EON - Smart Meters and switching suppliers

arlowood wrote: »

Just used Uswitch a few days ago to initiate a switch away from EON as they could not offer me a decent tariff when my existing one comes to an end in October.

Received an email saying "Sorry you're leaving us" and asking to check their tariff offers to see whether they can persuade me to stay.

Next day I received another email stating "We need to change your meters" and inviting me to call to arrange an appointment for them to come and install smart meters. This is to meet government targets for smart meter adoption by 2020 apparently.

As far as I can establish, I am under no obligation to accept a smart meter if I don't want one but the chance to opt out is tagged on almost as an afterthought to their email where I have to call and tell them if I don't want a meter at this stage.

Can anyone confirm that I am correct - ie I don't have to have them install smart meters if I don't want them. My main concern is that I am still reading reports that they can be unreliable, may cause issues with my WiFi and most importantly they can make switching suppliers problematic as they are not yet fully cross compatible with all the technology used by different energy providers.

As I'm in the middle of a switch I certainly don't want EON messing with my meters at the moment. My cynical head is wondering if it might be a ploy to stymie my switching attempt based on the smart meter offer coming so soon after I opted to switch away.

Do I have to get smart meters?


No. Whether you get one now, in the future or not at all is up to you.



All suppliers will eventually be required to offer you them, but smart meters are NOT mandatory – you're free to say no. You can always change your mind if you decide you want one at a later date; simply contact your supplier to ask.