Smart Meters 'forced' on people?

[Harry Bloomfield]

"I've been calling EDF on and off since January to sort it," she said.

I can certainly believe that, based on my own experience of BG - it has been horrendous, just trying to sort my account out with them, since they 'picked up' my account at the beginning of the year.

 

[SimonH2]

Don't start with BG
Some years ago, my parents were with them. The LCD display on the meter was getting hard to read, so he contacted them to see if it could be fixed - and nothing happened until ... it went blank altogether so suddenly it was an urgent meter change since they couldn't charge for gas with the display blank.
So someone called him to make an appointment to replace the meter. He was careful to point out that the fitted meter was a fairly small model, and furniture had been custom built which precluded fitting a larger unit. So the fitter turned up with a larger unit which wouldn't fit in the space available. So they made a new appointment - IIRC just a letter telling him when it was, not a conversation to set a mutually convenient time. Also IIRC, he had a hospital appoint that clashed so told them it wasn't convenient at that time and they'd need to re-schedule it.
The next letter he had was a legal letter stating that they've bring criminal charges for theft of gas by refusing to permit the meter to be changed. My dad was not the sort of person to take that, so I pity the poor customer service rep that got his call
Eventually, they did manage to turn up with a working meter that fitted in the space available - but it certainly wasn't the smooth "excuse me, there's a problem with your meter. No problem Sir, we'll get it replaced" sort of experience where left and right hands talk to each other.

And as to the (in my opinion) fraudulent "condemning" of the boiler after he'd passed away leaving just my mum in the house, and the exorbitant quote for a replacement, the less said about their "scare a granny" incentive scheme the better.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The LCD display on the meter was getting hard to read, so he contacted them to see if it could be fixed - and nothing happened until ... it went blank altogether so suddenly it was an urgent meter change since they couldn't charge for gas with the display blank.

That's interesting, I didn't know that - I know someone who has been without a display at all for months on a Smart Meter, and I wasn't aware they couldn't charge if the display didn't work. I assumed they would be able to remote read it, and that would be sufficient for them to charge?

 

[SimonH2]

It wasn't a smart meter - so "no display, no indication of gas used". But it was quite a small form factor electronic meter, hence the problems since dad made the cupboard to fit (tight space in what had been a boiler room, but converted into toilet, washbasin, and shower).
I would assume that a smart meter (as long as it's still talking to the mothership) doesn't really need a display.

 

[SimonH2]

Just getting the warrant would mean someone putting their name to a form saying they'd tried everything and this was a last resort - and I could imagine the policeman stopping proceedings if the homeowner showed him evidence that the statement wasn't correct (such as having been trying to work things out but the supplier being like we know big companies can be - impossible to deal with).
The change now is that - at least in theory - they still need a warrant, but switching is a matter of clicking a button on a computer screen to send a message to the meter to switch modes. There is no longer that last resort of having a real person, in the house, with the power to look at the customer's evidence and say "something's wrong here".

And yesterday I read (related to the same research) that over 400 warrants were approved by a judge ... in 4 minutes. Phone proceedings, and the legal representative for the energy company assured the judge (by phone) that all alternatives had been exhausted. Hmm, I find that slightly suspicious.