IHD was not commission when installed, new supplier asking me to buy a replacement.

Brie

But do you need it? Otherwise you're wasting a lot of time and energy and possibly money.

Phones4Chris

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81910563#Comment_81910563

That's total garbage.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81910599#Comment_81910599

Hear hear, but if you haven't already raised a Formal Complaint, do so, and then ask for the Deadlock letter.

Bendo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81910563#Comment_81910563

Thats where competence comes in. They simply can't be bothered and would rather send you to buy one from a 3rd party and let them deal with the setup.

Make your complaint, there is no technical reason they can't do it other than lazyness and incompetence.

WiserMiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911316#Comment_81911316

That's likely to bring about a change of heart. If the Ombudsman takes it up it'll cost them over £400, so it'll be cheaper to commission the IHD and avoid the opprobrium of an upheld complaint.

crabscoot

Thank you to everyone who responded.

I have now raised a formal complaint with my current and previous supplier. If this isn’t resolved, I will request a deadlock letter so I can escalate the matter further.

What I find frustrating is that much of the smart meter legislation appears to focus on the meter itself but not the IHD. In my case, the IHD was never commissioned at installation, and I was advised by the engineer not to worry about it and to use the supplier’s own device instead.

Now that I’ve switched supplier, I’m being told the IHD is outside the 12-month warranty period and that I need to buy a replacement myself. From a consumer perspective, that doesn’t seem right. Especially if the device was never properly commissioned in the first place.

It raise the question of whether suppliers are meeting the spirit of the smart meter rollout if customers are left without a working IHD from the start….

Phones4Chris

The warranty period has nothing whatsoever to do with commissioning! These lazy (probably front-line staff) will seem to use any excuse.

IF, and ONLY IF the device wasn't working (ie. faulty, broken etc) more than 12 months after it had been commissioned, then that would be tough luck.

Try https://homebrew.n3rgy.com to see what information it gives, if it's working it should give at least meter and comms hub details. It used to give IHD info as well (if commissioned) but as it's not retrieving any data for me atm, I can't comment. If you get data, the delete any serial numbers/GUIDs etc on anything you post.

Ildhund

@Phones4Chris wrote:

Try  https://homebrew.n3rgy.com  to see what information it gives, if it's working …

Sadly, the Homebrew utility hasn't worked for me for quite some time, perhaps since before Christmas when n3rgy's big refurb began. I'm wondering whether to pester them about it - it was such a useful little tool.

squirrelpie

FWIW, it doesn't show me anything about my meter or comms hub, but it does show both my IHD and CAD.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924270#Comment_81924270

Still not sure what complaint you have against your previous supplier as they provided the Octopus Mini free of charge and you did not raise a complaint about the IHD while you were with them.

They cannot commission the IHD for you now, only your current supplier can do that.