Thames water smart meter but no readings

seatbeltnoob · 21 December 2019 at 7:39AM

I had a digital water meter fitted outside of my property. During the install i had long conversations with the Thames water installer, saying how its all automatic and I can get readings on the online account the next day.

He also said theyre great because if tgere is a leak inside the property then thames water will be aware because it would show a 24/7 water use at the property and they would come and investigate it

I trust that the engineer knows the difference between a smart meter and an analogue "dumb" meter.

So 2 months, after install i still get no usage history on the online account. They bill me based on predicted use and at the year end if it turns out i used more or less water than estinated they will send a bigger bill or smaller bill next year.

I phoned them up yesterday, to understand why im not getting up to datd readings abd they said im not on a smart meter and they needed to check my readings before i get any usage data. The meter was fitted under a thames water cover on the street in front of the house. It is buried quite deep and is a pita to take the cover off and get readings.

They said they dont use smart meters by individual address and they roll it out area by area and smart meters werent due to be installed in our area.

Wanted to know if anyone else has come across this or has there been an administration blunder where soneone ticked the wrong box somewhere and the digital readings veing sent arent being recorded

DawnCrush · 21 December 2019 at 9:30AM

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

I had a digital water meter fitted outside of my property. During the install i had long conversations with the Thames water installer, saying how its all automatic and I can get readings on the online account the next day.

He also said theyre great because if tgere is a leak inside the property then thames water will be aware because it would show a 24/7 water use at the property and they would come and investigate it

I trust that the engineer knows the difference between a smart meter and an analogue "dumb" meter.

So 2 months, after install i still get no usage history on the online account. They bill me based on predicted use and at the year end if it turns out i used more or less water than estinated they will send a bigger bill or smaller bill next year.

I phoned them up yesterday, to understand why im not getting up to datd readings abd they said im not on a smart meter and they needed to check my readings before i get any usage data. The meter was fitted under a thames water cover on the street in front of the house. It is buried quite deep and is a pita to take the cover off and get readings.

They said they dont use smart meters by individual address and they roll it out area by area and smart meters werent due to be installed in our area.

Wanted to know if anyone else has come across this or has there been an administration blunder where soneone ticked the wrong box somewhere and the digital readings veing sent arent being recorded

According to the Thames Water website, you should have been provided a leaflet that explains what happens next after the installation of the meter.

As far as I can see, they will write to you when the meter readings are available online - it doesn't happen the day the meter is fitted.

According to an old Daily Mail report, it suggests it could take 2 years from installation before you are transferred to their smart system.

seatbeltnoob · 21 December 2019 at 2:46PM

I dont understand. I have the smart meter hardware fitted, why cant they take readings from it. Why do they need me to send them the readings? Or request they come and take a reading?

The thames water cs lady stated i dont have a smart meter, not that i have one but it will be operational in a few months/years

Ill contact thames water about this.

matelodave · 21 December 2019 at 5:27PM

Are you sure it's a smart meter and not just a standard meter fitted with a remote reading sensor which has to be interrogated by the meter reader as he drives past.

I'm guessing that even if it is a smart meter then they dont have the wireless infrastructure in place yet to get remote readings. They have enough trouble making leccy meters smart and they have access to mains electricty and a sim card to enable them to operate. Gas meters are harder as they need to talk to an electricity meter or special hub.

Stuffing a water meter in a hole in the ground must be a lot more difficult to keep it powered and to get it to communicate with the outside world so they'll probably only be activated in areas where the infrastucture to communicate with them is in place. That might mean that you get one installed but is doesn't work in the smart mode yet

Possibly smart water metering will be introduced in small areas - Anglian were trialling them in Newmarket a couple of years ago but they aren't rolling them out yet.

seatbeltnoob · 23 December 2019 at 2:01PM

Ok

I think you're right.

I've got the reading manually and entered it onto the thames water website. The use was quite low actually, over 2 months it costs me 1/3 of the money they would have charged me had I been on a fixed tariff based on the property.

Thames water smart meter but no readings

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free