Join for free
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 > Last »
Emjay's Avatar
Emjay
Chatterbox
Emjay is offline
London UK
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,387
Emjay is male  Emjay has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:30 PM
1

Smart meters yay or nay.

I have my gas and electricity supplied with e-on. I just had to phone them to give my requested meter readings, as their online system did not work.
The person on the other end of the phone tried to talk me into having a smart meter.
Now I have been told in the past that if I had one from the supplier, I would have to stick to this supplier.
I was told today that that is not so and the meter is fitted for free, and not liable to stick with the supplier that fitted the meter.
Can anyone confirm this?
Julie1962
Chatterbox
Julie1962 is offline
Surrey
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 42,846
Julie1962 is female  Julie1962 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:32 PM
2

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

We've wanted one for years they can't put them in a flat we are still told. Will be interesting come the point we are all supposed to be on one as the technology just hasn't been developed for some of us.

Only thing I would say is it seems hard to change supplier with them, we don't change so would be fine for us.
Emjay's Avatar
Emjay
Chatterbox
Emjay is offline
London UK
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,387
Emjay is male  Emjay has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:35 PM
3

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

I am always changing supplier as the deals change, so I go looking for a better and cheaper deal.
Julie1962
Chatterbox
Julie1962 is offline
Surrey
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 42,846
Julie1962 is female  Julie1962 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:37 PM
4

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Emjay ->
I am always changing supplier as the deals change, so I go looking for a better and cheaper deal.
You may need to check you can still do that emjay as some people are finding they can't.
Emjay's Avatar
Emjay
Chatterbox
Emjay is offline
London UK
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,387
Emjay is male  Emjay has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:41 PM
5

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Julie1962 ->
You may need to check you can still do that emjay as some people are finding they can't.
That is what I need to be confirmed, as the person on the phone said that I can change supplier with out any forfeit. She also said it was a government thing.
When I asked then who pays for it? She again said it was free for me.
Aerolor's Avatar
Aerolor
Chatterbox
Aerolor is offline
UK
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 9,380
Aerolor is female  Aerolor has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 12:46 PM
6

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Personally, I feel in sufficient control of our household energy as we are and have no wish to complicate things by getting a smart meter installed. I do all on line and can change when I want to and also increase or decrease my direct debit appropriately. I have found a little link which confirms my current thinking. Nobody (let alone governments and energy suppliers) give something for nothing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/co...o-smart-meter/
Realist
Chatterbox
Realist is offline
UK
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 9,184
Realist is male  Realist has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 01:03 PM
7

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Emjay ->
The person on the other end of the phone tried to talk me into having a smart meter.
That's because the energy companies are under immense pressure by the government to roll out millions of smart meters before 2020.


Originally Posted by Emjay ->
Now I have been told in the past that if I had one from the supplier, I would have to stick to this supplier.
I was told today that that is not so and the meter is fitted for free, and not liable to stick with the supplier that fitted the meter.
Can anyone confirm this?
You'd be an absolute fool to accept ANY smart meter to be installed at your property. If you do so, falling for the energy company spiel and government BS, then you will end up paying far far more for your energy usage. Your bills will likely double or triple. It won't happen straight away, because the energy companies want to get millions and millions of meters out there before the hammer falls.

Problem is, once you accept a Smart Meter, there is no way back. You will NEVER be able to go back to an old style meter.

What's the issue with Smart Meters?

There are multiple issues including serious health issues, but the main issue is the effect to your bills.

Smart Meters are being rolled out for one reason only, which is to enable the energy companies (and all associated parasites in that food chain) to make $BILLIONS from unsuspecting members of the public.

How are they going to do it?

They are going to introduce VARIABLE RATE BILLING.

Currently, as you know, you simply give your energy company the number on your meters which tells them how many energy units you have used. There is a set charge for each unit used and that's what you get billed for. All very simple, very fair, and has been in place for years.

When VARIABLE RATE BILLING is brought in all that will change and the change will be harsh and dramatic. What they will do with VRB is split the day up into different usage periods for example, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Overnight etc.

They will then impose DIFFERENT CHARGE RATES for the energy you use in those different periods.

They will only be able to do that BECAUSE YOU TOOK A SMART METER.

Your existing meter has no idea WHEN you used your energy. It just records the number of units used.

