E-on Smart meter Scam and zero support for Disabled users

JayJay1974

Good morning 

i cant be the only Person to have such a hard time getting support form E-on, 

we are with them for both Gas and Eclectic and couple of year back they forced us to have a smart meter installed for the new tariff - was all ok till early this year when the display keep failing to connect or even show the information. Plus the meter stopped sending reading 
the main reason this helped as I struggle to get access to the meter to send these reading - so this way the smart meter was meant to help 

So in April/May they came out and replace the meter and came back the next day to sort the gas side as did not have the parts on 1st visit - was told they replace it all and should be all ok 

in Oct the display started to do the same again and hang up. contact E-on via Whatsapp and they told us to reset the unit which we did and was ok for about 24hr the failed again the chat on whatsapp them said that the connection team where looking into if for us 

then this is where it starts to get really annoying start of November got a letter saying they need our meter reading as they have not had these for 8 month ?  even though in may this was meant to have been fixed, on chasing this up on there whatsapp chat again was passed from agent to agent repeating my self over and over again, to be told that the meter we have was the same original serial number and nothing was replaced . yet they had been on site for two days in May - i could not get my head round this , and then I'm told I need to by a replacement display as it was out of 12 months warranty and was a gift on the original install .and they don't replace after there end of life 12 month warranty  and the meter is now sending reading to them 

so here where my beef and concern is 

1. At no time was I told this was are reasonability to replace the smart meter display
2. was told it was all replaced in may only to fine i was lied to 
3. why should I have to pay for a piece of there equipment they forced us to have anyway 
4. as disabled customer this was helping us see what we spend but cant rely on it as incorrect data shown 
5. zero support and you cant actually speak with some on directly only via the Whatsapp chat 

what should I do now I'm thinking of moving suppliers to Octopus as they seem best deals at the moment but how can these company making so much profit be allowed to do this and have - do i complain to Ofgem is there any point 
any help would be great thanks 

molerat

Eon Next are easily contactable by telephone, done it a few times myself and have been one of the quickest organisations to answer the phone.

Are you on the priority services register with a note that you are unable to supply meter readings yourself ?

You are being treated no differently to anyone else in this total fiasco of smart metering where the emphasis is purely on installing them rather than making sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to do (as commented on by Martin Lewis in his last show)

There are many apps that give you access to your smart metering data if it is being passed from the meter to the data collector.

Moving to Octopus could be a good move but they are not always the shining example if there is a problem with your end of the system.

MattMattMattUK

Just checking when you say the smart meter display, do you mean the display on the meter itself, the thing physically plumbed to the gas, wired to the mains etc. or do you meant the IHD (In Home Display)?

JayJay1974

MattMattMattUK said:

Just checking when you say the smart meter display, do you mean the display on the meter itself, the thing physically plumbed to the gas, wired to the mains etc. or do you meant the IHD (In Home Display)?

i was told original it was down to both but now as you call it the IHD is what they saying i need to buy one myself which I'm not willing to do at all as it there equipment that failed again 

MattMattMattUK

JayJay1974 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Just checking when you say the smart meter display, do you mean the display on the meter itself, the thing physically plumbed to the gas, wired to the mains etc. or do you meant the IHD (In Home Display)?

i was told original it was down to both but now as you call it the IHD is what they saying i need to buy one myself which I'm not willing to do at all as it there equipment that failed again 

Suppliers are not required to maintain a working IHD after the first year of installation of the smart meter, they are right that if you want one then you would need to pay for it. That does not mean you cannot monitor your energy usage easily though, you can see it in your supplier's website, or you can sign up for third-party apps such as Bright which allow you to review your usage in very granular detail. 

la531983

Can someone explain what the "scam" is here, please?

MattMattMattUK

la531983 said:

Can someone explain what the "scam" is here, please?

I think the OP believes that it is a "scam" that they are required to buy an IHD if they want another one.

la531983

MattMattMattUK said:

la531983 said:

Can someone explain what the "scam" is here, please?

I think the OP believes that it is a "scam" that they are required to buy an IHD if they want another one.

Right ok so the actual "meter is working"? If so move along, nothing to see here.

JayJay1974

molerat said:

Eon Next are easily contactable by telephone, done it a few times myself and have been one of the quickest organisations to answer the phone.

Are you on the priority services register with a note that you are unable to supply meter readings yourself ?

You are being treated no differently to anyone else in this total fiasco of smart metering where the emphasis is purely on installing them rather than making sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to do (as commented on by Martin Lewis in his last show)

There are many apps that give you access to your smart metering data if it is being passed from the meter to the data collector.

Moving to Octopus could be a good move but they are not always the shining example if there is a problem with your end of the system.

thanks this is why I'm trying to get them to fix the issue they installed and supplied the equipment  
miss the last show  

JSHarris

JayJay1974 said:

molerat said:

Eon Next are easily contactable by telephone, done it a few times myself and have been one of the quickest organisations to answer the phone.

Are you on the priority services register with a note that you are unable to supply meter readings yourself ?

You are being treated no differently to anyone else in this total fiasco of smart metering where the emphasis is purely on installing them rather than making sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to do (as commented on by Martin Lewis in his last show)

There are many apps that give you access to your smart metering data if it is being passed from the meter to the data collector.

Moving to Octopus could be a good move but they are not always the shining example if there is a problem with your end of the system.

thanks this is why I'm trying to get them to fix the issue they installed and supplied the equipment  
miss the last show  

Worth clarifying what they really did.  The reality is that they installed a smart meter and provided the indoor display as a free gift, effectively this display is an incentive to help persuade people to switch to smart metering.  The free gift indoor display comes without any obligations from the supplier, other than they will try and keep it working for one year from the meter installation date.  

Not that unusual for indoor displays to not work reliably, or at all, in some homes.  The radio link they use to communicate with the meter has a relatively short range and can be blocked to some extent by some building materials (notably foil backed insulation that is common in newer homes).  If you want the indoor display to work then after the first year it's up to you to keep it working, replace it, etc, at your expense, as it's not an intrinsic part of the meter.

QrizB

Ok, let's ignore the IHD for now.

OP says that they've been asked to provide meter readings, as the supplier hasn't had any for eight months. This suggests that the smart meter isn't reporting correctly; either the meter is at fault, it's too far from the comms hub, or the the hub isn't connecting to the WAN. All these possibilities are unrelated to the IHD, and are things that the OP might reasonably expect their supplier to fix (since it used to work, it's not that they live in a "no signal" area).