[Rules p.1] Things that annoy you guys. 100 percent. Not gonna lie

Please submit a meter reading for accurate billing >> submits reading
This needs to be verified before we can authorise it to be used for billing purposes

Why not just send someone out first?

jawafour wrote:The electricity meter replacement process. government / UK Power Network / Electricity supplier

> Your meter must be replaced
> Okay [arranges day and time]
> We can't do it because the backing board inside the cabinet may contain asbestos. You need to get it checked and possibly replaced
> Huh? I have to check inside the meter cabinet and get parts checked / changed myself before you'll replace the meter?
> Yes
> [Sequence of endless phone calls and complaint processes begins]

I'm not sure how long it'll take before I get to the "strawberry float off, I'll leave it as it is" point.

Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

jawafour wrote:

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

Yeah, you don't HAVE to get it changed, they're just trying to pressure everyone into doing it.

Npower think I have 2 electric meters when I have just one key meter. I've only had one meter for 2 years. And for 2 years they have been a nightmare. I'd change suppliers but I'm worried that npower will still be an issue seeing as no matter what I tell them they don't believe me. I had an engineer turn up out of nowhere on Friday morning to take photographs of my meter as proof "because they don't believe you only have one".

Vermilion wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

Yeah, you don't HAVE to get it changed, they're just trying to pressure everyone into doing it.

Why wouldn’t you want one? It makes it much easier to see how much you’re using and it’s worth it just for not having to read the meter anymore.

Edit:

Just realised who I’m speaking to. GR’s luddite brigade who think streaming is a dangerous step too far.

I don't have an issue with Smart Meters, I'd quite like one, but my worry isn't the meter it's the fitting. There's been quite a few stories of meters being fitted by insufficiently trained engineers and done in a hurry due to the rush to get them out, with those botched fittings leading to gas leaks or blown electrics with the providers refusing to take any responsibility for issues.

I trust the meters, I don't particularly trust the fitters who've got a dozen of them to do in 8 hours to do the job right

If someone could install a smart meter with it having zero impact on me (no need to be in, have to deal with gooseberry fool like what Jawa has been describing etc.) then I'd be happy enough to have one.

But I'm not going to go out of my way to get one. I already know that if I turn more things on it uses more power so that feature isn't exactly a revelation for me.

Moggy wrote:Why wouldn’t you want one? It makes it much easier to see how much you’re using and it’s worth it just for not having to read the meter anymore.

My meter is on the outside of the house, which means i never have to do anything anyways.

Moggy wrote:Just realised who I’m speaking to. GR’s luddite brigade who think streaming is a dangerous step too far.

When one's bandwidth does not allow for decent quality streaming, one prefers not to have to use it.

Vermilion wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

Yeah, you don't HAVE to get it changed, they're just trying to pressure everyone into doing it.

Moggy wrote:
Why wouldn’t you want one? It makes it much easier to see how much you’re using and it’s worth it just for not having to read the meter anymore.

If I'm wrong on this, happy to be corrected, but:

I've heard that the smart meters they are rolling out are already basically already outdated tech, and that many of the suppliers bought up a LOT of units and are now desperately trying to get rid of them. The other incentive being that they can help to tie you to one supplier (or, rather, your Smart meter could lose its smart functionality if you switch.)

Fake edit: according to the links below, the 'outdated tech' installations should have stopped, but haven't. I guess all you really need to do is check you're getting one of the new kind of meter without the glitch.

Sources:

https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/09/ ... lly-smart/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bills-and-u ... sic_planit

https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/topic ... meter.html

LewisD wrote:Americans

FTFY.

jawafour wrote:The electricity meter replacement process. government / UK Power Network / Electricity supplier

> Your meter must be replaced
> Okay [arranges day and time]
> We can't do it because the backing board inside the cabinet may contain asbestos. You need to get it checked and possibly replaced
> Huh? I have to check inside the meter cabinet and get parts checked / changed myself before you'll replace the meter?
> Yes
> [Sequence of endless phone calls and complaint processes begins]

I'm not sure how long it'll take before I get to the "strawberry float off, I'll leave it as it is" point.

The meter cabinet is the responsibility of the property owner. The meter itself is the responsibility of the Meter Operator (MOP). No amount of complaining is going to change that, as it is set in law. Even if you end up going to OFGEM about it, they'll come down on the side of the MOP.

Poser wrote:

Vermilion wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

Yeah, you don't HAVE to get it changed, they're just trying to pressure everyone into doing it.

Moggy wrote:
Why wouldn’t you want one? It makes it much easier to see how much you’re using and it’s worth it just for not having to read the meter anymore.

