Smart meters - what is the catch?

[Deleted User] · 12 June 2017 at 10:36AM

JDC2017 wrote: »

The old gas meter and its earthing bond to a pipe was 'compliant'.

Compliant to what, and certified by who?

JDC2017 wrote: »

npower replaced all their gas pipework up to our gas meter. Additionally, the gas meter was replaced with a new gas meter approx four years ago so the gas meter and its pipework had previously all been thoroughly tested, checked and passed by experienced engineers.

No mention here about the electrical installation being checked by electrical engineers.

handed me a card headed 'Safety Notice' which went on to state that: 'It appears that the gas installation pipework fitted at your property may not have Electrical Equipotential bonding correctly fitted . I am required under section 18(2) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use Regulations) 1998 to advise you that the Electrical Installation should be checked by a competent electrical contractor.'

So they haven't said it's non compliant at all, they're just advising you that it might be.

What is relevant is whether the bonding itself has changed, and not whether what you're being told about it has changed. If they really have left the bonding in a different state to what they found it then you have grounds for complaint if it's non-compliant, but it's not at all clear from anything you have said that that is the case. So far we have 'not necessarily' compliant before the change, and 'may be' non-compliant after the change, and no real idea whether the actual wiring has been changed at all.

I find it difficult to imagine that they would have removed the bonding from the old pipe and not replaced it on the new one. If they have left it off, then you have grounds for complaint, but if they have replaced it, then it's unlikely it's any more or less compliant than it was before they came.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc · 14 June 2017 at 3:51PM

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

I'd recommend raising this directly with our smart teams. Contact details are on our website under 'Help and Support.' They'll raise a complaint, investigate the job done and offer a resolution. They'll also be able to help you understand the meters better and, if required, arrange further instruction.
Malc

JDC2017 wrote: »

LOL - I'm obviously making a complete hash of the explanation.

Thanks to badmemory for summing it up nicely. :T

The old gas meter and its earthing bond to a pipe was 'compliant'.

The new gas meter and its earthing bond to a pipe is not 'compliant'.

Eon Customer Servies are back at work today so I will be trying to have the work evaluated.

As I mentioned earlier JDC2017 (post #132). Best to go directly to our smart teams with this (contact details are on our website). Customer Services won't have the necessary access to help here and will put you on hold whilst they connect you. Will save you a bit of time waiting on the phone.

Malc

Laandlord · 11 July 2017 at 4:57PM

I own 4 properties and decided to have 4 Smart Meters installed by British Gas , the first engineer came to one property and installed the meter, very friendly and very professional, explained how to use the meter and settings etc. The 2nd Engineer came to the other property and installed the meter again friendly and professional, did the same as the first engineer, The 3rd engineer came to 3rd property and this is where is went downhill. If an engineer finds a misplaced cable or a cable which should not be there he will immediately suspect that there has been tampering, THEY THEN HAVE THE POWER TO CUT YOUR ELECTRICITY AND REMOVE THE MAIN FUSE, next step is to call a tamper team, this team is from a company called Grovesnor Revenue and they are contracted by British Gas, they can takes 4 days to come which means you will have no hot water, no heating, no lighting and no fridge or freezer for 4 days. Grovesnor do not charge to investigate any suspected tamper.
After cutting the electricity for 2 flats, the engineer said it was for health and safety , the manager then asked if there were venerable tenants, I said the ground floor tenants, one was 79 paralysed in a wheelchair and the other was 82 with heart condition, so they reconnected the electricity to that flat, no health and safety issues there, the top flat remained cut off as the tenants where all fit and working professionals and for that they had no electricity. The engineer then accused me of stealing electricity and when I asked for his name became very aggressive, they only put nick names and job numbers on the paperwork. I spoke to his Manager on the telephone which made the engineer very irate to the point of lunging forward to head butt me in front of witnesses, I pushed him back and the incident was diffused by the witnesses. I cancelled the smart meter fitting in remaining 2 properties, and I am now in the process of switching to another energy supplier after more than 20 years with British Gas. I complained to CEO level and an emergency British gas revenue team came down the next day (THEY DO CHARGE), they found that the cable was not connected but said it could have been and said I needed to pay an estimated charge for electricity that could have been used, plus their investigation cost to pull out a cable, the total payment I had to pay was £409 !! otherwise they will not connect you.
You should notE that whilst British Gas say that the smart meter and fitting is FREE , it actually costs £250 supply and fit per meter, whilst they don’t charge you they do claw it back a tiny bit at a time through your monthly payments. In this case I am switching to another provider so the meters will become `dumb’ meters for the next energy provider.
STICK TO YOUR NORMAL METER ALL THIS SMART METER DOES DOES IS TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU ARE USING, AND RELAYS THAT BACK TO BRITISH GAS AND YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR THE METERS INDIRECTLY

baldelectrician · 11 July 2017 at 5:11PM

Over 80% of my work is landlord work and I have to call out the supplier if I notice any metering issues.

