New smart meter

flaneurs_lobster

QrizB said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

How about a reason for not wanting a new meter install that doesn't involve Bill Gates' 5G Covid Death Rays?

You've got a reasonable excuse, and you have had two previous smart meter engineers try to fit one and fail.

I'd probably still let the third one visit, just to stop my supplier bugging me for another year!

They have said that I can simply say "no thank-you". I'd actually quite like a functioning smart meter.

I do wish that the experience of engineer 1 and 2 was somehow communicated before the visit of engineer 3, because they are likely to just open the cupboard and make the universal tradesperson's noise .....

PaulDesmond

You've got a reasonable excuse, and you have had two previous smart meter engineers try to fit one and fail.

I'd probably still let the third one visit, just to stop my supplier bugging me for another year!

Where did this information come from? My grate great great  gandad probably. I just want to be in control of my meter treadings and send them at the end of the month not receive them when they randomly get the readings and supply statments. 

flaneurs_lobster

PaulDesmond said:

Where did this information come from? My grate great great  gandad probably. I just want to be in control of my meter treadings and send them at the end of the month not receive them when they randomly get the readings and supply statments. 

What information? 

Baldytyke88

flaneurs_lobster said:

They have said that I can simply say "no thank-you". I'd actually quite like a functioning smart meter.

I do wish that the experience of engineer 1 and 2 was somehow communicated before the visit of engineer 3, because they are likely to just open the cupboard and make the universal tradesperson's noise .....

Some people use aluminum tinfoil to stop technology. Could the OP wrap his meter in tinfoil to stop the signal?

la531983

PaulDesmond said:

You've got a reasonable excuse, and you have had two previous smart meter engineers try to fit one and fail.

I'd probably still let the third one visit, just to stop my supplier bugging me for another year!

Where did this information come from? My grate great great  gandad probably. I just want to be in control of my meter treadings and send them at the end of the month not receive them when they randomly get the readings and supply statments. 

What are you on about?

I get one a month from mine, generated on the 3rd, based on the previous month.

Scot_39

flaneurs_lobster said:

How about a reason for not wanting a new meter install that doesn't involve Bill Gates' 5G Covid Death Rays?

My SMETS 1 electricity meter was installed in a communal external "cupboard" (a stout, wooden, weatherproof mini-shed) 10 years ago . It was the first smart meter to be installed in there, subsequently the other three homes in my conversion have had smarts installed.

My SMETS 1 comms have failed (2 years ago). Supplier wants to replace with SMETS 2. My neighbor's installs (either by incompetence, laziness or sheer lack of space) have not left enough access or space to allow a simple swap-out, the other meters and/or their cabling would have to be moved, cutting supply to all the dwellings probably by no more than half a day.

This has been confirmed by two separate engineer's visits, a year apart. I'm perfectly happy for any work that affects only my supply to go ahead. I will not agree to any work that removes supply to my neighbors without their express permission. A further letter has arrived asking to replace meter.....

I'm not going to try and negotiate a suitable date and time with my 3 sets of co-residents and the engineers (a third party who cannot be contacted directly), too hard, too inconvenient, not my problem. I'm happy to supply meter readings monthly so I have no issues with the dead smarts. If the supplier wants to continue then they will have to deal with 4 households to find a mutually convenient date/time. 

Am aware that I'm possibly missing out on smart freebies (free Sunday leccy?) and might well have to tell porkies if I want to swap suppliers ("Yes I have a Smart Meter").

AIBU?

Welcome to one of the many consequences of having meters and the smart roll out allocated to energy companies and not a dedicated seperate organisation responsible for all.
And problems occur for some of those with seperate suppliers for gas and electric - when some posters here have issues one doesnt talk to the other to report both readings.

The govt learned its lesson on smets1 bepoke comms and created the dcc to centralise supplier comms with smets2 and retrospectively many smets1.  But not the meters themselves.

Have you checked the certification period of your 10 yr old smets1 -  many modern digital were - inckuding the one I had replaced with my smets1 - so by inference some smart digital potentially might be  - were only certified good for 10 years.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-approved-electricity-meters

As above let the 3rd visit happen - thry might be able to fit a smaller brand meter - or one with a detached comms hub in some cases - so the meter will by c 2" smaller in height.  If that is they bother to read last 2 visit notes or you remind tge supplier of previous failures.  And if fail again - your off the hook  - at least until next yera or if meter End of Life - in which case your supplier could ultimately - however unlikely - technically refuse to supply you without an upgrade - as would be a breach of their license..

