MSE News: E.on changes smart meter letters to let customers know they don’t HAVE to get one

Former_MSE_Callum · 14 May 2018 at 2:39PM

Big six energy firm E.on has changed the smart meter letters it sends to customers - after MoneySavingExpert highlighted it was wrongly telling them it needed to install the meters in "all" homes...

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'MSE victory: E.on changes smart meter letters to let customers know they don’t HAVE to get one'

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Mchambers · 14 May 2018 at 5:21PM

I joined EON a few months ago. I did not get a SMART meter and have always declined them with all of my gas/electric suppliers.

Caddyman · 14 May 2018 at 6:38PM

And perhaps for complete transparancy, letters sent out to all households should also state that whilst smart meters are 'free' at the point of installation, every household will in fact pay for them through their energy bills. This is why I'm going to have both gas and electric meters replaced anyway with smart meters because the way I see it, if I don't, I'm still being charged for them if I doggedly refuse to have them installed, so I might as well have them installed. Plus, as we are already seeing with some providers, they will only offer their cheapest tariffs if you have smart meters installed. It just seems somewhat dumb, that if you have smart meters installed and they turn 'dumb' because they aren't compatible with another energy provider, then even if you have 'smart meters' you still might not be able to take advantage of a cheaper smart meter tariff because of incompatibility. All seems a bit half baked to me.

ACervus · 15 May 2018 at 1:23PM

Smartmeters are not free though are they? Perhaps MSE should change their wording too. You should be asking exactly who is paying for them if they are "free" to the end user. There's no such thing as free lunch - It's like saying your meal in a restaurant is free because you don't pay for it until after you've had it. Surely this contravenes advertising standards? Why should those who decline a meter have to pay through higher bills anyway? A good old analogue meter should last 2-3 times the life of a "smart meter" and they are a darn sight more reliable and safe. How much extra electricity do these millions of smart meters take to power themselves, the IHD and the wireless/network infrastructure that relays the readings back to base? Who pays for that then? I don't mind reading my SAFE meter once a month and submitting the readings online - seems to me that's saving a lot of energy by not needing the electronic support infrastructure in the first place. If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it.

MSE News: E.on changes smart meter letters to let customers know they don’t HAVE to get one

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