Page 36 Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Editor: VICTORIA BISCHOFF

Money Mail http://www.thisismoney.co.uk

By Fiona

Parker

to install the devices in all homes

by the end of next year and face

multi-million-pound fines if they

cannot prove they have taken all

reasonable steps to do so.

Some suppliers say offering a

discount to customers who agree

to have a smart meter is one way

of ensuring they meet this

requirement and avoid a fine.

There are 14.3 million smart

meters operating across homes

and businesses in the UK, accord-

ing to the latest official figures.

This is still a long way off the

Government target of replacing all

50 million of Britain’s analogue

meters by the end of 2020.

The roll-out has been dogged by

blunders and delays. The first

breed of meters often stop working

when energy customers switch

their supplier.

Smart Energy GB, the body set

up by the Government to promote

the meters, says older versions

(SMETS1) are still awaiting

connection to a dedicated radio

network. Once this has been done,

the smart meters will be able to

work in areas with poor mobile

signal and customers will be able

to switch easily.

The body says that by the end of

2020 more than 99 pc of premises

will have the signal required to get

a smart meter.

FORCED TO PAY

£255 MORE

E.ON charges Robert and Patricia

Picton an extra £255 because they

do not want a smart meter.

The couple, from Bracknell,

Berkshire, are paying £648 a year,

but the tariff is due to finish at the

end of the month.

They have been told they can

switch to a new, cheaper fixed deal

at £629 a year, but they have to

agree to a smart meter.

If they refuse, the best tariff they

can get will cost them £884 a year

— an extra £255. Retired Ministry

of Defence worker Robert, 76, was

unable to find a cheaper deal

elsewhere and reluctantly agreed

to pay the premium.

He says: ‘I was very disappointed

when they told me I couldn’t sign

up to that deal just because we

didn’t want a smart meter.

‘Frankly, being constantly told

how much energy I’m using and

how much it is costing me would

drive me round the bend — I have

quite enough stress from all the

other technology in my life.’

Energy firms claim they can offer

better rates to those with smart

meters because the devices save

on administration costs by send-

ing automatic meter readings.

According to a government

report in 2016, the smart meter

rollout should save suppliers

£8.25 billion in total.

Around £2.99 billion of this sum

is expected to be saved because

smart meters should reduce the

need for engineer visits, as meter

readings won’t be necessary.

And a further £1.21 billion should

be saved because there should be

fewer calls about estimated bills.

However, some suppliers such as

Bulb are happy to offer a single

tariff to all households, whether

they have a smart meter or not.

Hayden Wood, co-founder of

Bulb, says: ‘Forcing customers

onto more expensive tariffs just

isn’t right. Smart meters give you

better information about your

energy use — it’s sad to see some

suppliers using them as a prop to

jack up bills for families.’

James Daley, of consumer group

Fairer Finance, says: ‘If some sup-

pliers are treating their customers

differently, by only offering the

best tariffs to households with

smart meters, then they have to

expect customers which don’t

want one to vote with their feet.’

ENGINEER NEVER

TURNED UP

STEVE ELLIS booked a smart

meter installation at his Southsea,

Hampshire, home two years ago.

But the engineer working for his

supplier, Ovo, never turned up and

Steve did not want the hassle of

organising another appointment.

Steve and his wife Linda, 68, spend

around £1,200 a year on gas and

electricity. On their most recent bill

it said they could save £81 a year by

switching to a tariff with Lumo,

Ovo’s sister company. But, again, the

tariff is only available to customers

who agree to have a smart meter —

and you cannot have one already.

Steve, 72, a retired small business

owner, says: ‘After reading about all

the problems some smart meter

users have experienced, such as dif-

ficulties in switching suppliers, I

decided not to have one installed.

‘Energy firms are now obviously

desperate to get their installation

numbers up.’

A Lumo spokesman says that as of

August 2, having a smart meter was

no longer a requirement to signing

up to the tariff.

WHY WON’T THE

REGULATOR HELP?

PENSIONER Sue Bird has called

on energy watchdog Ofgem to step

in to protect customers who don’t

want a smart meter.

The retired architectural techni-

cian is furious after Npower barred

her from its cheapest deals because

she didn’t want a smart meter. Sue,

T

HE penalty for refusing a
smart meter is now costing
households as much as
£255 a year.
Money Mail readers have surged
forward to cry foul after we reported that
energy suppliers were saving their best deals
for those willing to have the gadgets installed.
It means those who don’t want one are
being punished with pricier bills for their gas
and electricity.
The installation of a smart meter is not a
legal requirement, yet more than 100 of you
wrote to us to complain that you had been
denied a better deal simply because you
didn’t want one.
More than 50 of these letters and emails
were from E.on customers. But the regulator
is powerless to stop the surcharge — despite
some firms admitting it is not fair.
Here, Money Mail, speaks to customers
who are angry at the smart meter penalty —
and explains what you can do about it.

‘BULLIED AND

BLACKMAILED’

RETIRED hospital administrator Pat Pocock
has to fork out an extra £120 a year because
she doesn’t want a smart meter.
The widow was paying £59 a month for gas
and electricity with First Utility before it was
acquired by Shell last year.
When her tariff ended in April, she
discovered the cheapest Shell deal would
cost around £64 a month.
But when Pat, who lives in the hamlet of
Totties in West Yorkshire, read the small
print she discovered that she would need to
have a smart meter installed within six
months. The cheapest deal without this
requirement would see her monthly payments
hiked to £74 — an extra £120 a year.
Pat, 65, says: ‘It’s iniquitous — another
example of how these companies try to bully
and blackmail you into getting a smart meter.
I’ve already been bombarded with calls and
emails asking me to get one, but I know it is
not illegal to refuse so I will not be pushed
into getting one.’
Pat is also worried that the mobile signal
where she lives is not strong enough for a
smart meter to work.
A Shell spokesman says its smart meter-
only offer has now ended and that customers
can get all tariffs, regardless of their meter
type. But many other suppliers have every
intention of continuing to offer this type of
smart meter-only deal.
Energy firms are under immense pressure

Why

STEAMI

smart

meters

have left you

In the bid to force customers to go

digital, energy firms are hitting those

who refuse with soaring bills. And

Money Mail readers are in uproar...

STOP THE

SMART

METER

BULLYING

Money MailCAMPAIGN