The only suppliers to be a pain in the rear are British Gas, Eon and Npower.

The latter 2 are due to them not being local

I had OVO at my dads house and they install the Liberty Secure brand meters- these can be switched over the phone between pre pay (top up) and post pay (direct debit / bill)
This is good as when someone moves out they can generate an almost instant bill

When my dads house was sold OVO generated a final bill whilst I was on the phone, took payment (debit card) and took details of the new owner - all in a call lasting less than 5 minutes

Going back to the landlord thing it is good as they can easily have you on record as the owner and set you up for pre pay (you can top up with an app) or post pay when a tenant moves out.

On a side issue- my mate (who is registered blind and cannot therefore read letters) almost had BG break his door down to fit a pre payment meter (illegal as he is blind).
They stopped when I intervened and told them I was recording the calls

I use an Android phone (Samsung S7) and have a call recording app, I find companies treat you better when they know you are recording the call.

[Deleted User] · 11 July 2017 at 5:16PM

Laandlord wrote: »

I own 4 properties and decided to have 4 Smart Meters installed by British Gas , the first engineer came to one property and installed the meter, very friendly and very professional, explained how to use the meter and settings etc. The 2nd Engineer came to the other property and installed the meter again friendly and professional, did the same as the first engineer, The 3rd engineer came to 3rd property and this is where is went downhill. If an engineer finds a misplaced cable or a cable which should not be there he will immediately suspect that there has been tampering, THEY THEN HAVE THE POWER TO CUT YOUR ELECTRICITY AND REMOVE THE MAIN FUSE, next step is to call a tamper team, this team is from a company called Grovesnor Revenue and they are contracted by British Gas, they can takes 4 days to come which means you will have no hot water, no heating, no lighting and no fridge or freezer for 4 days. Grovesnor do not charge to investigate any suspected tamper.
After cutting the electricity for 2 flats, the engineer said it was for health and safety , the manager then asked if there were venerable tenants, I said the ground floor tenants, one was 79 paralysed in a wheelchair and the other was 82 with heart condition, so they reconnected the electricity to that flat, no health and safety issues there, the top flat remained cut off as the tenants where all fit and working professionals and for that they had no electricity. The engineer then accused me of stealing electricity and when I asked for his name became very aggressive, they only put nick names and job numbers on the paperwork. I spoke to his Manager on the telephone which made the engineer very irate to the point of lunging forward to head butt me in front of witnesses, I pushed him back and the incident was diffused by the witnesses. I cancelled the smart meter fitting in remaining 2 properties, and I am now in the process of switching to another energy supplier after more than 20 years with British Gas. I complained to CEO level and an emergency British gas revenue team came down the next day (THEY DO CHARGE), they found that the cable was not connected but said it could have been and said I needed to pay an estimated charge for electricity that could have been used, plus their investigation cost to pull out a cable, the total payment I had to pay was £409 !! otherwise they will not connect you.
You should notE that whilst British Gas say that the smart meter and fitting is FREE , it actually costs £250 supply and fit per meter, whilst they don’t charge you they do claw it back a tiny bit at a time through your monthly payments. In this case I am switching to another provider so the meters will become `dumb’ meters for the next energy provider.
STICK TO YOUR NORMAL METER ALL THIS SMART METER DOES DOES IS TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU ARE USING, AND RELAYS THAT BACK TO BRITISH GAS AND YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR THE METERS INDIRECTLY

I wouldn't like to be one of your tenants if I can't choose my own supplier for the best deals.

MeterMan · 11 July 2017 at 6:13PM

Laandlord wrote: »

