Energy supplier wanting to replace 'expired' meter

NervyBuyer

My supplier claims my electricity meter has expired and they have a legal obligation to replace both it and my gas meter with a smart meter. Coincidentally they have just decided to merge my separate electricity and gas accounts a week before this occurred.

Do I have to accept a smart meter as a replacement (apparently they can be 'decommissioned' so they work like an old-fashioned meter, but this supplier does not mention it)? I'm not particularly bothered about smart meters (my usage is so low I only spend about £30 a month on average for gas and electricity combined, so there are never any useful tariffs available to me) but my neighbour had one installed and it has never worked - not only does it not transmit, it doesn't even measure! The saga has been going on for about 10 months now, and I fear the same thing since we have the same age/build house.

SAC2334

All suppliers will fit smart meters only .They do not hold stocks of old meters .
It should not make any difference to you whether the smart meters work or not as you can submit manual readings and your extremely low bills will remain the same .A smart meter cannot be decomissioned as it needs over the air upgrades to work at all . 

Ectophile

Yes, if a meter is old enough that it's out of calibration, then they can replace it.  They will fit a smart meter because it's all they have nowadays.

You can put them off for some months, but they will keep on at you.  In the extreme case, they could get a court order to break into your home.  But they wouldn't be in any hurry to do that.

If your neighbour has a mater that doesn't work at all, they should make a formal complaint to the supplier.  Then on to the energy ombudsman if they don't fix it within 8 weeks.

NervyBuyer

Good energy website says 'if you really don’t want a smart meter, we can decommission your new meter following installation, so that it remains unable to communicate with us. It then functions in the same way a traditional meter does. If you change your mind later, you can ask us to recommission your meter.'

Pretty sure the neighbour has complained and are mired in the subsequent process! They are a tenant though (meter was replaced before tenancy started while the property was empty), not sure if that complicates matters.

I suppose I just have to hope mine works.

EssexHebridean

Ok - remove the “smart” from this.  Your neighbours electricity meter doesn’t work. Does the fact that your neighbours meter doesn’t work really put you off the idea of ever needing to have your own meter changed? How many other people do you know whose meters aren’t working to record their energy? I’m going to guess that the reason your neighbours story stands out to you is because it’s pretty unusual? 

Honestly - I suspect that if this wasn’t a “smart meter” you would have simply thought “oh no, poor George*, hope that doesn’t  happen to us!” And you would then simply have carried on with business as normal. 

* other neighbours are available. 

NervyBuyer

It puts me off having the meter changed right now. I've nothing against smart meters. I've just got a lot going on at the moment and hassle with a meter change (of any sort) is really something I can do without, particularly as I'm likely to be moving out fairly soon. The neighbour's story stands out because it's essentially the same property (100 year old terrace), so there's a concern there could be a fundamental issue as there was no problem before the change to a smart meter. If their issue had been sorted out before now I wouldn't be in doubt. I will have to get on with 'business as new' though.

400ixl

There are no fundamental issues, his meter is faulty, nothing to do with the smart element.

Just let them replace it. Usual case is it works and communicates and you no longer have to take readings (other occasional to check what they are getting is correct), if it can't communicate for some reason (which is less likely these days) you are no worse off and just carry on doing reasons.

Extremely unlikely you will have any issues like your neighbour.

Spoonie_Turtle

On your electricity meter there should be some indication of the month and year it was certified.  You can find out how close to the end of its certification period by looking up the model in this list https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schedule-4-uk-nationally-approved-electricity-meters

However that only tells you if your supplier is correct that it's nearing the end of its certification date.  Since the meters are your supplier's responsibility they have a right to want to change them at any time for any reason, just legally they have to change the electricity meter before the certification period expires.

MeteredOut

NervyBuyer said:

It puts me off having the meter changed right now. I've nothing against smart meters. I've just got a lot going on at the moment and hassle with a meter change (of any sort) is really something I can do without, particularly as I'm likely to be moving out fairly soon. The neighbour's story stands out because it's essentially the same property (100 year old terrace), so there's a concern there could be a fundamental issue as there was no problem before the change to a smart meter. If their issue had been sorted out before now I wouldn't be in doubt. I will have to get on with 'business as new' though.

Would you rather have the risk of years of hassle of having to deal with the fallout of your meter going faulty (this is  more likely to happen once it has expired).

This is not an exaggeration. I'm currently 2+ years into dealing with EDF over a faulty gas meter (likely due to a battery issue - this is often why meters need to be replaced after x years).

But, if you're moving out soon, you can likely stall things and pass the problem onto the new occupant.

daveyjp

We have had similar letters, then just by chance last week I heard someone outside and it was a meter reader.  I asked him if our meter had 'expired' and he told me far from it and there is no reason for it to be changed.

The companies  have targets to reach for installing smart meters, hence the letters.

NervyBuyer

This is what I was wondering - does it really have to be done right now? I'd have no problem with it if my neighbour's issue was sorted first (our meters are even in the same box on the wall). I booked a smart meter installation at the supplier's request about 3 years ago, then they cancelled it because they said the type of account I had meant they couldn't install it, even though they asked me to book it. So I'm not trying to avoid the inevitable.

I will continue to own the property but rent it back out again (as it has been for 15 years) so I can't pass the problem on!