Our electricity meter stopped working, so we couldn’t get a
correct reading. Over the next year, British Gas sent numerous engineers to install a smart meter. All claimed they could not proceed as we were on the Economy 7 tariff. We weren’t. We then requested a standard meter instead, and were told we couldn’t have that either because asbestos was allegedly present. Eventually, 14 months after we had first reported the problem, an engineer arrived, who confirmed we were not on Economy 7 and fitted smart meters for electricity and gas. Our relief lasted a week. Then the gas data stopped being sent to British Gas.
Over a year on, it’s still not working and we’ve had to submit readings online. We only use gas in winter for central heating as an immersion tank heats the water. When I recently tried to submit a reading, I was told they hadn’t been sent for so long I would have to ring. I rang, waited on hold for 30 minutes and was cut off! Messaging was not available on the app. I decided to switch supplier, but my application was rejected as British Gas has not updated its records and still show we have an Economy 7 meter. I am stuck!
JG, Penzance
British Gas was fined £3.37m last month by regulator, Ofgem, for failing to meet smart meter installation targets. One of the problems is a nationwide shortage of qualified installers, which may partly explain the outrageous delay you have endured. British Gas blames Covid restrictions, even though they had ended six months before your newly installed meter went wrong. The problems don’t end when the meters are installed. It’s estimated that about 3m are not functioning properly.
British Gas made conciliatory noises when I got in touch and said it had tried, in vain, to address the issue remotely. It promised an engineer, who cancelled with an hour’s notice after you had waited in all day. To make amends, it then sent three emails on the same day promising a visit on three different dates.
It finally installed a functioning replacement, and corrected the erroneous Economy 7 registration two months after I contacted it, and nearly two and a half years after your original meter failed.
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