Is it just me? ( Smart Meter)

pseudodox

I echo @MikeJXE above.  When it suits me I will have a SM but until then I just ignore all the emails & hype.  The number of problems reported on here I would expect are a very small percentage of SMs & I have no actual irrational fear of them.  But I live in a location which struggles with mobile signals so have doubts that a SM would communicate reliably.  Certainly I am not signing up for meters in winter - they say the gas & electric would only be off for a short time but I know someone who was disconnected half a day & then had a problem with their boiler not firing up.

What really irks me is the approach taken by energy companies, selling them to me for all the wrong reasons -
1. put an an end to estimated bills - never had one in 50 years
2. no more having to read the meter. Well my morning routine is deactivate burglar alarm, check freezer is OK & read meters on wall above.  Takes less than 2 minutes.
3. get control of usage & save money.  A SM will not make an iota of difference to my usage.  I am careful & keep my bills to what I can afford.  I maintain a spreadsheet, pay whole monthly bills which are always within a penny or three of my calculations.  Even when I do have a SM I will still read them & submit readings.  I don't need nannying!

There should be more marketing emphasis on TOU tariff options, instead of that silly little man on the TV waving an IHD around - he is to blame for the number of posts here where people think that is their SM.  I would put the IHD somewhere where the sun don't shine if I ran into him!

Grumpelstiltskin

'Ho do I manage without a smartphone? Very easily. I only switch it on when I want it, I don't have it welded to my side 24/7. I am afraid I can't understand why people just can't be without their phone for more than 2 minutes at a time, do they all live such an exciting life that they need to be in contact with the big wide world 24/7, I don't think so.

MultiFuelBurner

The pseudodox said:

I echo @MikeJXE above.  When it suits me I will have a SM but until then I just ignore all the emails & hype.  The number of problems reported on here I would expect are a very small percentage of SMs & I have no actual irrational fear of them.  But I live in a location which struggles with mobile signals so have doubts that a SM would communicate reliably.  Certainly I am not signing up for meters in winter - they say the gas & electric would only be off for a short time but I know someone who was disconnected half a day & then had a problem with their boiler not firing up.

What really irks me is the approach taken by energy companies, selling them to me for all the wrong reasons -
1. put an an end to estimated bills - never had one in 50 years
2. no more having to read the meter. Well my morning routine is deactivate burglar alarm, check freezer is OK & read meters on wall above.  Takes less than 2 minutes.
3. get control of usage & save money.  A SM will not make an iota of difference to my usage.  I am careful & keep my bills to what I can afford.  I maintain a spreadsheet, pay whole monthly bills which are always within a penny or three of my calculations.  Even when I do have a SM I will still read them & submit readings.  I don't need nannying!

There should be more marketing emphasis on TOU tariff options, instead of that silly little man on the TV waving an IHD around - he is to blame for the number of posts here where people think that is their SM.  I would put the IHD somewhere where the sun don't shine if I ran into him!

They have to dumb everything down can you imagine trying to explain a time of use tariff to those indoctrinated by the anti-smart meter brigade on faceXgram.

My father is just like Mike and yourself. Intelligent man but doesn't like other people telling him what he must have and doesn't like change as he gets older. I suspect a lot is grumpy old person syndrome and that rings true on this forum.

Gerry1

MultiFuelBurner said:

The pseudodox said:

I echo @MikeJXE above.  When it suits me I will have a SM but until then I just ignore all the emails & hype.  The number of problems reported on here I would expect are a very small percentage of SMs & I have no actual irrational fear of them.  But I live in a location which struggles with mobile signals so have doubts that a SM would communicate reliably.  Certainly I am not signing up for meters in winter - they say the gas & electric would only be off for a short time but I know someone who was disconnected half a day & then had a problem with their boiler not firing up.

What really irks me is the approach taken by energy companies, selling them to me for all the wrong reasons -
1. put an an end to estimated bills - never had one in 50 years
2. no more having to read the meter. Well my morning routine is deactivate burglar alarm, check freezer is OK & read meters on wall above.  Takes less than 2 minutes.
3. get control of usage & save money.  A SM will not make an iota of difference to my usage.  I am careful & keep my bills to what I can afford.  I maintain a spreadsheet, pay whole monthly bills which are always within a penny or three of my calculations.  Even when I do have a SM I will still read them & submit readings.  I don't need nannying!

There should be more marketing emphasis on TOU tariff options, instead of that silly little man on the TV waving an IHD around - he is to blame for the number of posts here where people think that is their SM.  I would put the IHD somewhere where the sun don't shine if I ran into him!

My father is just like Mike and yourself. Intelligent man but doesn't like other people telling him what he must have and doesn't like change as he gets older. I suspect a lot is grumpy old person syndrome and that rings true on this forum.

Ageist post.😡

MikeJXE

MultiFuelBurner said:

MikeJXE said:

I have dumb meters and can't see the advantages (FOR ME) of having a smart meter 

 ! Am a very low user, total costs about £800 per year dual fuel

I live in a flat, don't want and couldn't afford an AV

The gas meter is outside and the electric inside, opposite ends of the block so may not talk to each other 

 I would still physically read them every week like I do now as I can't trust either to not go faulty 

 I have lived here almost a year and not had a problem yet these boards are full of problems with smart meters 

 I'm not against them but can't see a reason to have one although there maybe times when I could save money on certain tariffs I don't want or need the hassle 

People come here with problems to be solved so that's not surprising.

The My meter works perfectly threads unsurprisingly don't exist.

Where as we get equal smart and dumb meter issues.

What hassle would you have over reading the meters as you do if they don't connect to each other whilst saving money on smart meter tariffs? What hassle is there?

