My supplier says my (electricity only) meter's certification has expired so I need a new meter. All the forms and ways of telling them when to come say 'book your smart meter installation'. Should there also be a way of getting a non-smart meter? ... or should I just tell them there's no mobile phone coverage where we live?
You would perhaps need to phone them and tell them verbally that you don't want a smart meter. They can't compell you to have one.
I believe it depends on the tariff you signed up to ?
Well I'm not changing tariff and haven't had a smart meter so far.
I;ve wondered if you said you'd change supplier if you can't keep your old none smart meter
Fair enough.
Personally, if there's no way of telling them in advance, I'd book the engineer, wait for them to turn up, and when they tell you they're fitting a smart meter, turn them away, and wait for a call from the mothership complaining. If enough people did that, you can bet they'd pretty quickly add a box.
Personally I'm not going to have a smart meter because not only are their no benefits to me, I get lied to when I point it out. There are however enormous benefits for the suppliers.
Eon tried to tell me that it was a condition of my tariff. They backed off when I refused. If it is a condition of the tariff then it certainly was not highlighted when I signed up and the subject is not mentioned in their general T&C which was all I could find.
Mobile signal doesn't make any difference. It'd just work as a dumb meter, like my ex-Ovo meter does.
There are some tariffs where it *is* a condition, and if you want to fit PV under the new SEG scheme, I believe they will be mandatory.
As for claiming there is no mobile signal, the new generation smart meters have options for non-mobile communication.
Which is? ESP?
My contract with my current supplier is within six weeks of expiry. For me they are the least expensive of The Big Six - I don't trust £100 company startups with rented offices and equipment - but their new contract stipulates a mandatory smart meter. I don't want one, so got on the chat line and told them I wasn't going to renew if that was the case. Swift as anything the agent came back with "I have taken you off the list for a smart meter replacement". Job done...
If I were the engineer, I would disconnect the old meter first then if the customer started to get awkward leave them with no electricity :-)
I have refused, for different reasons.
I was advised to go one step further and just change supplier anyway.
Before you got into the house, I'd have asked you to confirm it wasn't a smart meter, and probably got you to call your office to call me to confirm.
As is your right.
When OVO wanted to replace both our gas and electricity meters with smart ones, they pointed me to a webpage to arrange a convenient appointment time. It was not very obvious, but there was a link on that page to turn down having a smart meter and it gave a phone number, which was the only immediate way they gave to stop it.
SteveW
What options? Piggybacking on my internet connection? Sod off, I'm not letting them on my network!
SteveW
Arqiva run a dedicated 423MHz smartmeter radio network in parts of the country, and smart meters can use 869MHz mesh networking elsewhere, the latter is probably short range so might only help to hop from neighbour to neighbour
Just tell them you are exercising your right* to choose not to have a non-smart meter - preferably also in writing (eg email or web from). If anyone from your supplier tells you they are mandatory ask them to confirm their name as you will be making a formal complaint to them and also reporting the lie to to Ofgem.
see eg
Change supplier. I'm not sure in the end, whether anyone will make an old fashioned meter. Its a bit like mechanical typewriters, you can't find one unless you buy them from a third world country. If is a meter needs certifying they used to be able to come around run a test and give it a new cert.
Brian
Just ignore the offer to book an appointment and probably you will not hear from them again for 5 years. The "meter's certificate has expired" wording is likely to be some bull shit trying to get you to have a smart meter so that they can meet THEIR target installation figures.
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