Annoyed at EDF and can't get a proper answer about smart meter replacement

james_uk

We are with EDF and already have a smart meter with them, in June this year they phoned me saying they were no longer receiving a reading from the smart meter, and the girl said the meters would have to be replaced.

She proceeded to putting me through to a team to arrange a date for an engineer to come out, which we decided on today 01.09.2023 so that was all fine.

It got to 5PM today and still no engineer, so I phoned them to ask if they had any idea of time.

The girl started telling me I do not need an engineer for this issue, and isn't sure why I was told one was booked.

I said to her, well how would this issue fix itself unless they were replaced.

She started giving me some example, which to be honest, I got a bit lost if the middle and really couldn't understand the point she was trying to make lol

Something about my neighbour and whatsapp and sims.

She also said there was no record of any appointment for today, which I was really annoyed at, as I had waited for them to come. I said, well it was yourselves that phoned me in June stating that an engineer needed to come and replace the meters because you weren't receiving signals from it!

At the end of the call, I couldn't seem to get an actual answer from her in regard to how does the smart meter fix itself, then?

She then ended with saying, I also need to be giving meter readings because they have all been estimated since it stopped working.

I asked to speak to a manager, but she said there's a 4-8 hour wait for one to contact me, so I agreed and said OK I would still like one to call me, I still haven't had a call yet, not sure if I will lol.

I then found a number for the booking people for their smart meters, the girl there had a look and confirmed nothing was ever booked in.

She just said if the other girls told me I don't need an engineer for this, then that will be the case.

I really don't know how I go about getting it fixed though, so it gives them readings again?

I am just a bit annoyed and feel like they don't have a clue about anything they were saying. And if I can't get an answer from them apart from I need to give readings, then who else am I to ask?

That's why I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone knows?

I am sure if I spoke to a manager, they would be able to sort it.

Regards

James

Gerry1

Unless there are exit fees or you have an especially favourable E7 tariff, ditch and switch to a more clued up supplier such as Octopus.

Don't forget to claim compo for the broken appointment.

elsien

Is it showing readings but not transmitting them or is it are you not able to get a reading from it at all?

james_uk

They said they were not getting the automatic meter readings they should get from a smart metre, so you don't have to do them youself.

Swipe

Unless they can get someone at the DCC to reboot the comms hub they'll need someone to come and pull the main fuse, If that doesn't fix it, then it will be a new meter and/or comms hub.

Spoonie_Turtle

In the meantime, make sure to give then readings so your build are accurate and up-to-date.  That will also mean you're free to switch to a supplier with better customer service if you'd like (unless your current tariff makes that unwise), if they don't give you satisfactory answers.

ArbitraryRandom

Gerry1 said:

Unless there are exit fees or you have an especially favourable E7 tariff, ditch and switch to a more clued up supplier such as Octopus.

Don't forget to claim compo for the broken appointment.

If you want to do this, and they deny an appointment was ever made, you can make a subject access request for the call recordings (they're probably only kept for 90-120 days). 

Up to you if it's worth it, might get you £60 and an apology (£30 for the 'failed appointment' plus the same for the poor customer handling about making it). 

[Deleted User]

The girl started telling me I do not need an engineer for this issue, and isn't sure why I was told one was booked.

I said to her, well how would this issue fix itself unless they were replaced.

CS is correct. It is beyond the realms of probability that all three major components in your smart meter system have issues. The common denominator is the DCC-managed communications hub. When the communication from the hub fails, the suppliers's first action is to make a request to the DCC for an investigation and a remote comms hub reset. If this fails, the supplier will then need to send out an engineer to manually reboot the comms hub.

That said, there is a known issue with some comms hubs that the DCC and the device manufacturer are trying to resolve.

Robin9

@james_uk

complaintresolution@edfenergy.com

PennineAcute

I moved from EDF to Octopus.  The main reason was they could not read my smart meters, yet all apps and n3rgy could.  It was not hard to work out that the issue was with EDF and they did not need to send out engineers (which they were trying to do).

Within 48 hours of moving to Octopus, they were reading my meters.

I am not saying that EDF are inept - but they seem to be a good comparison to ineptness personified.