But be very careful about being unfair or awkward here.  As it could cost £100s if not £1000s to fix.

Its their duty to fit and maintain a certified meter, it is however AFAIK your duty - at your expense or your landlords if renting - to provide a suitable location for that meter. Others have certainly had to move meters or other kit / wiring etc out of meter cabinets / surrounding area in past - where insufficient space for new larger meter or allow often just  thicker cable access to it.  (As they will normally fit new 100A compatible meter tails).

If your neighbours have used up your share of that communal space - where otherwise the smart meter would have fitted - then thats a civil matter you might be able to take up with them and they their suplliers.  It is nothing to do with your supplier and their appointed fitter.  And any work outside a standard simple direct upgrade fit can be chargeable. 

Believe you me - a bit of time agreeing access for a couple of hours - will be a lot less expensive than the fee to move your meter to another location. Once DNO gets involved to move supply fuses and street supply cabling - costs start at few upto several £100 - and ramp into £1000+ if any distance at all - like say internal to external or side wall to front wall etc. - even if just few m.  You would also have to pay for any new meter enclosure and any new internal tails to your CU - fitted by your own builders and electricians and isolators if new distance or routing demanded it under current regs, not needed under old..

Lastly - there's no point in telling porkies about your meter - they all have access to a national meter database - and other info - so often your current supplier and supply type/ tariff - so will know more about your meter / supply than you might think. On compare sites they can often tell you your - one almost any address in the country iirc - supplier, tariff and even fairly up to date information on annual  energy used - like last years - on some in past. 

And even if get through that -  they will try to establish comms and when they fail - might well revert you to svt - if its a non standard tariff or fix you want. Yes from a couple of rare post here it can happen to smart refuseniks or those who failed to get upgraded for whatever reason  and they have been kicked off e.g. cheaper fixes / savings deals  retrospectively and rebilled at normal full svt from date signed up..

More often conditions for non smart specific tariffs like fixes are or wt least were "smart or agree to fit smart" - so back to agree, meter fitter turns up, meter fitter looks and goes away cycles - again upto end of life. Then as above space needs to be provided by you at your cost.

flaneurs_lobster

@Scot_39 Have to agree with all your points, I'm blessed with good neighbours and I'm sure that an accommodation on a fix date can be agreed. Even discussions on extending/renewing meter accommodation might not be too difficult.

Am I right that if each dwelling is served by a different electricity supplier (which they are) then each of those would at least have to agree to have "their" kit moved? Another reason why I am not keen to be involved in the actual decision on when this might happen.  

Obviously if there were a reason to believe that my meter was out of certification then I would have to be more proactive in securing a replacement.

Scot_39

PaulDesmond said:

I have ignored reminders from my provider every month when I give a new reading. I have received a letter telling me that the meter is "Aproching the end of it's working life". Can I say no to this?

If not can I insist on it not being a smart meter. QUESTION: How would I know?
This meter is a digital readout so I don't think being digital means it must be a smart meter.

No.

You must allow the supplier to maintain certified meters.

moneysaver

mr_stripey said:

short answer - no


What is the reason you don't want to have a smart meter?

When the internal battery runs out on a gas meter it can be a lot of hassle. It took me a year to sort out because the meter was giving false readings including increasing digits with everything turned off, even the gas supply. I am still not sure I got it sorted correctly as I was billed as an estimate based on the previous 5yrs usage.

Moneysaver

EssexHebridean

moneysaver said:

mr_stripey said:

short answer - no


What is the reason you don't want to have a smart meter?

When the internal battery runs out on a gas meter it can be a lot of hassle. It took me a year to sort out because the meter was giving false readings including increasing digits with everything turned off, even the gas supply. I am still not sure I got it sorted correctly as I was billed as an estimate based on the previous 5yrs usage.

Moneysaver

The way to avoid this though is in almost all cases to do what someone should be doing anyway - namely take readings from the meter at least every few months, paying attention to any warnings on the screen that the battery might be low, and to report accordingly if those warnings appear. In most - although not all - cases, this and continued regular readings being taken and recorded for the bill payer's records can stop this turning into a significant issue.  If there is no low battery warning, just  erratic readings, that same reading history can help with making clear what "normal use" can be estimated at. 

It should be mentioned that erratic readings or meters counting up without any gas flowing can also be an issue with traditional meters. We've seen cases of that here in the past.