Scammers

[Marie2020]

You have my sympathy @Marie2020 . *Smart* meters really suck. 2 years ago we started receiving letters of warning that we must submit to these things. We resisted, and they letter & phone bombed us. We resisted some more and they said you need to pay us every month if you keep resisting. So we did. We paid hundreds over the course of 1 1/2 years. Then we made a mistake. They began legal action against us and sent a registered letter. Our smart friends never went and picked it up, we did by accident not knowing what it was. Once you sign to receive it your doomed, they now had legal right to cut our electricity off. So we teetered on the brink of no electricity. But I have kids, and this is a cold country. So they won. But my hope is collective resistance will wear them down. Oh, the commonwealth!

As I've already written, 3 million was recorded last year of losing a lot of their money, as well as a lot of energy problems.

The companies do not pay back once they have taken un owed money. So basically it is theft.

 

[SPedigrees]

As I've already written, 3 million was recorded last year of losing a lot of their money, as well as a lot of energy problems.

The companies do not pay back once they have taken un owed money. So basically it is theft.

That is just terrible! I imagine it's only a matter of time until these malfunctioning meters cross the pond and come to US homes.

 

[flowerbug]

ours has been working fine for years. we don't do prepaid or whatever @Marie2020 is doing, we just pay our bill once a month.

 

[SPedigrees]

ours has been working fine for years. we don't do prepaid or whatever @Marie2020 is doing, we just pay our bill once a month.

Much probably depends on the efficacy and/or integrity of a local government or utility company in charge of these smart meters. All things "smart" are subject to hacks or technical system errors.

 

[baymule]

Thank goodness someone is trying to help.

Are you all on meters there?

I don’t live in Houston. I’m on a small electric co-op that serves rural areas. They use smart meters, but I don’t have any problems.

 

[ducks4you]

Dunno about YOUR situation, but the water meters in our little town are over 40 years old, long past their expiration date. If we get the low interest loan this year, we plan to replace ALL of them. A small town 20 minutes away from us replace their old water meters. Then, there was the complaining bc now the meters worked accurately and everybody's bills went up.

 

[flowerbug]

Much probably depends on the efficacy and/or integrity of a local government or utility company in charge of these smart meters. All things "smart" are subject to hacks or technical system errors.

trust but verify...

utility companies are very regulated and with rate increases recently they've been forced to work harder at tree trimming and keeping things running, but also if we have certain kinds of outages we get refunds for services not rendered.

 

[Marie2020]

ours has been working fine for years. we don't do prepaid or whatever @Marie2020 is doing, we just pay our bill once a month.

I used to do the same! Then when I was just under 300 pounds ahead and was supposed too have had a refund and was promised that. It never happened; I continued too do the same with another company but then the same again for a much lesser figure.
I never return to companies that rip me off

Now these past years on having these meters, things were going really well until last year, when I lost the money on my gas meter.
The company were supposed to send out an engineer, according too their customers services but they didn't, so I switched companies yet again early this year and now you know the rest.

Last week after seeking advice, I was told by this company that an engineer would contact me by phone and they still haven't.

I can't get to the shop as our weather is pretty bad so I can't risk it, now I have no way of proving the amount I have prepaid on this key and if I put it into this meter I stand a chance of losing the hundred plus pounds I had paid on this key.

Yet we pay a daily charge on both meters but they don't want to give you a service unless you have their smart meters. Even though their top bosses are aware that these meters are unreliable.

It's all losses to the customer on every single level.

Update on the P. O , there are STILL problems with their machines. I wonder if th p.o are at all interested in fixing these latest problems. 🤔

As it stands today. In the past 8 years I've lost more or less five hundred pounds of what I have paid for and never did have the chance of using what was paid for.
Others have lost countless of thousands.

 

[Marie2020]

trust but verify...

utility companies are very regulated and with rate increases recently they've been forced to work harder at tree trimming and keeping things running, but also if we have certain kinds of outages we get refunds for services not rendered.

You my friend are really lucky. I'm very happy for you.
Are there any single bungalows with a little garden there and would you like me as a neighbour 😉

 

[Marie2020]

My asking whatever has happened to my privacy records has got nowhere. No answers at all.
I've emailed called and had back up from a great person but we are both being ignored.
I've turned to the official helpline in this country but they could take months. As they still haven't even put me on the list.