Got an elderly friend who categorically does not wish to have a smart meter fitted. EDF have apparently sent letters and are getting rather stroppy.
Can't be enforced, can it? Anyone else in a similar situation?
Ask EDF if they wish to lose a customer?
No.
No, they are optional.
I suggest you advise your friend to tell EDF to note on the account that (a) a smart meter is not wanted and (b) any further contact from them about fitting one in the next 12 months[1] will result in a complaint to ofgem.
[1] best to give a reasonable time limit as there is the downside that smart meters may be needed for better tariffs i.d.c.
I have EDF. They phoned me 15 times within the space of a week or so trying to sell me one. I never answered them, I looked up the number and blocked it from my mobile the first time they rang, after google told me it was a smart meter they tried to sell from that number. They then sent 1 letter saying I would benefit from a smart meter (no obligation) but didn't say why it would benefit me, so I binned it. The phonecalls would have been annoying had I not got a phone with a blocking function or had the gall to tell them to f*ck off, which presumably your elderly friend doesn't. In your position I'd call the number that phoned your friend and on their behalf tell them what you think of their hard sell, if necessary threatening to move them to a more reputable company.
They are not the only ones.
The call center person representing Scottish and Southern seemed a bit taken back when I read the section " Do I have to have a smart meter?" from that back to them yesterday .
They had answered my Question "Why Do I have to have a smart meter" with "because the government say it is a legal requirement for everyone to have one by 2020".
As it was probably someone on minimum wage doing their best to earn a few pounds I wished them a good day and hung up, if they were really from SSE directly I may have asked to speak to someone further up the chain and got argumentative. As it is I've got more important things to attend to for a few days but after I do intend to send a complaint to SSE themselves,or does anyone know of someone better to contact.
G.Harman
In article , snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk writes
OFGEM
May be they should tell them they wish to cancel their account
Now it was mentioned on You and Yours about a week back amongst other places. Interestingly its the opposite of my experience with EDF. They told me the following when I spoke to their team.
at present the current meters have two main problems. They do not comply with the latest communication standard so other suppliers will be unable to use them if you switch, and as you are on economy 7 and not dual fuel (ie electric only), there is currently no solution for your usage profile (posh name for me being an awkward bugger with no gas)
I also enquired about getting an audio enabled remote unit. They told me that they do not keep stocks of these units but would swap out an ordinary one for blind users if requested. The Offgen folk have already told me that the talking remote units are out there and ready to go, so some contradiction there too. I suspect the real reason here is that they just want to show they are trying and hence they will hit what they consider the low hanging fruit first. Cynical me?
Brian
If I was on Economy 7 I wouldn't trust a "smart" equivalent. It might morph into Economy 5, Economy 3, Economy "why don't you have your main meal in the evening as electricity is cheaper then".
Hardly awkward/unusual, there is surely a significant proportion of the population who don't have gas - like us, out in the countryside.
We haven't had gas for over 30 years in two houses.
Ah, I've had the offending letter read to me. EDF wants to replace the old meter as it's end of life, close to the maximum count.
Fair enough - even though the rest of the letter is plastered with 'get smart' advertising.
It does means it still can be replaced with a normal meter, which is what they will be insisting on.
Thanks for the pointer to Ofgem :)
countryside.
No gas here either, nor down in the village or any of the surrounding farms. The town of Middleton-in-Teesdale doesn't have gas either judging by the number of chimenys emitting wood or coal smoke in the winter. So no doubt non of the surrounding houses/farms have gas either.
A heads up for those with an old bolier (> 5 years is "old" in this context). The rules have changed on the ECO free new bolier scheme. A lot more people now qualify who didn't before.
Not stroppy, always polite, but showed dumb persistence. First it was the phone calls. Each time, I told them that it wasn't going to be convenient for quite some time, and I would contact them when I wanted to proceed. Each time they said yes, that was fine, and no, it isn't mandatory, and then phoned again a couple of weeks later.
Just when they seemed to have got the message, I got a letter from them to say that they had made an appointment to fit a new meter on . They did at least provide a link to allow me to cancel it on line, which I did, and under 'reason' ticked the box to say 'I don't want a smart meter right now'. EDF sent an e-mail to remind me that it was time to rebook my appointment.
A few weeks later, they sent another 'we have booked an appointment' letter. This time they'd cunningly removed any mechanism for on-line cancellation, so I phoned them. The young lady said she would 'opt me out', and I haven't heard any more from them. But I understand that the second-generation meters are expected to be rolled out sometime this year, so I won't be surprised if it all starts again.
Presumably you still need to be on the sosh in one way or another?
scheme. A
Yes, but they have removed the household income limit of 16 k ish and only one person in the household has to be getting one of the listed benefits.
Same thing (same company) covered on one of the R4 consumer programs the other day. They did grovel slightly, IIRC
Adam Vaughan is looking for experiences relating to this for an article in the Guardian snipped-for-privacy@theguardian.com
TW
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.