Forced into getting a smart meter

[Medusa]

I have written before about EDF hounding me about getting a smart meter which I refused and asked them to stop harassing me. It also appears that we cannot have the best tarif unless we have smart meter. We have noticed of late that we can hear it "ticking". A reliable sparky friend suggested that the meter may be ready for replacing. EDF have now contacted us saying that our meter requires replacing due to age. Clicked on the link to book an appointment which then asks me to request the frequency of readings that the smart meter will take. Does anyone know if I can request a new meter which is not a smart meter or do I no longer have a choice? Will give them a call this week to request a non smart meter, but wanted to know if anyone else has any advice please.

[Winterprep]

We had ours replaced due to age as well,granted it was ancient.You can have the smart meter but you don’t need to get it “enabled” our installer was very good and told us there’s no need to get it connected so that they can “control” it,sorry take automatic readings. We still give our readings manually on the EDF app.

WP

[GeeGee]

Had all this with British gas hounded non stop told them to do one
By law they have to replace your meter at the end of its life which is between 10 and 20 years there may be a sticker on old meter with its start date on it so you can check
I knew mine was at end of life which gave them ammo for smart meter ..but also by law you don't have to have one the company can say that they dont have any traditional meters left it HAS to be a smart meter but you can ask for it to be put in "dumb" mode so it doesn't have the functions the calls I received were pretty nasty tbh till I retaliated with my own choice words ..I think they've changed company who organises this now ..but they even made a appointment for me and told me they were coming ..after my phone call they were aware what would happen if they did !
I got the traditional replacement which was a reconditioned one
Didn't realise it didn't start from zeros so take a photo of old readings and new readings ..they should ring it in ..
When they mention tariffs check which ones they mean
Its true you cant access all of them if you don't have smart meter but a lot of them are if you have a EV car / solar panels etc didn't affect me
Once you have one no going back cant change to ordinary meter..this also applies if you move and the new house has a smart meter installed ... yes they can switch you off remotely if you have a smart meter..there are supposedly rigorous checks involved first ....
British gas wasted a year of letters after installing my replacement meter asking me to have the smart one ..they started the fire free paper ....now its emails that just get binned

[pseudonym]

I'm in the same boat my electric meter is suddenly too old. A smart meter doesn't assist me one bit.

As soon as it is installed by Eon, I;m changing suppliers and informing them why.

[Arzosah]

Scottish Power are getting there with me too - they used to just email me, then they called me on the phone, sometimes twice a day - I only answered once, then recognised their number, stopped answering. They never left a message. Now they've emailed saying its at the end of its life - I haven't noticed any ticking, but I've been here 14 years with no meter change, so it *may* be coming to the end of its life.

If they email me again, I might reply, telling them:
- they must make an appointment. I won't reply at any other time.
- how do they judge it needs replacing?
- employee must wear a mask. I will provide an N95 if necessary.
- and if they give me proof its at end of life, I'll get it in dumb mode, thanks for mentioning that.

[Yorkshire Andy]

They've tried it here we are currently on a pre pay token meter pay point top up job... We got that after the original meter started giving very high bills we contacted out then provider their meters dont go wrong....... So we demanded a pre payment meter as soon as you say you might not be able to pay the bills it's amazing how fast they come to fit it... Now it was a few pence per kw hr more but out leccy bill halved!!!!

So either the meter was faulty or the replace is i borrowed a friendly sparkys fluke data logger with a clamp fitting before we rung them and it was way out...


They've tried a few times re the smart meter and to get us to pay on line.. wife pulled the I'm disabled card and dropped in chronic cognitive dysfunction and not having a email address they've left us alone since....

[grenfell]

Once you have one no going back cant change to ordinary meter..this also applies if you move and the new house has a smart meter installed ... yes they can switch you off remotely if you have a smart meter..there are supposedly rigorous checks involved first ....

I've heard that numerous times , that they can cut you off , but I can't find any actual data to show how many people this has actually happened to . If anyone has any evidence I'd be interested to have a read. If they are cut off for not paying their bills then my sympathy does tend to dwindle a little.
Trying to find an answer to the above I have found articles on how nearly 3 million smart meters aren't working properly and millions more will soon stop working. In principal I've nothing against the idea of smart meters and once the technology has matured I'd be happy enough to have one. There are certainly benefits such as lower tariff periods although I do feel the savings are overhyped at times. I can stand in front of my dumb meter and see the little wheel going faster in the same way as I could look at a smart meter saying I'm gobbling the juice but either way it's down to me to switch something off...