Energy firm Eon apologises to customers after claiming electric meters installed in homes were not safe and should be replaced with a smart meter

17 comments

  1. I think everyone who was told that by eOn should make a complaint, see if you can get the CEOs email address not that it will actually be read by him but it will at least cause a headache for a little while for the company, after all they lied to their customers.

  2. It’s nonsense like this that makes me glad I’ve resisted having one installed so far, and makes me more determined to resist them in future. If they’re resorting to lies to try and get you to install them, well… that says pretty much everything you need to know.

  3. This could be the new ppe scandal. They have used some insane methods to get folk to switch…sending ridiculously inflated bills and stating a smart meter would prevent this, having cold callers phone up and use pressure techniques, telling lies like this…

    Makes you wonder who it is benefitting to switch us

  4. Ridiculous and possibly illegal behaviour from Eon by someone who presumably is on commission for every new smart meter they install.

    I imagine one of the main reasons for suppliers wanting smart meters is so that they can spot people who might be trying to bypass the meter, which will sadly become more likely in the desperate winter to come.

    PSA – As an electrician, do NOT try it yourself (or let someone from the pub have a go) – it’s one of the fastest ways to kill yourself or burn down your house.

    Of course, if you can find a qualified electrician who will certify the work, then sure, go ahead!

    Having said that, some of the reasons for not having a smart meter are not much more sensible.

    ​

    >*Barbs Sharpe, from Buckingham in Buckinghamshire, is among those who received the Eon letter. The 74-year-old says: ‘I was incensed that Eon thought it could bully an elderly lady like me into getting a new meter against my wishes. No thank you. I do not want it monitoring my energy use.’*

    Someone should probably tell Barbs that the whole point of a meter is to monitor energy use!

    No doubt someone has told her that “they” can tell everything about her by hacking her meter somehow, which may be theoretically possible in some circumstances with a **lot** of work, but a lot harder than standing watching her house.

    The main problem is that the meter rollout was badly organised and designed (shock), so that the first generation of meters didn’t work if you changed suppliers, and only just about work now.

    Not to mention the number of poorly installed smart meters that end up causing issues with loose connections later on (Us electricians see or hear of them fairly often)

    As for switching to pre-payment, it is easier for them technically yes, though it’s still not something they can do easily unless you wilfully ignore debts and refuse to talk to them about the situation or agree payment.

    [https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-prepayment-meter-rules](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-prepayment-meter-rules)

    If you have a non smart meter and refuse to pay, it will only end up costing you more in the long run – the debts won’t disappear either way.

    I don’t think anyone with an old meter should be forced to upgrade, though there are plenty of older meters out there that are inaccurate or faulty, so monitoring them and checking against known usage is important to detect a rogue appliance that might be sucking power…

    in the not too distant future, it may well be that suppliers will look at making power cheaper at non-peak times for some customers to try and manage grid use (there have already been trials), so they may become a necessity to take advantage of such schemes.

  6. Honestly it shows how the population are total mugs have them smart metres fitted. No more permission required access to turn your shit off when you just don’t pay. You used to be able to bounce from private rented houses and never pay a utility bill if there was no pre pay meter fitted but now shit man you can’t even squat n have power. Mugs.

  7. Lol how can people defend these companies and say smart meters are good. Delusion and brainwashing. The only reason they want you have a smart meter is so they can sell your energy use data to marketing companies so they know when you’re home, and so your supply can be deactivated remotely if you miss a payment, and eventually for having wrong-think. The technocracy is well on it’s way.

  8. I’m glad I never got a smart meter and probably never will. From what I understand you can be individually cut off from the grid if you have one. Fuck that.

  10. Octopus Energy did the same to me. I’m guessing this news has something to do with why they were so easy on accepting my cancellation of the booking I’d arranged. I did some research since making the booking and confirmed they were lying.

  12. course they are not sorry, they just want them changed before the winter so they can see if people get their meters bypassed or wrongly declare their meter readings to avoid paying the increase over winter.

  13. I’m not having one installed. I got a scammy letter from Ovo saying it was a final bill letter on the top – it wasn’t! Underneath it said something like “This will be your final bill in the post from us now that you’re eligible for a smart meter… please return the slip below to book your smart meter appointment” as though it was mandatory to get one. Ripped it up, too worried about being forced on prepaid or something ridiculous if the government does nothing about the price cap.

  15. Someone posted on Reddit (can’t remember the sub – might have been r/LegalAdviceUK ?) about receiving one of these letters. Who signed off on the wording of these letters? Spectacularly poor judgement.

  17. Oft stuff like this makes me glad I live in an apartment building where they physically can’t put us on a smart meter. Obviously there’s some sort of way they make more money on a smart meter otherwise they wouldn’t be harassing people to get one

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