Can you refuse to have a smart meter installed?

[w pilton hibby]

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My electric meter (pay as you go) stopped working after a power cut in 2020. It went into a bypass mode so I’ve never needed to top it up. I’ve phoned British Gas about it needing fixed about 10 times and went round in circles because it’s technically working ie I have electricity.

I’ve been putting away the money that I would usually use to top the meter up as they will no doubt send me 3 years worth of bills but I have to admit it’s getting very tempting to spend the money now.

It used to be that they could only back bill for 1 year of usage if they were at fault with billing.

Would advise a call to Citizens Advice Service Scotland 0800 028 1456. They will know current situation.

[Alfiembra]

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They will know current situation.

Love an accidental pun

[G15 Hibs]

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My electric meter (pay as you go) stopped working after a power cut in 2020. It went into a bypass mode so I’ve never needed to top it up. I’ve phoned British Gas about it needing fixed about 10 times and went round in circles because it’s technically working ie I have electricity.

I’ve been putting away the money that I would usually use to top the meter up as they will no doubt send me 3 years worth of bills but I have to admit it’s getting very tempting to spend the money now.

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It used to be that they could only back bill for 1 year of usage if they were at fault with billing.

Would advise a call to Citizens Advice Service Scotland 0800 028 1456. They will know current situation.

Don't bother phoning Citizens Advice, I work for them in a department dealing specifically with energy.

It all comes down to when they start what's referred to as "charge recovery action", i.e. when they bill you and start to pursue payment for the energy used but not paid for. They can only go back 12 months for that, so say they replace / repair the meter today and issue you with a bill for the energy used over the period it was faulty, they could only bill you for energy used since 20 Sept 2022. There can be some grey areas in backbilling, but as long as you've informed them of the fault, have tried to get the matter sorted and it's down to their lack of action / error that the debt has accrued (i.e. not fixing the faulty meter) then it should apply.

If you have bother, then Standard Licence Condition 21BA is the one you need to quote (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defau...conditions.pdf)

[Mcbizz1998]

I moved to a new build 2 years ago and over the last few months have had persistent calls from EDF telling me my Gas meter has stopped communicating with them and they want to book an engineer to fix it.

Told them every time that I don't want a smart meter and I'm quite happy to submit my own readings but they don't seem to be getting the message! The fact they are so insistent backs up my paranoid belief that they are fleecing customers under the guise of convenience. Might make a complaint as other poster has done.

[Since90+2]

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I moved to a new build 2 years ago and over the last few months have had persistent calls from EDF telling me my Gas meter has stopped communicating with them and they want to book an engineer to fix it.

Told them every time that I don't want a smart meter and I'm quite happy to submit my own readings but they don't seem to be getting the message! The fact they are so insistent backs up my paranoid belief that they are fleecing customers under the guise of convenience. Might make a complaint as other poster has done.

My bills have been lower since I had mine installed. Probably because I'm more aware of what it costs as you can see it.

How do you think they are fleecing customers on a smart meter?

[degenerated]

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My electric meter (pay as you go) stopped working after a power cut in 2020. It went into a bypass mode so I’ve never needed to top it up. I’ve phoned British Gas about it needing fixed about 10 times and went round in circles because it’s technically working ie I have electricity.

I’ve been putting away the money that I would usually use to top the meter up as they will no doubt send me 3 years worth of bills but I have to admit it’s getting very tempting to spend the money now.

I'm pretty sure that they can only go after a year's worth of usage. I got a meter changed from pre payment to normal one in an old flat years back and never got a bill from Scottish power for near on 7 years. I tried telling them a few times, they even phoned to see why I had left.
When they realised they sent me a letter and pointed out that they could only charge 12 months back dated. Not sure how that would translate to your position but link below may assist.

https://www.comparethemarket.com/ene...electric-bill/