Energy meter harassment
Discussion
Our 'leccy supplier keeps sending letters saying they need to change the meter.
A few years ago we had accepted the offer and waited in for their fitter to come over to change it only to say the consumer unit enclosure was too tightly packed, plus our fuse board is the old style with fuse wire - no consumer unit with MCBs or RCDs. He basically said all that s
t would need to be upgraded.
So since then we get a monthly letter saying they have a legal requirement to meet by fitting the new meter - fair enough but being honest I can't be arsed with all the hassle and cost to upgrade everything in order for them to come and fit it.
Is this something I have to oblige and cough up or can I just keep ignoring their persistence?
A few years ago we had accepted the offer and waited in for their fitter to come over to change it only to say the consumer unit enclosure was too tightly packed, plus our fuse board is the old style with fuse wire - no consumer unit with MCBs or RCDs. He basically said all that s
t would need to be upgraded. So since then we get a monthly letter saying they have a legal requirement to meet by fitting the new meter - fair enough but being honest I can't be arsed with all the hassle and cost to upgrade everything in order for them to come and fit it.
Is this something I have to oblige and cough up or can I just keep ignoring their persistence?
hyphen said:
If you tell them no, they should update their systems and so you don't get anymore - mine didn't contact me again.
No, it is not compulsory, and many are avoiding it until it is.
I thought that smart meters weren't compulsory, but if your supplier starts grumbling about fitting a new meter you can't really stop them - but you could ask for a dumb meter.No, it is not compulsory, and many are avoiding it until it is.
The electricity meter is the property of the Meter Operating Company and they have a legal obligation to replace meters which are at the end of their lifespan. They may offer to install a smart meter. You don't have to accept that offer, they will install a standard meter instead. But you do need to grant them access. The work takes about 30 mins and they will need to switch off power to the house.
So you need to clarify if they are contacting you regarding a statutory meter exchange, or just offering a smart meter upgrade as part of the government wide scheme to try and get people to adopt smart meters.
So you need to clarify if they are contacting you regarding a statutory meter exchange, or just offering a smart meter upgrade as part of the government wide scheme to try and get people to adopt smart meters.
kiethton said:
CoolHands said:
Water meters in london are compulsory they’re making everyone fit one. s.
Oh fs.k, I've been telling Thames Water to fk off when they call & ignoring their letters....t bks regulation to order us to have some gimp come round and fk up your pipes by fitting some stI'd think they could somehow install the meter as a separate box away from the consumer unit to avoid you needing to change anything? I'm sure it'd be more work for them but I'd imagine it's basically their problem if their new meters are larger.
That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
Gareth79 said:
I'd think they could somehow install the meter as a separate box away from the consumer unit to avoid you needing to change anything? I'm sure it'd be more work for them but I'd imagine it's basically their problem if their new meters are larger.
That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
We did the opposite and had a new consumer unit installed away from the meter (which was easy to view but hard to access under a low shelf) when we re-wired. That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
I'd have thought that any system still using wired fuses must be past its bin-by date these days.
BTW most smart meters being installed are SMETS 1 which means they become dumb meters if you change suppliers. SMETS 2 meters which will be 'universal' are, I think, not yet available though I may be wrong. Anyway I'm not allowing Mr Siemens anywhere near here with a 'smart' meter at the moment.
CoolHands said:
kiethton said:
CoolHands said:
Water meters in london are compulsory they’re making everyone fit one. s.
Oh fs.k, I've been telling Thames Water to fk off when they call & ignoring their letters....t bks regulation to order us to have some gimp come round and fk up your pipes by fitting some stDogwatch said:
Gareth79 said:
I'd think they could somehow install the meter as a separate box away from the consumer unit to avoid you needing to change anything? I'm sure it'd be more work for them but I'd imagine it's basically their problem if their new meters are larger.
That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
We did the opposite and had a new consumer unit installed away from the meter (which was easy to view but hard to access under a low shelf) when we re-wired. That said, from what I have seen it's not hugely expensive to change an old fuse board over to a consumer unit, and the safety benefits are surely worth it.
I'd have thought that any system still using wired fuses must be past its bin-by date these days.
BTW most smart meters being installed are SMETS 1 which means they become dumb meters if you change suppliers. SMETS 2 meters which will be 'universal' are, I think, not yet available though I may be wrong. Anyway I'm not allowing Mr Siemens anywhere near here with a 'smart' meter at the moment.
CoolHands said:
kiethton said:
CoolHands said:
Water meters in london are compulsory they’re making everyone fit one. s.
Oh fs.k, I've been telling Thames Water to fk off when they call & ignoring their letters....t bks regulation to order us to have some gimp come round and fk up your pipes by fitting some stGuess we're heading to a world of pain!
As noted you want a smets2 meter if anything.
But as mentioned, I would urge you to reconsider getting your consumer unit upgraded to modern standards - which now have to be made from flame resistant materials, which typically means a steel enclosure.
When you have a little kiddie putting a pair of scissors in a socket, that 30amp fuse isn’t going to offer any protection at-all.
But as mentioned, I would urge you to reconsider getting your consumer unit upgraded to modern standards - which now have to be made from flame resistant materials, which typically means a steel enclosure.
When you have a little kiddie putting a pair of scissors in a socket, that 30amp fuse isn’t going to offer any protection at-all.
I was told smart meters have a switch inside which allows the supply to be cut off remotely not sure on the truth of that. Bit worrying if its true.
As for consumer units my electrician (not the person who told me the above I might add!) said they now need to go at low level for disabled access, which can be an issue for most houses as it will need wiring doing to relocate etc.
As for consumer units my electrician (not the person who told me the above I might add!) said they now need to go at low level for disabled access, which can be an issue for most houses as it will need wiring doing to relocate etc.
kiethton said:
CoolHands said:
kiethton said:
CoolHands said:
Water meters in london are compulsory they’re making everyone fit one. s.
Oh fs.k, I've been telling Thames Water to fk off when they call & ignoring their letters....t bks regulation to order us to have some gimp come round and fk up your pipes by fitting some stGuess we're heading to a world of pain!
These areas will be completed by 2030 so hopefully a decade away for me.
Re the "smart" meters, the supply companies are saying that they are fitted free of charge.
This is not true, as it has been admitted that everyone will end up paying via increased tariffs over time. Despite the installation of smart meters in all properties being a governnent target, there are no subsidies or grants, and the power suppliers won't be footing the massive bill,
so the cost will be passed onto the poor old end user whether we like it or not.
It's all just a great big con.
This is not true, as it has been admitted that everyone will end up paying via increased tariffs over time. Despite the installation of smart meters in all properties being a governnent target, there are no subsidies or grants, and the power suppliers won't be footing the massive bill,
so the cost will be passed onto the poor old end user whether we like it or not.
It's all just a great big con.
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