new gas meter and new Smart meter. The problem is that the new gas meter is not communicating with the new Smart meter. I have now made a complaint to Octopus, taken yet more photographs of a non-communicating gas meter and emailed those to Octopus. The Octopus staff have been pleasant and helpful, but, apart from the engineers department, ineffectual.

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you are confusing your gas smart meter (fixed to the wall) with your In Home Device (portable toy)?

Does a recent gas meter reading show up in your online Octopus account?

If there is a gas meter reading but your IHD isn't showing the gas consumption, move it closer to the electricity meter and see what happens.  If no joy, disconnect it from the mains, remove any batteries and leave it overnight.  Replace the batteries and try again in the morning.

Gerry1

To avoid estimated gas bills, just take an m3 reading from the meter on the wall and send it to Octopus, preferably via the app.

Sandgrown1

Hello Gerry1. Thank you for the welcome and your replies. 

There is a problem with my new gas meter. It is not communicating with the Smart meter - or with Octopus. 

Octopus have agreed that they a) they were not receiving readings from my old meter - it stopped showing readings by April 2024 and b) the new gas meter, installed along with a new Smart meter on 31 December 2024, is not supplying them with readings.

I have raised a complaint with Octopus and have had plenty of communication with them. They have been sent many photos of the gas meter including showing readings and I have answered their questions and queries promptly. 

Yes, I agree, the IHD is a toy. I send readings from the meter.

The old gas meter stopped sending readings early in 2024 and we have been given gas bills based on estimates.

The IHD is a fancy new one with a USB, no battery.

EssexHebridean

@sandgrown1 you are still confusing your terminology. 

The unit on the wall - possibly outside - where your gas enters your home is the gas smart meter
The unit on the wall - maybe outside or in a cupboard indoors somewhere - where your mains electricity begins is the electric smart meter 
The device on the wall probably directly above your electricity smart meter is the communications hub - this usually has a little line of lights on it which flash at prescribed intervals - those lights are often helpful for telling if things are working correctly
The little device with a screen - maybe in your kitchen - is the In Home Display - IHD for short. 

- If you have a small pink box that plugs in to the wall and has no screen at all on it, then is an Octopus Home Mini and the information from it can be accessed and read via your Octopus App - we have seen reports that Octopus are defaulting to providing those rather than IHDs now.

If you have a home mini it is worth noting that the closer you can plug it in to the Comms Hub the better - we are fortunate to have a handy socket in the same cupboard so mine is plugged in literally 18” away! 

Your old gas meter - had the screen gone completely blank as well as it failing to communicate with the comms hub? I presume this was the case as you say you were being billed on estimates. 

What is the situation with the new one - is it that you now have a working screen, and the meter is recording use correctly, but it is simply not connecting to the comms hub to send usage information to octopus and your IHD or Home Mini? 

Sandgrown1

Hello EssexHebridean, 

Thank you for your input.I have a Smart Meter in a passageway by my front door - the house is an old terraced house. The gas meter is situated under a window, inside the house about 3 metres from the Smart meter in the passageway. The gas meter and the Smart meter were replaced on 31 December 2024 by an Octopus contractor. The old gas meter stopped giving readings early in 2024, the screen was completely blank. The engineer did confirm, when he was replacing it, that the old gas meter was faulty. 

The new gas meter is showing readings when the button is pressed, it is not connecting with Octopus via the comms hub. It is not connecting to the IHD. I do not have a pink pink box and I do not rely on the IHD for information.

Ildhund

There is a HAN health checker run by n3rgy (a subsidiary of the SMS smart meter giant). Put in your MPAN (from a recent electricity bill) and tick the little confirmation box.  This should tell you what devices are connected to the home network. You can ignore warnings about expired certificates - they're not important. Post any other warnings or errors here if you can't interpret them yourself.

Three meters isn't too far away for the gas meter to be able to talk to the communications hub, but walls in between could be a problem, especially if they're thick. There are remedies available, but I think DCC have to approve in some cases - the comms hub is their kit.   

Sandgrown1

Thank you Ildhund. I will follow up. 

Part of the problem is that the original smart meter worked for a few years, then we changed energy supplier from BG. Some years later we transferred to Shell Energy and lo! the smart meter started up again only to give up in early 2024. 

As reported above the smart meter and gas meter were replaced on 31 December 2024, but the gas meter is still not communicating with Octopus. We have been receiving estimated bills for gas since January 2024 and we are in credit by over £1,100. It is very likely that the credit will be used up once the gas meter situation (farce?) is sorted out.