New smart meter

EssexHebridean

It would keep the supplier happy on all levels I should think - as it would reduce the opportunity for the OP to be able to get tariffs that might mean them paying less for their energy use! 😂

moneysaver

EssexHebridean said:

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. 

What do you think I was doing for a year? The meter was not smart just an electronic one, so I always gave readings monthly. During that period I was taking readings daily & sometimes hourly.  I had the battery warning but they done nothing about it even though the readings were going up in the hundreds some days. Smart meters can go wrong more than the old analogue type, they went in lots of cases working for more than 30yrs, cannot see digital ones lasting anywhere near that.

Taking readings made no difference as the readings were all erratic. I took loads of pics & video but still took a year to sort out without knowing the exact amount of gas used.

Moneysaver

QrizB

moneysaver said:

What do you think I was doing for a year? 

You don't seem to have a thread here concerning your faulty gas meter, so until you choose to tell us we can only guess.

moneysaver said:

.I had the battery warning but they done nothing about it even though the readings were going up in the hundreds some days.

So you raised a complaint, asked for a meter test and the meter test confirmed a faulty meter. The meter was replaced and your gas bill was recalculated using estimates from a previous period.

The system for dealing with faulty meters worked as intended.

EssexHebridean

moneysaver said:

EssexHebridean said:

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. 

What do you think I was doing for a year? The meter was not smart just an electronic one, so I always gave readings monthly. During that period I was taking readings daily & sometimes hourly.  I had the battery warning but they done nothing about it even though the readings were going up in the hundreds some days. Smart meters can go wrong more than the old analogue type, they went in lots of cases working for more than 30yrs, cannot see digital ones lasting anywhere near that.

Taking readings made no difference as the readings were all erratic. I took loads of pics & video but still took a year to sort out without knowing the exact amount of gas used.

Moneysaver

Similar situation to MeteredOut who was mentioned before then. Billing based on an average is then the standard  route for charging as you have discovered. The issue comes when it’s a smart meter and the homeowner hadn’t bothered taking or recording readings because of the false sense of security that the meter will be doing it for them. In your case taking readings DID make a difference to your resolution as it meant that the averaged rebilling was likely to be far more accurate than if they’d been running with estimates for the previous months, exactly as I said. I assume it also meant that you were able to spot the issue sooner too.

Of course, that yours wasn’t a smart meter makes it slightly irrelevant in the context of this thread.