Not so smart meter

mjvw

mjvw

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Changed energy suppliers now using dual fuel supplier, deal was struck with the incentive of a smart meter being installed the services provider was duly changed and as promised smart meter installed, spent a couple of days watching the pounds and pences ticking over and getting a good overview on my bad habits for gas and electric use, Then after about a week it stopped working saying lost connection.
I rang the suppliers customer service number and after a 15 minutes wait spoke to a representative and after some trouble shooting was told it was connected at their end and was sending data (meter reading etc) so all was well, and the problem would be passed on to the tech team to investigate remotely and this could take up two weeks:mad:
I informed Customer service i was not happy about the length of time and a working smart meter was the clincher to changing over, as i wanted to do my bit for the environment and my pocket anyone had similar issues?
 
Oh yes , took months to get a replacement loads of emails they even asked for a video of it not working .as long it was working at their end they could not care less .worst service I've ever had.
 
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Annoying for you but they're right in essence. The smart meter itself is working fine and doing its job sending signals to the mothership. It sounds as though what's not working is the monitor that sits in the house? I actually left mine unplugged once without realising and the batteries ran down... I thought for sure it had broken! Mine also goes to 'sleep' for several hours a day... you can set which hours in the menu. Not saying this is the issue with yours, which they've probably diagnosed as a faulty unit. Anyhoo, you can probably login to your supplier online and check the sort of information that you should be seeing on the monitor until they get yours fixed. It's quite addictive (and enlightening!) keeping an eye on those pennies, isn't it? :) Hope they don't take too long getting it sorted.
 
molly 2 said:
Oh yes , took months to get a replacement loads of emails they even asked for a video of it not working .as long it was working at their end they could not care less .
Click to expand...
Looks like it be a long wait :(:(
 
We had same problems with Scottish Power . Never worked from inception , had to keep sending manual readings then it started to work and payments increased . We asked for a test to make sure the readings were accurate . Refused. So now with British Gas . They say meter not working so sending manual readings . Have to see how it goes . Our advice , dont touch them with a barge pole .
 
Yes they have big problems. I have one installed,2 years ago, changed supplier and continued to give new supplier the reading from it, turned out they over billed me by £1200!. Once you change suppliers they don't work any more ! In the bin now.
Did you know you have to press the number '9' on it's keypad to get the reading from the actual meter, well that's intuitive 🤣. I didn't .
And their TV promo's well, Started out lying, telling us how much £ we would save. Now their adds admit our Electrical supply system is out off date and the smart meters help THEM try to prevent blackouts (well they don't actually put it that way)
Rant over :) :)
Smart meters good idea, but messed up by getting all the technical stuff wrong.
 
I’d love a smart meter as I could then switch to a cheap night time tariff for charging the electric car. However we have no mobile signal at all here so electricity suppliers don’t want to know!
 
I had smart meters fitted over six months ago, the gas one works fine but the electric meter stopped working the day after it was installed, it isn't showing anything on the display or sending anything to them (Shell Energy), I have to read the meter and send them the reading every month, they keep saying they are trying to start it remotely when I ring them to complain but last time I told them that I was leaving them because I live in the countryside and there is enough bull £$%^ here without them adding to it,
 
Tonybvi said:
I’d love a smart meter as I could then switch to a cheap night time tariff for charging the electric car. However we have no mobile signal at all here so electricity suppliers don’t want to know!
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It's really amazing that we have so many areas in the Uk with no reliable mobile signal. They are happily promoting 5G yet some places cannot even get 2G. It's about time the mobile service providers got themselves sorted and let each other use their masts. It would save on the number of masts required for one thing. We visited Turkey a few years ago sailing. They don't use ships radio as the mountains are in the way but the mobile phone system works well 10 miles out at sea. Spain is the same. Internet everywhere.
 
There is a scheme under way to address this issue:

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) Campaign | Mobile UK

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) is transforming mobile coverage, countrywide. The project was developed by the UK’s four mobile network operators (MNOs) with support from Government. The programme will make mobile broadband available to 95% of the UK. The operators expect this will extend mobile...
www.mobileuk.org www.mobileuk.org
 
POI Admin said:
There is a scheme under way to address this issue:

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) Campaign | Mobile UK

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) is transforming mobile coverage, countrywide. The project was developed by the UK’s four mobile network operators (MNOs) with support from Government. The programme will make mobile broadband available to 95% of the UK. The operators expect this will extend mobile...
www.mobileuk.org www.mobileuk.org
Click to expand...
I still think it odds on I will park up in the blind spot. ;)
 
Well I am resisting having them installed because I know for a fact that they will never work where they have to be installed in my garage, where there is no coverage whatsoever on any network.

As does a relative, who is also in the same situation, but gave in, even the installers said that it would never work in his location, but they are incentivised to put them in so in it went. And achieves nothing. He knows perfectly well how to turn things on and off and manage his use, still has to read it himself, but the very significant cost of all of this just gets added to our bills. It is a huge amount already. In billions.

13.4 billion £ so far, according to https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/17/four_year_delay_for_smart_meter_rollout/

Which has already gone somewhere, snoughts in troughs I think. As for the desperate pleas from say EDF Energy who now try to tell me that it it is a legal requirement to have one fitted, pure BS. It won't work, they will be fined I think £50 for not doing it, rather than incentivised by quite a lot more to put in something that I don't want, will not work, and overall adds to the price of my supply, then punish me with higher bills for being awkward.These things are not free. Another government initiative that has been very badly thought though.

They couldn't even make them inter-operable to begin with, supposedly that has now been fixed with SMETS2.

As for the "shared rural network proposal" well I don't think that is likely to happen any time soon, if ever. I live in a densely populated place, but in a pocket down a hillside where there is nothing unless I put my 'phone in a particular spot on the bathroom windowsill and can get just one network, slowly Yet if I walk a hundred yards up the road everything is perfect. I see no incentive for any network to put in a small cell to fill things in for under a 100 people, never mind co-operate with other networks to share it. I wouldn't. if I was managing that business.
 
A relative had one installed a few months back despite me warning them not to and it`s been one problem after another :mad:

Apparently the young girl on the phone told them that they had to have it fitted by law and would not take no for an answer o_O

The supplier has denied this saying their highly trained customer services operatives would never say anything like that.

I`ve suggested they contact OFGEM then take it from there :unsure:
 
Allen said:
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?
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We thought it would save daughter having to submit readings when we are away on our travels . But as mentioned above it never worked and I suspect it has increased my bills
 
I don't think two weeks go past with out getting a letter from EDF about getting a smart meter fitted, this has been going on for at least 18 months if not longer. So much for saving paper.
 
we had anew supply in the workshop some 3 years ago. bgas business fitted a smart meter, smart in sofar as it sits in the meter cabinet and phones bgas with the readings. but no remote readout to tell me the welder uses leccy.

one of our flats has an old spinning meter edf are now saying its reached its replacement date and will be replaced with a smart meter... 6 months on we still just bin the letters, along with the ones saying the bill is overdue a week before the pay by date on the bill.
 
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