Best tariff for those without smart meter.

Tocono

I do not have a smart meter and do not want one as it appears there are many issues with them. Not the least that power can be turned off remotely!

Please could you list companies that offer good rates for those like me?

MattMattMattUK

Tocono said:

I do not have a smart meter and do not want one as it appears there are many issues with them. Not the least that power can be turned off remotely!

The power can be turned off remotely regardless, it just needs a different mechanism. There are not "many issues" with smart meters. You have the choice to have one willingly, or have one fitted unwillingly, not thr choice of whether to have one or not.

Tocono said:

Please could you list companies that offer good rates for those like me?

When you say "like me", what do you mean exactly?

400ixl

You appear to have been reading too many conspiracy theories or long out of date issues.

Decent tariffs for those on old meters are going to become less available.

Worst case with a smart meter is that it is not able to communicate and you have to take readings and supply them as you do now. So no difference really, and it is pretty uncommon these days unless you are very rural or the meter is in the depths of a basement with thick walls.

HillStreetBlues

Tocono said:

I do not have a smart meter and do not want one as it appears there are many issues with them. Not the least that power can be turned off remotely!

Please could you list companies that offer good rates for those like me?

Do you have both fuels?

Scot_39

Many companies will take conventional meters on SVT.

Some will even take you on fixes - some still priced below Oct svt cap from Tuesday in the mse list.

Including the Octopus 15m with zero exit fee fix.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/are-there-any-cheap-fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it/


But many will eventually replace your meters with smart when existing run out of certification period - for electric anything from 10-15 min for old digital or new smart  to 35+ years for old electro mechanical.  The are legally obliged to do so by Ofgem.  The govt appointed regulator.  And have been since in reality late 2000s early 2010s when the smart meter rollout was planned for then regulated for.  In fact uk running well behind other nations - some now mandatory legally - one in Eu charging was c€40 - but iirc raised to €50 premium. 

So just to dispel the myths.

How many actual cases of that happening in UK have you actually found in practice  ?

Actual remote disconnections of smart credit meters  rather than those not topping up smart prepayment meters (*) in time ?

Rather than any theoretical capacity to do so circulating on certain sites.

And in reality a supplier could in time disconnect any conventional metered supply, in either case, smart or dumb.

But only to those not already protected by law so suppliers  banned from doing so, and only after potentially years of alternative debt proceedings and attempts to fit prepay meters and court orders.

There are literally millions in some cases £1000s of debt to suppliers who have never been cut off. 

It's why UK suppliers are owed over £3bn in bad debt - and we all on DD or Credit terms pay currently £28pa in the cap towards their costs of that debt.

(*) And even those on prepay when are running out of credit often have allbeit limitted emergency credit options - B Gas for instance allow prepay "freindly credit" to run from 6pm to 9am next working day on some prepay as well as £10 emergency credit option - to see customers through the night or a day or two - that old coin prepay meters just didn't have in our parents or grandparents day. 

A regular occurance in my parents day was neighbours borrowing coins after the local shops had closed - largely by 6pm back then - when their meters ran out to see them through the night in the 70s and even early 80s - when cash coin prepay was common - over 1.5m electric homes had them at peak, nearly 1m gas iirc. 
Some was repaid following day - some next payday or giro day.
So regular in fact my parents tried to keep a small stack on the meters for 1-2 days use for themselves and also some on window sill next to the door to lend.

Sarahspangles

Tocono said:

I do not have a smart meter and do not want one as it appears there are many issues with them. Not the least that power can be turned off remotely!

Please could you list companies that offer good rates for those like me?

It is true that not all Smart meters are fully functional. We have Smart meters, one of ours does not communicate properly, so it works as a meter but we don’t get the benefit of never needing to let in a meter reader. We read the meter and once a year the reader visits to check.  Most meters work fine though.

I’ve seen some BS on Facebook claiming you’re worse off with a Smart meter because they can be accessed remotely. If you’re in payment arrears on an old meter and don’t come to an arrangement you will end up in Court because they need an order to enter your property to switch to a prepayment meter and they can still disconnect you. I think that a Court process costs you more than the company switching you over or off remotely, because you haven’t reached an agreement.

It’s not possible to avoid having a Smart meter forever. That is what is being made now, so sooner or later everyone will have one as their current one reaches end of life. There are no companies offering an alternative. The alternative is going off grid - generating your own electricity and finding an alternative to mains gas.

Marvel1

Tocono said:

Please could you list companies that offer good rates for those like me?

The only way you could do is use comparsion sites based on your own usage and area.

badmemory

I have now had a smart meter fitted, not gas as he didn't have the parts.  I only had it done because I have had solar panels fitted.  I find the meter impossible to read as it just looks like a whole series of red zeros, regardless of which buttons are pressed although my son manages just about but never sounds convinced he has it right.  Luckily the IHD works so far.  I do worry about what happens when that stops working though.  It does however seem ludicrous that they are fitting all these new meters that are impossible for most people to read.  It seems to defeat the whole object of trying to get us to use less.  If you paid attention to the IHD you would never boil the kettle again.

Scot_39

If you are struggling to read the meter - if due to an identified eye issue - then register on your suppliers priority services register - you will get slightly more regular meter reads for non smart meter - and they may even be able to supply you with a big text big button style IHD (IIRC called an Accessible IHD)

badmemory

It isn't an eye issue particularly although partly but much more of an age issue.  I'd need to lie on the floor & there isn't really room.  I didn't have any problem with my previous meter.  The IHD is no problem at all although some instructions could have been helpful.  I have also found out why people refer to the IHD as the smart meter, that is because the BG leaflet that came with mine referred to the IHD as smart metering absolutely no mention of in home display

Scot_39

Wrong height related issues - low or high - also count for registering difficulty on PSR - and get same reader visits - for non smart meters - or smart meters with bad comms links to supplier.

My older sis has arthritis - cannot bend easily to read floor level gas - and until it went smart - couldn't climb step ladders to read ceiling mounted electric (she relies on IHD now).