Next MSE Collective Switch Coming to an End

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  • LVL_CHG_2
    LVL_CHG_2 Posts: 17 Forumite
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    Am I the only person who has ended up in debit with BG?? £120 owed on my final bill.

    Having has the smart meters installed I thought it was supposed to avoid all this?? I noticed they reduced my direct debit during the summer when I thought I was already probably under paying.

    They took a random amount (approx £35) mid October and now final bill of £120 due on 1st November. OVO also goes out 1st (£58) so it's going to be at real hit in the pocket next month!

    Really unimpressed with BG and the whole smart meter system!
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    LVL_CHG wrote: »
    Am I the only person who has ended up in debit with BG?? £120 owed on my final bill.

    Having has the smart meters installed I thought it was supposed to avoid all this?? I noticed they reduced my direct debit during the summer when I thought I was already probably under paying.

    They took a random amount (approx £35) mid October and now final bill of £120 due on 1st November. OVO also goes out 1st (£58) so it's going to be at real hit in the pocket next month!

    Really unimpressed with BG and the whole smart meter system!

    Smart meters do not change the way that a supplier calculates your monthly DD. They use a weighted monthly algorithm so if one or two months were below normal usage then this can have an effect at the 6 monthly DD review. It’s not an exact science and smart meters only record accurate readings. Most of us do this already without the need for a smart meter.

    As far as all the smart meter hype is concerned, a smart meter will give you accurate bills. Bills have nothing to do with monthly payments which are only money paid on account which are then used to defray billing charges.
  • LVL_CHG_2
    LVL_CHG_2 Posts: 17 Forumite
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    Thanks for the quick reply and explanation. However isn't it supposed to avoid me then being left with a big bill such as this?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    edited 23 October 2017 at 11:21AM
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    LVL_CHG wrote: »
    Thanks for the quick reply and explanation. However isn't it supposed to avoid me then being left with a big bill such as this?

    No. That will require suppliers to change their DD review policy. Most review the DD amount at the 6 month into a 12 month contract point. My advice is to do your own calculations and then speak to your supplier if you believe that their DD review is flawed.

    Have a look at the link below:

    http://www.britishgas.co.uk/help-and-advice/Bills-payments/Direct-Debits/How-Direct-Debit-works/How-is-monthly-fixed-Direct-Debit-calculated.html

    If your energy use doesn’t follow the graph then errors in projected future usage can occur.
  • jelliot
    jelliot Posts: 30 Forumite
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    I left British Gas for Bulb on the 5th October and have had my final bill and my £109 credit paid into my bank account.

    The IHD no longer displays anything other than trying to connect then goes to a blank screen.

    I wonder how long it will be before Bulb offers to fit a smart meter?

    I do miss being able to see how much I have spent on my gas and electricity without having to go outside to read my meters.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    jelliot wrote: »

    I wonder how long it will be before Bulb offers to fit a smart meter?

    I do miss being able to see how much I have spent on my gas and electricity without having to go outside to read my meters.

    BG should upgrade the firmware in your meter by mid 2019 on present plans. The meter will then connect with The Data Communications Company and it will no longer be supplier dependant. There are no plans to replace the 6M foundation stage meters that have already been installed in domestic premises.
  • mikeyorkie10
    mikeyorkie10 Posts: 195 Forumite
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    jelliot wrote: »
    I left British Gas for Bulb on the 5th October and have had my final bill and my £109 credit paid into my bank account.

    The IHD no longer displays anything other than trying to connect then goes to a blank screen.

    I wonder how long it will be before Bulb offers to fit a smart meter?

    I do miss being able to see how much I have spent on my gas and electricity without having to go outside to read my meters.
    re the smart meter, couldn't agree more - its a right pain. After being used to it for a couple of years, I know its sad but I miss it!
  • mikeyorkie10
    mikeyorkie10 Posts: 195 Forumite
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    Hengus wrote: »
    BG should upgrade the firmware in your meter by mid 2019 on present plans. The meter will then connect with The Data Communications Company and it will no longer be supplier dependant. There are no plans to replace the 6M foundation stage meters that have already been installed in domestic premises.
    So it will be BG's responsibility even though we will probably not be on of their customers?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    mikeyorkie10 wrote: »
    So it will be BG's responsibility even though we will probably not be on of their customers?

    My understanding is that the responsibility will sit with the supplier that installed the meter as upgrading the meter will allow the supplier to count the meter towards its meter deployment target. Given that there are many different types of foundation meters, it would be unreasonable to expect every supplier to have the technical means to upgrade a meter that it knows nothing about. More importantly, if it is an OTA upgrade, then the only supplier that can communicate with any given meter is the one that supplied it.

    From a consumer point of view, it matters not a jot who does the work.
  • mikeyorkie10
    mikeyorkie10 Posts: 195 Forumite
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    Hengus wrote: »
    My understanding is that the responsibility will sit with the supplier that installed the meter as upgrading the meter will allow the supplier to count the meter towards its meter deployment target. Given that there are many different types of foundation meters, it would be unreasonable to expect every supplier to have the technical means to upgrade a meter that it knows nothing about. More importantly, if it is an OTA upgrade, then the only supplier that can communicate with any given meter is the one that supplied it.

    From a consumer point of view, it matters not a jot who does the work.
    So .... we just sit tight and someone will/should eventually contact us? Is there any way of contacting whoever or a website that gives all this info on what's happening to the old smart meters? I presume it is the meters themselves that have to be upgraded and then the existing IHD will start to work again. If I don't know the meters have been upgraded, I wont know to turn my IHD back on :-)
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