Check your smart meters now!



when I got my smart meters replaced by octopus, it took about an hour per meter.

I was informed at the time and later by email, it would take about about a week to 10 days for octopus system to connect to the meter, to record the readings.

I am able to check into my octopus account and check the meter readings supplied and to manually enter new readings. thus I can ensure things are running fine.(this proved to be the case when the old smart meter starting running backwards and then forwards at twice the speed of sound).

When I worked for an energy company, the system estimated the projected use based on a number of factors (internal estimation), but estimates are just estimates and are not as accurate as actual readings. I have never heard of of an estimate being estimated on neighbours. However as it is an internal system, I dont know how the estimates algorithms are set up. as an operator we just pressed the button for estimated reading.

If an estimated reading is used, then on the bill, the reading is usually marked with a c - customer, a- actual or e- estimated.
 
natinnam said:
I'm kind of the opposite, I have an analog meter, I give Scottish Power the readings through the App, but are ignoring them and estimating me instead, been happening most of last year till now. Reading between the lines, I'm a shite customer for them, as my home empty using only 30 quid a month in elec/standing fees, my history shows this, seems they decided I'm a bullshiter and submitting false reading as "they are too low", despite backing all them up with photos. We now at ombudsman stage and finally got to see my SP case notes, some utter lies are written in the case notes, luckily I switched to email correspondence (SP barely ever reply) and my emails are submitted, I've made my final comments, just waiting on SP's final comments before a verdict is reached......

I've used all the readings from Oct/Nov last year, calculated with the sky high rates and shown I use around 35 pound a month when house empty and was 85 pound for the month when home for 11 days at Christmas. By getting dragged into all this and researching a lot, it shows the skullduggery these companies will go to, to fill their accounts with money which is not theirs.
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All the best with your case. I’m always surprised to read stories like this. They make so much money just doing their legitimate business, it seems like a crazy waste of energy and time for them to go down these sorts of rabbit holes. Just do the job and you’d still be quids in
 
Mine has never worked and EDF still not fixed it , I put a manual reading in every other month, the useless twats
 
We have a smart meter. It’s alarming to watch it pinging up the charges when you turn the oven on or something.

But.

The bills were coming in and were based on ‘estimated readings’. The wife called in and gave actual readings and the direct debit was amended.

But she asked why, when we have a smart meter, and have done for a considerable period, our bills were based on estimates.

The bloke in the call centre in India said that there was a problem that they were ‘working on’. Since then it’s happened each time our direct debit amount is communicated. The same conversation. Can’t get information or clarity.

There seems to be little point in having a smart meter. But…. (I think they just don’t know what they’re doing and want us to give up asking about it)
 
The Fitter said:
I just believed the engineer when he said everything was good to go, then I get bills with meter numbers etc, all looked cosher until I compared bills with the missus/neighbour and clearly something was way wrong. Admittedly I'm crap with technology and thought a £300 bill was just normal these days. Theft and deception is the new norm from energy suppliers & I hope I can help someone else not get robbed blind. True I can afford it, but 1000's of others can't.
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Technology is not even the issue here though, it’s just numbers, your bills would’ve had estimated on.

You haven’t been robbed you just opened a savings account.
No interest though but interest rates were shit for most of that time anyway.
 
Quite a few years back, I entered an online reading incorrectly, I entered it too low. After trying to get them to correct it, they insisted on fitting some sort of super-accurate meter for a period of time. They reckoned there was a discrepancy, but I can't imagine by much, so they re-billed me based on the last months usage and fitted a new meter. It was in the middle of summer and we'd been on holiday for two weeks so the bill was ridiculously low. Copped a refund of about £300.
 
The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
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We where massively over charged with a smart meter years ago as it was sending out the wrong readings.

I’ll never have another
 
woodlebert said:
All the best with your case. I’m always surprised to read stories like this. They make so much money just doing their legitimate business, it seems like a crazy waste of energy and time for them to go down these sorts of rabbit holes. Just do the job and you’d still be quids in
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Good luck and they will hate you as well ha cos it costs a company between £400-£500 when it's an ombudsman case
Fletch said:
Mine has never worked and EDF still not fixed it , I put a manual reading in every other month, the useless twats
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It will probably be the signal in your area but Jesus it should have been sorted by now
 
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U22 said:
Suppliers were told by the government that every home had to have a smart meter installed by a certain date/year.

The first smart meters (smet 1) were not universal which meant if you switched suppliers then the meter would no longer be in smart mode.

I believe the smet2 are universal which meant if you switched to a company who had the technology then it would still work as a smart meter.

Smart Meters aren’t the big con everyone seems to think, they send regular meter readings to the supplier resulting in a more accurate bill. The meter reader (who are usually a 3rd party at still under obligation to manually read the meters very so often.

Under estimated and over estimated bills happen al the time, as does crossed metering.

When bills are estimated it is usually by looking at your previous consumption and the estimate is based off that, taking into time of year etc…

I wish they would fit Me a smart meter, fed up crawling through loft hatch and cupboard to read mine!
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if you love smart meters so much why don’t you get one?

I’ll not touch one until it’s absolutely forced upon me - it’s not the tech I don’t trust but the installers and suppliers
 
ShoutyBearHead said:
if you love smart meters so much why don’t you get one?

I’ll not touch one until it’s absolutely forced upon me - it’s not the tech I don’t trust but the installers and suppliers
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Spot on mate I won't have one until mine is knackered and I have too as worked at edf for over 6 years and most the calls all day is problems about smart meters
 
The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
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:lol::lol:
 
BiG said:
We have a smart meter. It’s alarming to watch it pinging up the charges when you turn the oven on or something.

But.

The bills were coming in and were based on ‘estimated readings’. The wife called in and gave actual readings and the direct debit was amended.

But she asked why, when we have a smart meter, and have done for a considerable period, our bills were based on estimates.

The bloke in the call centre in India said that there was a problem that they were ‘working on’. Since then it’s happened each time our direct debit amount is communicated. The same conversation. Can’t get information or clarity.

There seems to be little point in having a smart meter. But…. (I think they just don’t know what they’re doing and want us to give up asking about it)
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Some smart meters go "dumb" and dont transmit the information that they should, This had gone on since smart meters were originally installed

Whether or not the energy companied have the staff or the expertise to resolve this is another matter. After all it will be another cost to them. Broken business
 
The Fitter said:
Today I've just had my mind blown apart.

I switched to Octopus back in August 2019 and an engineer came along to install the new smart meters for gas & electricity, so I left him to it and an hour or so later he said everything is good to go. Obviously bills have gone through the roof over the past year but I couldn't understand why I'm being charged more than twice the electricity compared to the lady next door, especially as I'm on my own. She has 2 teenagers, washing machine on twice a day, tumble dryer, electric shower, old gas oven and old boiler (the one in the cupboard, not her!) Kids using every plug socket, 4 TV's on standby, lights left on everywhere etc.

So after comparing bills yesterday, and paying over £300/month, I decide to check out my Octopus smart meters as something is clearly amiss. My bills state I'm using smart meters, so I decide to check they are working and go to submit a reading... It turns out I don't have any smart meters fitted! The engineer never fitted any in the first place! Only the old Scottish power ones that are turned off/dead. I call Octopus this morning and they confirm for the last 3.5 years they have been estimating my bills, from the closest meter to my house! Yep, the lady next door. They call it cross-metering. I'm now due a refund for the last 3.5 years which will be several thousand pounds. They say it's rare but does happen, so check you have the right smart meter fitted or it's likely you'll be getting fleeced!
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Presumably you should get interest on the refund too ?
 

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