Martin Lewis has issued a warning should you get a particular letter from your energy supplier. A recent edition of his BBC podcast included an assortment of some of the top questions Mr Lewis had been asked over the past year.
One of the queries was from a listener who was being urged by their supplier to get a smart meters. The bill payer was sceptical about getting a device installed because of their “poor reputation”.
One common complaint about smart meters is that they can go into ‘dumb mode’. This means the device is not automatically sending readings to your provider as it is supposed to.
The person claimed they had contacted twice by their gas and electricity provider, saying that their electricity meter had “passed its certification date” and that the provider was legally required to replace it. But the bill payer was adamant that “I do not under any circumstances want a smart meter fitted”.
The person said they felt there was increasing pressure from providers to get a meter fitted. They asked if they could lawfully refuse to get the smart meter fitted.
In his response, the founder of MoneySavingExpert said he had been campaigning for improvements around smart meters, as based on his research, some 20 percent of the devices don’t work.
Lettters going out from energy suppliers
On the question of energy suppliers urging their customers to get one, Mr Lewis said: “It is worth noting that energy firms are incentivised to install smart meters and fined if they don’t install enough.
“So you’re right, many of them do push people to get smart meters. I’ve seen many letters that sort of seem to subtly say that you have to have a smart meter, without giving you any choice. But you do not. There is nothing that would require you in most circumstances to have a smart meter.”
Turning to the specific query about a person’s current electricity meter being out of date, Mr Lewis confirmed this is something that can happen. He explained: “To understand expiry dates, some meters may have a sticker on, which will say the month and year it was certified, which will give you an idea of how old it is.
“There is no guarantee the sticker is correct. Sometimes the Office for Product Safety and Standards extends the certified life after carrying out a service, and doesn’t add an update sticker.”
You can be forced to have a smart meter
The expert had some potential bad news for the customer. Mr Lewis said: “In the event that your meter isn’t valid and they are going to fit a new one, yes, they can enforce that you are going to have a smart meter.
“But you have a right, if you wanted to, to ask for it to be put in dumb mode, meaning it will do the same as an old school meter, it won’t be sending the meter readings in and you will continue to provide manual meter readings.”
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