I own 4 properties and decided to have 4 Smart Meters installed by British Gas , the first engineer came to one property and installed the meter, very friendly and very professional, explained how to use the meter and settings etc. The 2nd Engineer came to the other property and installed the meter again friendly and professional, did the same as the first engineer, The 3rd engineer came to 3rd property and this is where is went downhill. If an engineer finds a misplaced cable or a cable which should not be there he will immediately suspect that there has been tampering, THEY THEN HAVE THE POWER TO CUT YOUR ELECTRICITY AND REMOVE THE MAIN FUSE, next step is to call a tamper team, this team is from a company called Grovesnor Revenue and they are contracted by British Gas, they can takes 4 days to come which means you will have no hot water, no heating, no lighting and no fridge or freezer for 4 days. Grovesnor do not charge to investigate any suspected tamper.
After cutting the electricity for 2 flats, the engineer said it was for health and safety , the manager then asked if there were venerable tenants, I said the ground floor tenants, one was 79 paralysed in a wheelchair and the other was 82 with heart condition, so they reconnected the electricity to that flat, no health and safety issues there, the top flat remained cut off as the tenants where all fit and working professionals and for that they had no electricity. The engineer then accused me of stealing electricity and when I asked for his name became very aggressive, they only put nick names and job numbers on the paperwork. I spoke to his Manager on the telephone which made the engineer very irate to the point of lunging forward to head butt me in front of witnesses, I pushed him back and the incident was diffused by the witnesses. I cancelled the smart meter fitting in remaining 2 properties, and I am now in the process of switching to another energy supplier after more than 20 years with British Gas. I complained to CEO level and an emergency British gas revenue team came down the next day (THEY DO CHARGE), they found that the cable was not connected but said it could have been and said I needed to pay an estimated charge for electricity that could have been used, plus their investigation cost to pull out a cable, the total payment I had to pay was £409 !! otherwise they will not connect you.
You should notE that whilst British Gas say that the smart meter and fitting is FREE , it actually costs £250 supply and fit per meter, whilst they don’t charge you they do claw it back a tiny bit at a time through your monthly payments. In this case I am switching to another provider so the meters will become `dumb’ meters for the next energy provider.
STICK TO YOUR NORMAL METER ALL THIS SMART METER DOES DOES IS TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU ARE USING, AND RELAYS THAT BACK TO BRITISH GAS AND YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR THE METERS INDIRECTLY

This is amazing. Now that you've decided against having smart meters, you will still be paying for them through the standing charges part of your bill. Even though you don't have one! :rotfl:

BillTee · 13 July 2017 at 2:32PM

I turn off power supply when I go away - can I do this with a smart meter without affecting its operation? I have a dumb digital meter at present: display isn't affected by cut to supply

Ingenuer · 14 July 2017 at 1:13AM

My energy supplier is very keen for me to have a Smart Meter. They phone me occasionally asking me to make an appointment to have one fitted. However, when I discuss the need for the meter, they reluctantly admit that I don't have to have one - at least not yet - although they do have a statutory duty to replace meters every 10 years or so, and eventually only Smart ones will be available. The TV ads tell me to get "Gaz and Leccy" under control, but I question just who is exerting the control by using this technology.

The Smart Meter makes meter readings automatically, and tells me instantly the amount and cost of my energy usage. So far so good. Leaving aside allegations of gross inaccuracies in readings and billing recently reported in the media, I have worries about what else these meters can do. The specification for Smart Meters includes the ability to collect data on energy use patterns, i.e. the times our household uses energy, so there is data available to the suppliers and their associates on whether I or my family are at home, and to some extent, what activities are going on in the house. For example the surge of electricity used to boil a kettle or take a shower could be identified. With a little more sophistication the characteristic switch-on surges of a TV, a computer, a power tool, could be distinguished. The data are encrypted, but people have made many successful hacks of supposedly secure data, from individual clever kids, to criminal gangs, to whole government agencies.

The Smart Meter provides a two-way path for data flow, intended to interact with smart electronics that will increasingly be incorporated into household appliances. That gives us another option for remotely controlling our home appliances and services, just as they can now in some cases be controlled by phone. It also opens the possibility of the utility providers controlling or restricting the times at which certain appliances can be used - a measure that will become very attractive as UK generating capacity is likely to be outstripped by demand in the near future. For example, delaying the start up of smart fridges, freezers and washing machines by up to 20 minutes at times of peak demand could help level out the load for the generating companies. If electric vehicles become the norm, such measures may be essential to preserve supplies when thousands of commuters arrive home and plug in. Will it cost me more to use my appliances when I want to, and not just when I'm allowed to? If electricity supplies have to be rationed, the Smart Meter is just the tool for controlling who gets power and when. And if I don't pay the bill on time, complain too much, or the police imagine I'm thinking wrong thoughts, will my Smart Meter simply cut me off?

Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't really all out to get me:eek:

[Deleted User] · 14 July 2017 at 11:01AM

Watch one day a smart meter will be responsible for a house fire and watch as the mass panic nationwide to replace all smart meters.

I'm still happy with my old skool meter.

[Deleted User] · 14 July 2017 at 11:07AM

BillTee wrote: »

I turn off power supply when I go away - can I do this with a smart meter without affecting its operation? I have a dumb digital meter at present: display isn't affected by cut to supply

The display unit will go off if is not plugged into the mains e.g it will have nothing displayed unless they have batteries in them.

The box on the wall where your supply feeds into will still store the current meter reading, same way as any other LCD meter still stores the reading.

Smart meters - what is the catch?

Comments

Categories

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