I dion't see many people on here with a dumb meter problem so I can't find the threads where smart and dumb are in equal portions 

I don't have hassle reading my meters and wouldn't with a smart meter but thats not what they were designed for, reading them regularly would reveal any problem early if there was one

 I know what my bill is going to be within a few pence before Octopus do as per my spreadsheet 

To get the best value out of energy is a bit like getting the best value out of savings 

 Thats where the hassle starts, there are savers on the savings boards moving funds consistently to get 0.01% better interest, maybe they have a million where it makes a big difference but I don't 

 I imagine energy users are keeping a close eye on small movements in TOU tariffs and moving suppliers is they can save a few pence, maybe they use a lot of energy, I don't 

 Yes I know it's a money saving site but I'm 83, I have limits o what I need to save, I  don't want or need the hassle of constantly checking for the best way of saving a few bob 

MultiFuelBurner

MikeJXE said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

MikeJXE said:

I have dumb meters and can't see the advantages (FOR ME) of having a smart meter 

 ! Am a very low user, total costs about £800 per year dual fuel

I live in a flat, don't want and couldn't afford an AV

The gas meter is outside and the electric inside, opposite ends of the block so may not talk to each other 

 I would still physically read them every week like I do now as I can't trust either to not go faulty 

 I have lived here almost a year and not had a problem yet these boards are full of problems with smart meters 

 I'm not against them but can't see a reason to have one although there maybe times when I could save money on certain tariffs I don't want or need the hassle 

People come here with problems to be solved so that's not surprising.

The My meter works perfectly threads unsurprisingly don't exist.

Where as we get equal smart and dumb meter issues.

What hassle would you have over reading the meters as you do if they don't connect to each other whilst saving money on smart meter tariffs? What hassle is there?

I dion't see many people on here with a dumb meter problem so I can't find the threads where smart and dumb are in equal portions 

I don't have hassle reading my meters and wouldn't with a smart meter but thats not what they were designed for, reading them regularly would reveal any problem early if there was one

 I know what my bill is going to be within a few pence before Octopus do as per my spreadsheet 

To get the best value out of energy is a bit like getting the best value out of savings 

 Thats where the hassle starts, there are savers on the savings boards moving funds consistently to get 0.01% better interest, maybe they have a million where it makes a big difference but I don't 

 I imagine energy users are keeping a close eye on small movements in TOU tariffs and moving suppliers is they can save a few pence, maybe they use a lot of energy, I don't 

 Yes I know it's a money saving site but I'm 83, I have limits o what I need to save, I  don't want or need the hassle of constantly checking for the best way of saving a few bob 

At 83 you are comparable to my nan. She won't move from British Gas, not interested in anything new at her age and certainly won't want a replacement smart meter or know how it can help or save her money and no point explaining it to her.

The difference is she won't wast her time.on.a money saving site when she has no interest in saving money a bit like yourself.

@gerry1

I can feel the waggy finger but I can quite rightly call my father a grumpy old person lol

MikeJXE

Gerry1 said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

The pseudodox said:

I echo @MikeJXE above.  When it suits me I will have a SM but until then I just ignore all the emails & hype.  The number of problems reported on here I would expect are a very small percentage of SMs & I have no actual irrational fear of them.  But I live in a location which struggles with mobile signals so have doubts that a SM would communicate reliably.  Certainly I am not signing up for meters in winter - they say the gas & electric would only be off for a short time but I know someone who was disconnected half a day & then had a problem with their boiler not firing up.

What really irks me is the approach taken by energy companies, selling them to me for all the wrong reasons -
1. put an an end to estimated bills - never had one in 50 years
2. no more having to read the meter. Well my morning routine is deactivate burglar alarm, check freezer is OK & read meters on wall above.  Takes less than 2 minutes.
3. get control of usage & save money.  A SM will not make an iota of difference to my usage.  I am careful & keep my bills to what I can afford.  I maintain a spreadsheet, pay whole monthly bills which are always within a penny or three of my calculations.  Even when I do have a SM I will still read them & submit readings.  I don't need nannying!

There should be more marketing emphasis on TOU tariff options, instead of that silly little man on the TV waving an IHD around - he is to blame for the number of posts here where people think that is their SM.  I would put the IHD somewhere where the sun don't shine if I ran into him!

My father is just like Mike and yourself. Intelligent man but doesn't like other people telling him what he must have and doesn't like change as he gets older. I suspect a lot is grumpy old person syndrome and that rings true on this forum.

Ageist post.

lol You're funny, not 

I'm not grumpy and never have been, I take it as it comes and say it as it is

I might be 83 but not stuck in the past. I drive a Jag, use a MacBook Pro; iPad and iPhone every day, I'm not rich either, I live on my state pension and rent a 1 bed flat 

I keep an eye on new gadgets, Alexa controls my heating and lighting 

I use whatsapp and help where I can on the techie boards 

I don't own anything that is more than 7 years old, I have everything I need and nothing I don't 

Tomorrow I will visit Tesco to do my shop, I have a new plan, I will buy a bunch of flowers and give them to a random staff member just to say happy Christmas 

I try to do things like that to see smiles in hard times 

Why not ?

Gerry1

@MultiFuelBurner Your comment insulted senior users of this forum, not just your father.

TrainDriver

I’ll bet that a good number of smart meter avoiders, not necessarily the posters on here mind you, have the prehistoric meters rigged and are afraid of paying for their actual energy use like the rest of us. 

MultiFuelBurner

Superb 😂 well to clarify it was about my own father so take it as you will.

As it has appeared to have awoken you all, shame you can't get as passionate about saving the planet with a smart meter and a nice TOU tariff so we don't have to burn as many fossil fuels and gas with its nasty emissions.

So much passion against a smart meter change its beyond belief really.