If I'm wrong on this, happy to be corrected, but:

I've heard that the smart meters they are rolling out are already basically already outdated tech, and that many of the suppliers bought up a LOT of units and are now desperately trying to get rid of them. The other incentive being that they can help to tie you to one supplier (or, rather, your Smart meter could lose its smart functionality if you switch.)

Fake edit: according to the links below, the 'outdated tech' installations should have stopped, but haven't. I guess all you really need to do is check you're getting one of the new kind of meter without the glitch.

Sources:

https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/09/ ... lly-smart/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bills-and-u ... sic_planit

https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/topic ... meter.html

SMETS1 (the first gen) meters should now be compatible with the connection technology that allows people to switch suppliers without losing the functionality, but yeah it's been a bit of a mess all round. Not least because people generally don't want them.

I never understood why SMETS1 was rolled out in the numbers it has been.

I have never understood the need for smart meters.

Leave a room turn lights off, don't leave TV on standby all night, I don't need a box to tell me how to save money but I get why it may help some.

Basically the benefits are more for the energy industry (except meter readers who'll get made redundant now the technology has taken their place) than general households.

There should be some benefits to households in the way of reduced estimated bills (of course, this could mean you've been underestimated for a while and get higher, albeit more accurate bills as a result), being able to see what you're using in real time-ish and make reductions as a result (although as you suggest, people are generally pretty good at not leaving everything on standby these days anyway, plus most of our appliances are energy efficient), and maybe being better able to take advantage of variable rates.

Generally speaking, it's more beneficial to energy suppliers / the industry, particularly in being in a better position to estimate how much energy needs to be generated to meet demand, and the price suppliers pay for it at any given point.

I mean, I generally know how to keep within the speed limit, but it's good my car has a speedometer to tell me exactly what I'm doing.

Cuttooth wrote:SMETS1 (the first gen) meters should now be compatible with the connection technology that allows people to switch suppliers without losing the functionality, but yeah it's been a bit of a mess all round. Not least because people generally don't want them.

I never understood why SMETS1 was rolled out in the numbers it has been.

Cheers for clarifying. Yeah, a bit of a mess, as you said. I'm certainly not against the tech, but the whole debacle has made me suspicious.

My other problem is that I'm with Scottish Power for reasons of cost, but I had huge issues with them when I moved into our new-build house. (They were the 'provided' supplier.) I simply don't trust them not to strawberry float it all right up and then be impossible to deal with afterwards.

Cuttooth wrote:

Poser wrote:

Vermilion wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Vermilion wrote:Is this for one of those smart meter things?

I got letters telling me i should have one, but it's not mandatory and so i've ignored them.

It is, Vermi. They've been calling, writing and emailing for months; under the guide of "it's urgent that my meter is replaced". Okay, cool, replace it. "Lol we can't".

Yeah, you don't HAVE to get it changed, they're just trying to pressure everyone into doing it.

Moggy wrote:
Why wouldn’t you want one? It makes it much easier to see how much you’re using and it’s worth it just for not having to read the meter anymore.

If I'm wrong on this, happy to be corrected, but:

I've heard that the smart meters they are rolling out are already basically already outdated tech, and that many of the suppliers bought up a LOT of units and are now desperately trying to get rid of them. The other incentive being that they can help to tie you to one supplier (or, rather, your Smart meter could lose its smart functionality if you switch.)

Fake edit: according to the links below, the 'outdated tech' installations should have stopped, but haven't. I guess all you really need to do is check you're getting one of the new kind of meter without the glitch.

Sources:

https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/09/ ... lly-smart/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bills-and-u ... sic_planit

https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/topic ... meter.html

SMETS1 (the first gen) meters should now be compatible with the connection technology that allows people to switch suppliers without losing the functionality, but yeah it's been a bit of a mess all round. Not least because people generally don't want them.

I never understood why SMETS1 was rolled out in the numbers it has been.

When I moved supplier last year (from EON), the smart meter didn't work with the new supplier (Ostrich) but that was resolved some time during the early part of 2019 and now everything seems ok.

Minty14 wrote:I mean, I generally know how to keep within the speed limit, but it's good my car has a speedometer to tell me exactly what I'm doing.

Not the best analogy really, it's not like the police are going to fine you for going over 70kwh or something!

Knowing what amount of energy is being used at any one point in time is certainly interesting but unless it helps drives change then it's not really gaining you anything. I know that turning things off will save me energy, I know that swapping appliances out for lower consumption alternatives is a smart move - something showing me those numbers changing in real time doesn't really change that situation in any meaningful way - I already knew the changes would help!

You might be the most responsible energy user in the country but not everyone else is. If smart meters give a decent chunk of people the kick up the arse they need to turn plugs off at night and save energy, they’re surely a good thing?