The Continuing Saga of the Smart Meters

[spectrum123]

I will be joining you in the smart meter club in March, I would guess. My deal comes to the end then and I would expect the discount with a smart meter deal will be more significant now with the expected hike in cost from my current deal.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I will be joining you in the smart meter club in March, I would guess. My deal comes to the end then and I would expect the discount with a smart meter deal will be more significant now with the expected hike in cost from my current deal.

Our deal ends in March too. I'm hoping they offer us a deal to lock us in or at least a decent SVT rate. The cap will be going up again but there is talk that the market might calm down.

You may not need to go smart if things calm down. We will need an outside meter resite when we do as it's too high up inside with no space for current regs and smart rollout ignores the old regs that normal meter changing adhered to.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi folks and thanks for your input. I've just tried the chat facility with British Gas again with no luck. Our bills were due to be paid on the 4th but haven't been on account of a cash flow problem. I hate being late with payments, and ranting certainly isn't in my nature. Victor Meldrew isn't my style. If anything I'm too far the other way, I think our personalities come across online.

I wouldn't say the 'incommunicado' status is default with all corporate businesses. Our broadband is with BT and there's always someone on the chat option, ditto Three mobile. However I'd say British Gas have been one of the worst in that respect. The left hand never seems to know what the right one's doing. But then Utility Warehouse weren't much better.

Yeah we were with Bgas when covid started and you couldnt get through for weeks. They owed us a load but we just had to wait for thibgs to calm down. Omicron is probably driving it so as that calms down, where they are based, it should hopefully improve.

Is there an e-mail contact option? I'm guessing you are either making them aware of a payment date shortly after the due date or wanting to set up a plan? There should be ways to make part payments via the site (card) or your bank (BGC) if you are trying to pay something. No doubt they'll be quick to send out a chaser letter though since such things are outsourced.

[spectrum123]

Our deal ends in March too. I'm hoping they offer us a deal to lock us in or at least a decent SVT rate. The cap will be going up again but there is talk that the market might calm down.

You may not need to go smart if things calm down. We will need an outside meter resite when we do as it's too high up inside with no space for current regs and smart rollout ignores the old regs that normal meter changing adhered to.

I'm also hoping for a calm down in the market by March. I'm glad I didn't switch last time I renewed, I could have saved a couple of quid a month, but most of those companies have now gone bust! I'm happy to stay with Shell energy if they give me a reasonable deal, they don't seem that bothered about smart meters, they phone you a few times about doing it when you renew, then seem to give up after a couple of months.

[fishman65]

Yeah we were with Bgas when covid started and you couldnt get through for weeks. They owed us a load but we just had to wait for thibgs to calm down. Omicron is probably driving it so as that calms down, where they are based, it should hopefully improve.

Is there an e-mail contact option? I'm guessing you are either making them aware of a payment date shortly after the due date or wanting to set up a plan? There should be ways to make part payments via the site (card) or your bank (BGC) if you are trying to pay something. No doubt they'll be quick to send out a chaser letter though since such things are outsourced.

I got the chaser letter Terry. 'We're about to start debt collection'. So silence to threats in a jiffy and a humungous bill. After asking specifically for monthly bills NOT quarterly.

However I've managed to get through on the phone after a very long wait and they put us on the Priority Services Register. Not coping well ATM though, lots of other stuff going on.

[fishman65]

If I ever hear 'Clocks' by Coldplay again I shall throw the smart phone out of the window!!

[pulisa]

Where smart phones belong.....

[Lencoboy]

Yeah we were with Bgas when covid started and you couldnt get through for weeks. They owed us a load but we just had to wait for thibgs to calm down. Omicron is probably driving it so as that calms down, where they are based, it should hopefully improve.

Is there an e-mail contact option? I'm guessing you are either making them aware of a payment date shortly after the due date or wanting to set up a plan? There should be ways to make part payments via the site (card) or your bank (BGC) if you are trying to pay something. No doubt they'll be quick to send out a chaser letter though since such things are outsourced.

Not sure whether or not this is completely relevent to the main subject of this thread, but all the current talk of cost of living crises does have a sense of 2008 deja vu about it.

But strangely I seemed to recall people being more blatantly outraged by the cost of living crises back then than now, coupled with all the endless Credit Crunch Armageddon stuff at the time, especially in my own circle.

Politically, I have always perceived it as 'totally unacceptable under Labour, but seemingly more acceptable under the Tories' double standards!