Scottish gas

Well you could always switch to someone like Bulb who I believe are cheaper, wont force a smart on you and will pay your exit fees from SP.

Yes I think they are attempting to get shot of the old ones in some places so I'd not touch one with a ten foot pole. I'm still hearing the talking customer units will be standard in the summer, its now summer the year after and they now say new year. The makers of this kit need a size 12 boot up the rear, and I'm sure most energy companies might agree with me candidly. Does not stop them wanting to get rid of their crap though. Brian

Why not offer to host the meters for a monthly rental of £25 each :-)

A friend of my father's used to charge rental for a telegraph pole in his garden whenever there was a Labour government and stop charging when there was a Tory government. (This was when the telephone network was in public ownership.)

Did he get paid?

Wayleave is still a thing post privatisation, but I doubt there's a reliable mechanism to pause the payments depending who's in No 10

That is an interesting point. I got an email from E.ON saying that a smart meter was a condition of my tariff. I refused and they have not pressed the point but I need an escape route. So thank you,

I recently had to update my E.on tariff, and the general blurb describing the different tariffs mentioned something about Smart Meters, in a throw-away manner, for the cheapest tariff. But when I got down into the nitty-gritty, then it became clear that I would be agreeing to have one if I took that particular tariff. No, thanks. But it was clear as long as you read the T&Cs, it wasn't hidden.

E.on put my tariff up about 40% (I squeezed in a really good one just before last year's price rise, so it was a bit dramatic this year). I decided on Bulb or So Energy, but picked the latter because it was fixed for a year. Neither insist on a smart meter.

Amusingly, I got a phone call from E.on trying to get me back ("you are a valued customer..."). I mentioned the meter and he went a bit quiet. Then I mentioned the price rise, and he said they have tariffs that "aren't on the Internet". One of those would be attractive (he said). I said that if I was really valued, I'd be on that already, and he gave up.

I'd be very surprised if there was ever a year by year opt in for such payments

Once you have claimed them you get them in perpetuity (until they take the pole away that is)

tim

Yes, I'm sure he did.

This was in the 'old days' when things were more local and more bureaucratic, before computers. He probably wrote to the Head Postmaster the day after the election and probably the 'duty' who dealt with rental payments would get a memo. I expect the individual was well known to the office.

Why not offer to host the meters for a monthly rental of £25 each :-)

Or until a landowner accepts a one off lump sum payment which replaces the agreement for an annual one. Often a later owner thinks they should get a payment and is disappointed to find a previous owner took that option.

GH