A Smart Meter logs every bit of energy you use at EVERY MINUTE of EVERY DAY. So the Smart Meter knows what energy you used in the morning, in the afternoon and most importantly at night.

Can you guess which period of the day the energy companies will deem to be PEAK PERIOD and which they will charge an absolute fortune for ?

Yep it will be later afternoon and evening, when the kids all come home from school and log onto the internet with their laptops or get on the playstation consoles etc. The time when most people come home from work, put the kettle on multiple times through the evening, use the cooker and hob to cook dinner, have the TV on most of the night and have the lights on.

Understand this, the energy you use in that single Peak Period will be charged at such a high rate that your bill for just that period of the day will be the same or more than your entire daily bill now. That is how and why your energy bills will skyrocket IF, and ONLY IF you are foolish enough to accept a Smart Meter.

The entire Smart meter "project" is a massive business that will generate $BILLIONS for these parasitic energy moguls.

Do not be a victim imho.

Refuse a Smart Meter.

No-one can force you to have one, absolutely no-one. Some energy companies are actually lying to customers saying that they ARE mandatory or that eventually everyone is going to have to have one. Total fabrication.

The government has issued letters to people clearly stating that Smart Meters ARE NOT MANDATORY.

As to your question about the impact to your suppliers and ability to switch, there ARE issues.

There are a ton of old Mark 1 Smart Meters out there which are already obsolete and which will be no good going forward.
If you really do want to accept a meter and have your energy bills doubled/tripled then insist on the latest style meter. This may well impact your ability to switch suppliers going forward.

Mark my words though. The Smart Meter will become the next great scandal in a few years time. Just like Endowment Mortgages and PPI. The entire thing is a huge scam being marketed on the false precepts of saving energy and forcing (encouraging) people to use energy at night rather than in the peak evening periods.

Fire services are already hugely concerned because they believe it is wholly dangerous to leave washing machines, tumble dryers and the like running during the night when you are asleep.

The government's spiel is a load of Billy BS I'm afraid. This entire con is just a way to allow energy companies to introduce VARIABLE RATE BILLING, nothing more.

With the existing meters they can't bring in VRB

Smart Meters ENABLE VRB to be brought in.

Read more here:

http://stopsmartmeters.org.uk/

ATB
Ray Cathode's Avatar
Ray Cathode
Senior Member
Ray Cathode is offline
Scotland, UK (but not EU)
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,706
Ray Cathode is male  Ray Cathode has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 01:04 PM
8

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Emjay ->
I am always changing supplier as the deals change, so I go looking for a better and cheaper deal.
You can still change supplier but the e-on smart meter may not work with the new supplier so you would be back to giving readings.The next generation of smart meters are supposed to overcome this problem so I would wait or ask e-on if the meter they want to install is a second generation meter.
Omah's Avatar
Omah
Chatterbox
Omah is offline
Ludlow
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 10,147
Omah is male  Omah has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 01:07 PM
9

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Ray Cathode ->
You can still change supplier but the e-on smart meter may not work with the new supplier so you would be back to giving readings.The next generation of smart meters are supposed to overcome this problem so I would wait or ask e-on if the meter they want to install is a second generation meter.
This is true - my (old) British Gas smart meter does not communicate to my (new) Flow supplier - I can still use it for monitoring purposes, though.
Uncle Joe
Chatterbox
Uncle Joe is offline
Brighton UK
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 25,458
Uncle Joe is male  Uncle Joe has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
12-12-2018, 01:21 PM
10

Re: Smart meters yay or nay.

Originally Posted by Julie1962 ->
We've wanted one for years they can't put them in a flat we are still told. Will be interesting come the point we are all supposed to be on one as the technology just hasn't been developed for some of us.

Only thing I would say is it seems hard to change supplier with them, we don't change so would be fine for us.

What you've been told by your fuel supplier is bullsh*t Julie darlin'. I live in a flat and I have a smart meter. The main reason I have one is that my gas meter, which is situated out in the garden (belonging to my neighbour in the basement) is now too difficult for me to get to and read, so now the two meters (gas and electricity) are being read continuously by my supplier and they send me quarterly accounts which I pay as and when.
 
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 > Last »

Thread Tools


© Copyright 2009, Over50sForum   Contact Us | Over 50s Forum! | Archive | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Top

Powered by vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.