Smart Meters - A Cautionary Tale

[spen666]

My energy provider sent me an email urging but not demanding that we have a smart meter fitted as ‘they are in our area’.

Deleted.

My Energy Company told me there were coming to fit Smart Meters on a particular date and time. They backed down when I asked them if they had yet obtained the necessary warrants of entry to enter my home and told that without such warrants they would be met with suitable force to defend my property from unauthorised and unlawful entry

 

[youngoldbloke]

I tried saving electricity by boiling the kettle on the gas but the stupid thing melted.

Hate to admit it, but I actually did that - in a holiday cottage we'd stayed at before, with a whistling kettle, heated on the gas stove. It was a long tiring journey and the first thing I did on arrival was put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea...…... however, the owner had replaced the old whistling kettle with an almost identical same colour retro electric kettle - and yes, it not only started to melt but caught fire too - the smell was the give away. I spent considerable time during the following week finding an identical (£40) replacement. The melted kettle was only a week or so old (we found the receipt in a kitchen drawer), and the landlady never knew that her fine new kettle had suffered such a fate. Did we laugh !!!!!

 

[Piemaster]

I tried saving electricity by boiling the kettle on the gas but the stupid thing melted.

I save time when making tea by preheating the water in a pan before putting it in the kettle.

 

[JtB]

A while back I contacted my supplier to find out which generation smart meter they are installing and they responded that they are still installing the smets 1 meter. So this afternoon after reading this cautionary tale I decided to fire off an email to my supplier indicating that I did not want a smart meter installing at my property. Within 10 minutes I received a response indicating that an appointment had been made for a smart meter to be installed on 13 Nov.

 

[classic33]

The kettle, what's your point?

Comes down to the way in which the electric is used.

Your fridge which is designed to be on by default, will through a normal day use just as much electric as your kettle, default is short periods of high consuption. You'd not have a kettle on the boil all day, mainly for that reason.

 

[cyberknight]

Following with interest , my supplier keeps trying to ring me and having rung back i get through to the automated line .Thankfully i hung up after finding out who it was.

 

[fossyant]

They don't really, smart meters are a waste of money. If it's so bleedin obvious that you're charged for energy not power, I wonder why I see so many people trying to save electricity by focusing on appliances that use little energy just because they're high power. My kettle is the second highest power appliance in the house, but the ninth highest consumer of energy. The second largest energy consumption is the eighth highest power.

The kettle, what's your point?

Doesn't take a smart meter to work out whats increased our electricity bills. Sons gaming machine is culpret number two, but wat ahead is the missus hot tub. A good £30 a month.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

but wat ahead is the missus hot tub. A good £30 a month.

I was considering one but could not get anybody to nail a figure to the mast, now you have that's the end of it

 

[byegad]

Once the last of us has had our smart meter installed they'll start charging more at peak times. There's no saving to a customer who is aware that leaving electrical items switched on or burning gas costs money.
Add that the current 'smart' meters aren't that smart, many will need replacing every time you change suppliers. And it's a complete waste of time.

 

[fted33]

smart meters can only be read remotely by the company that puts it in. The meter has a built in wifi router. When you change supplier the new supplier cannot read it remotely. Ours was put in by eon now on our third supplier and none so far can read it.

 

[spen666]

I am off to the Magistrates Court tomorrow to defend two applications from my power company for warrants of entry for non payment of Gas & Electricity.

This will be the 5th and 6th applications the same power company have made. They have lost the last 4, because I have disputed the debt. They are aeware of the dispute and should issue proccedings in the County Court to prove the debt. They refuse to do this.

They have been bounced out of Magistrates Court now 4 times, so what makes them think it will be different. If I had a Smart Meter, then they could have cut my power off without a warrant and thus denied me the right to dispute the debt.

I have advised them repeatedly of the correct legal procedure, but hey continue to make repeat applications and lose them. I think this time I may consider applying for a witness summons for the CEO of the Power company to attend court and be examined about the procedures at his company (and why they have previously told the court that I had not communicated with them....despite there being several hundred letters over the last 6 years about this issue).

Let the battle recommence

Another 2 defeats in Court for NPower today.

That is SIX times NPowet have lost their applications and six times the court have told them their application cannot possibly succeed in law.

Wonder how many more times they will continue to make the same flawed applications before they get the message?

I have repeatedly written to them telling them the correct legal procedure to adopt and still they issue the application that is wrong in law and in the wrong court

 

[Profpointy]

Another 2 defeats in Court for NPower today.

That is SIX times NPowet have lost their applications and six times the court have told them their application cannot possibly succeed in law.

Wonder how many more times they will continue to make the same flawed applications before they get the message?

I have repeatedly written to them telling them the correct legal procedure to adopt and still they issue the application that is wrong in law and in the wrong court

Isn’t there something about “vexatious litigation “ where repeated no-merit cases are brought?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

That is SIX times NPower

Before you put this I knew it was going to be Npower

 

[spen666]

Isn’t there something about “vexatious litigation “ where repeated no-merit cases are brought?

Counsel representing me did suggest I should think about seeking an injunction in the civil courts against NPower.

I am also considering approaching papers or BBC Watchdog ( or similar) about the story, but I suspect it is just one of millions of stories about NPower

Still, I have now gone 4 years without paying them for my gas and electricity, so I am not complaining

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Complain to OFGEN. I've fitted a padlock to my meter cupboard to prevent any such shenanigans.

I employ seagulls to guard my meter box.