Peter’s woes show why so many shun smart meters

SOME press offices of financial services companies are brilliant at sorting out queries that I pass onto them from readers – many less so. British Gas, part of Centrica, is currently among the good guys. It recently resolved a long-standing issue that 86-year-old customer Peter Carr had been unable to sort out – and who came to me seeking help. It’s not the first customer complaint I’ve sent its way and, for sure, not the last.

It concerned a smart meter that had gone ‘dumb’, resulting in Peter, a pensioner and carer to his wife Margaret, receiving estimated bills that were off the scale (and that he paid before getting the overpayments refunded). Since September 2023, he had tried to get the issue rectified, but was pushed from pillar to post. In January, I intervened. Earlier this month, Peter contacted me to say that the issue had now been rectified. After a bit of a wait, a British Gas engineer turned up at his Manchester home, and as a result his smart meter is now fully functional.

He has also received a ‘small compensation offer’ from British Gas which he has accepted.

Peter, a former teacher in engineering at a further education college, told me: ‘Without your help, I have a distinct feeling that the problem would never been sorted. I am so grateful for the time and effort you have put into assisting me.’

Brilliant though it is that British Gas enthusiastically tackles the customer issues that I bring to its attention, it’s a shame that I have to get involved. Surely, the company should be tackling all customer problems with the same zeal, irrespective of whether they are initiated by customers or come via members of the Press.

British Gas shouldn’t wait for the likes of myself to come knocking on its door before taking complaints seriously.

As for the call from Centrica’s boss Chris O’Shea for households to be forced into having a smart meter installed, I can only assume he has recently had a little bit too much laughing gas.

As his company’s own data indicates, many households won’t touch them with a barge pole.

Some 600,000 British Gas customers have told the utility giant they will never entertain one – while 36 per cent of its 7.5 million clients have ignored offers to have a smart meter installed.

Surely O’Shea would be better spending his time ensuring that those smart meters his company installs actually work – and when they go wrong, as in Peter’s case, they are fixed promptly.

On Friday, Peter said he would be spending his compensation on a slap-up meal for his grandchildren. Enjoy.