By Sara Smyth Supplier booked a fitting without my permission — I was furious
Kathy, 65, is one of thousands hounded by energy firms that won’t take no for an answer
ALMOST seven months have passed since Money Mail first reported on energy suppliers bullying customers into getting smart meters — and readers say the intimidation tactics are only getting dirtier.
Every week, we receive dozens of complaints from customers who’ve been bombarded with calls, texts and letters that make it seem like they must get the new technology fitted immediately.
Some have discovered that this is not true and have written back to their suppliers, pleading for the junk mail to stop. Yet the barrage rarely ceases.
Anne Dagen, from Stanwick, northamptonshire, says she’s hit by a wave of anger each time a letter arrives from her supplier, E.On.
The letters she and other customers have received are some of the most aggressive Money Mail has seen.
Some state, in bold, red lettering, that ‘your meters are being phased out’ and ‘we need to change your meter’.
readers say they were left with the impression that the changeover was a foregone conclusion — even though they have the right to refuse.
In July last year, Anne was receiving roughly one of these types of letters every month. She complained about being harassed and was offered a derisory £10 compensation.
E.On promised that her complaint would be logged on her account and Anne would not hear about an installation for the ‘foreseeable future’.
But, just six months later, the letters started arriving again. In January, E.On wrote saying Anne needed to upgrade to the new equipment.
Then, in March, an email arrived saying: ‘You recently told us you were interested in being one of the first to have a brand new smart meter.’
Anne says she never told E.On anything of the sort. ‘It’s so frustrating that the whole cycle has begun again,’ she says. ‘It’s as if they’ve wiped my records and are ignoring the fact I have made two official complaints.’
Anne refused the £10 compensation, saying it in no way reflects the annoyance she has been caused.
A spokesman for E.On apologised for not removing Anne from its mailing list when she asked.
Last October, E.On promised to tone down the language it uses when it contacts customers about smart meters, after Money Mail reported the firm to Ofgem.
At the time, its correspondences said: ‘It’s a legal requirement and we want to keep you safe. when we replace it, we’re going to give you a free selfreading meter.’
HOwEvEr, the evidence shows that the firm has continued with its bullish tactics. we have seen letters dated February 2018 that state: ‘Your electricity meter is an old model that we need to replace with our free self-reading smart meter. we need to install smart meters in our customer’s homes as part of a nationwide upgrade programme.’
John, 78, from Hertfordshire, received one of these letters from E.On last September.
He wrote an impassioned reply, telling E.On to stop pestering him — but was then contacted four times in one month. Last month, he received two letters and two phone calls from the firm.
An E.On spokesman apologised and the firm has now removed John from its mailing list.
Money Mail has heard several accounts of companies leading customers to believe that they could be charged for smart meter installations if they don’t agree to one now.
One customer, who does not want to be named, says: ‘It’s presented like a ticking time bomb. It certainly sounds like you will end up with one, whether you want it or not.’
This customer is with Utility warehouse, but the firm says it has no record of ever giving customers any information that would suggest they have to pay for a smart meter.
All suppliers have slightly different ways of trying to convince their customers to sign up.
First Utility has offered £50 Amazon vouchers to customers who agree to have a smart meter fitted within the next month.
Scottish Power has sent emails asking customers: ‘Did you know your current gas and electricity meters are being phased out and replaced with smart meters?’
SSE writes to customers with traditional meters that are ‘nearing the end of their lifespan’. It then offers smart meters as replacements. EDF letters say: ‘Important — book your smart meter change now’.
Last year, we caught firms booking smart meter installation appointments for customers — even though they hadn’t requested one.
The evidence you’ve sent to our postbag shows this practice is continuing — at an alarming rate.
Kathy relf, 65, struggled to contain her outrage when npower emailed her saying an appointment had been booked for a smart meter to be fitted when she hadn’t asked for one and does not want a new meter.
The email, seen by Money Mail, states: ‘Your new smart meters are coming. Confirm your npower smart meter appointment.’
The retired radio producer was told she had an appointment in two weeks’ time.
The email continues: ‘we’d like to come and fit your smart meters but can only guarantee we’ll be able to fit them if you confirm this date or choose a new one within the next five days.’
Kathy cancelled the appointment
and asked for no further communication from Npower about dual fuel smart meters.
She says: ‘I’d never heard of being given an appointment that I hadn’t asked for.
‘It’s a bit rich because when you do want something sorted, it’s almost impossible to get an appointment with Npower.’
A spokesman for Npower says that offering appointments in this way is in line with the Smart Metering Installation Code of Practice.
In January, the Mail reported that energy giants had been accused of flouting trading laws by pressuring homeowners into getting smart meters.
Some firms were making it sound like a legal requirement to replace your meter.
Trading Standards chiefs told power firms giving customers this impression breached consumer law.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute wrote to Energy UK, which represents big suppliers, to raise concerns about the way that firms are marketing the meters.
Yet Money Mail readers say their suppliers, under huge pressure to keep rolling out smart meters, are still using hard-sell ploys.
George McClure, 70, will lose £144 a year if he doesn’t sign up for a smart meter with his current provider. The retired headmaster and his wife Maureen, also 70, have paid £90 a month for dual fuel with First Utility for the past five years.
They were told their current tariff will change to £98 if they renew next month.
But this deal is only valid if a smart meter is installed. Without a smart meter, the best deal the couple can get is £110 a month.
George doesn’t want one, but also doesn’t want to overspend on his energy.
He says: ‘It’s an underhand way to force my hand, but I refuse to have a device in my home that undermines my privacy.’
A spokesman for First Utility says the firm makes clear when a customer signs up that the tariff they’re offered is dependent on having a smart meter installed within six months.
Saverio D’Amico, 67, says he felt tricked into accepting a smart meter after he was sent a seemingly innocuous letter claiming his analogue electricity meter had reached the end of its lifespan.
The retired engineer from Peterborough followed the letter’s instructions to telephone E.ON to arrange a like-for-like replacement. Instead, he was greeted by a smart meter adviser who thanked him for requesting the new technology.
Saverio says: ‘I felt duped — like they’d used mind tricks to reel me in. I was a bit flustered throughout the phone call and the adviser just kept talking over me. So, in the end, I accepted it and had the meter installed.’
Saverio was unaware that sticking with an analogue meter was an option for him.
A spokesman for E.ON says that Saverio didn’t contact the firm to say he didn’t want a smart meter. It said it was in the process of updating its letters and emails to make it clearer that smart meters are not compulsory.
The spokeman adds: ‘We’re obliged to contact our customers about upgrading their smart meters as part of our commitment to Ofgem.’ A spokesman for Energy UK says: ‘The energy industry has installed more than 11million smart meters in the UK.
‘Customers have reported high levels of satisfaction overall for both the smart meter itself (80 pc) and the installation visit (89 pc).
‘Energy companies are working hard to enable as many people as possible to experience the benefits that smart meters bring and to ensure the rollout is carried out safely, efficiently and cost-effectively.
‘Suppliers remain committed to meeting the Government’s deadline of ensuring all households and businesses are offered a smart meter by 2020.’