Why is a refund from switching when you have a Smart Meter 2 not instant

ashe

debitcardmayhem said:

Inept supplier, welcome to the world of SP, Octopus should be better going forward. I hope you read your meters and a photo of them when switching.

Its handled by a third party so imagine octopus will be identical 

Mobtr

It’s nothing to do with whether you have a smart meter or not. 

Flows are sent between companies with metering info, old supplier last reads etc. accounts cannot be closed without receiving a D86 flow which is the reading to be used by each company. 

The customer has to give the reading to the new supplier who will send it for verification before the D86 is sent by the DC to both companies simultaneously. This can take up to 6 weeks. It’s a very antiquated system which has been in place since 1997 & unlikely to change anytime soon

EssexHebridean

la531983 said:

EssexHebridean said:

la531983 said:

I am struggling to see a connection between what type of electric/gas meter you have and the speed of a refund being processed by the banking system and/or an energy company, maybe I am misreading.

The readings process should in theory be quicker and easier due to smart metering, however I suspect that due to the need for agreement to still be struck between the suppliers, in real terms it probably hasn't made much if any difference!

Well yes but a supplier is going to take the same length of time to refund a payment, regardless of what type of meter you have. Having a smart meter doesnt grant you quicker refunds through the banking system, unless I am missing something. 

You were asking why people might assume that a SM would make things faster - I gave a reason why they might indeed think that!

It's not the speed of the banking system that slows down refunds arriving with people either. Accounting systems, perhaps, banking system, nope!