[meldrewreborn]

@JoeSoap

your frustration is entirely understandable. You’ve been an advocate for smart metering and now after a mix up over a tariff change, your meters have lost communication and nobody can explain why.

I compare experience with mobile phones and smart meters. Why is our experience with the former so infinitely better than with the latter?

[retrotecchie]

@meldrewreborn

Because mobile phones are a fairly mature technology which has seen continuous R&D and investment and there is money to be made from getting things right. On average, there are approximately three mobile phones for every household in the UK and billions globally. Smart meters have been rolled out to perhaps half the total households in the UK and they haven't got it right yet which is why the other half have yet to be sold on them.

Any technology has to demonstrate clear benefits before it becomes ubiquitous. As things stand at the moment, the clear disadvantages of smart meters, their unreliability and their inability to improve my lot any is the biggest single reason for me not wanting one.

I only moved over to a smart phone last November. Not through choice but because we had our 3G switched off and my perfectly adequate existing phones no longer worked. I spend a couple of days uninstalling all the dross that I'll never use and have only installed three aps. My banking app is very handy, my solar monitoring app just makes my life easier. The E.On next app doesn't do anything I can't do online in my account so that will soon be uninstalled. If it gave me the capability to pull off data and import it into my spreadsheet directly, there might be some merit in having it, but it can't.

I still use VCR to record off the telly. It works, it's all bought and paid for and it's no harder to use than a DVR. Thirty seconds to manually read my dumb meter and update a spreadsheet (something I've done regularly for a quarter of a century) is no hardship.

There is a very simple reason why our @JoeSoap is having the issues he has. The entire system is simply not fit for purpose. Too many (expensive) points of failure and costs more to the consumer than any benefit they can possibly confer over 'traditional methods'. The most irritating fact is that the rest of us without smart meters who know this are also paying for the whole debacle.

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@JoeSoap

your frustration is entirely understandable. You’ve been an advocate for smart metering and now after a mix up over a tariff change, your meters have lost communication and nobody can explain why.

I compare experience with mobile phones and smart meters. Why is our experience with the former so infinitely better than with the latter?

I still like my smart meters... when they work. Also, I like my car, but when it went wrong whilst under manufacturer's warranty it took four months of me running around in courtesy cars whilst they got around to fixing mine... it was less than a month old. The excuse was that they couldn't get the part! One part!!! This from a model that was still in production at an enormous rate. I offered to drive to the factory and pick the part up but that fell on deaf ears.

It's more down to customer service. Something I read of yours a few days ago chimed with me. I genuinely thought that an email to unhappy@eonnext went to a higher level where the complaint could be reviewed by a fresh pair of experienced eyes. Then (hopefully), the conversation chain between customer and energy specialist could be looked at impartially and taken from there. It seems that, in my case at least, the complaint handler was the same energy specialist that I originally conversed with. So, when I was happy that the advisor had eventually explained what had happened, my account was back to where it was and that they now knew the wrong tariff thing was an ongoing issue that was 'being looked at', I said (via our email conversation on hi@eonnext) that as far as I was concerned the matter was closed.

I still thought my complaint (via unhappy@eonnext) would be investigated by the 'Complaints Department' to see how the exit fees came to be applied in the first place and be able to advise the advisor. It would also give them the opportunity to perhaps explain more fully what the problem with getting correct tariff updates really is. However, it looks like the complaint handler was the original customer service advisor so the complaints were closed. The trouble is, I didn't know that. It's just been confusion all round and I can't be bothered with it any more. I have asked for the complaint to be closed and I will just await an engineer visit to see if comms can be restored at least. If I can't get a correct tariff update by the time my contract expires then I'm likely to vote with my feet. Whether that will solve things... who knows. Maybe I'll just move house 🤪

[JoeSoap]

Update... I now have an appointment for an engineer visit. It's not until 28 September so you'll all be pleased to know I'll probably stop banging on about it for a while 😂

[retrotecchie]

@JoeSoap

In which case you'll be just in time for the October 1st tariff changes if you weren't on Next Loyalty v4 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

@JoeSoap

In which case you'll be just in time for the October 1st tariff changes if you weren't on Next Loyalty v4 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yep... glad I fixed. Anyone on variable trying to keep their smart meter tariffs updated correctly might find themselves talking to customer service so much they'll be invited to the office Christmas party 🎅🥂😂

[meldrewreborn]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

@meldrewreborn

Because mobile phones are a fairly mature technology which has seen continuous R&D and investment and there is money to be made from getting things right. On average, there are approximately three mobile phones for every household in the UK and billions globally. Smart meters have been rolled out to perhaps half the total households in the UK and they haven't got it right yet which is why the other half have yet to be sold on them.

Any technology has to demonstrate clear benefits before it becomes ubiquitous. As things stand at the moment, the clear disadvantages of smart meters, their unreliability and their inability to improve my lot any is the biggest single reason for me not wanting one.

I only moved over to a smart phone last November. Not through choice but because we had our 3G switched off and my perfectly adequate existing phones no longer worked. I spend a couple of days uninstalling all the dross that I'll never use and have only installed three aps. My banking app is very handy, my solar monitoring app just makes my life easier. The E.On next app doesn't do anything I can't do online in my account so that will soon be uninstalled. If it gave me the capability to pull off data and import it into my spreadsheet directly, there might be some merit in having it, but it can't.

I still use VCR to record off the telly. It works, it's all bought and paid for and it's no harder to use than a DVR. Thirty seconds to manually read my dumb meter and update a spreadsheet (something I've done regularly for a quarter of a century) is no hardship.

There is a very simple reason why our @JoeSoap is having the issues he has. The entire system is simply not fit for purpose. Too many (expensive) points of failure and costs more to the consumer than any benefit they can possibly confer over 'traditional methods'. The most irritating fact is that the rest of us without smart meters who know this are also paying for the whole debacle.

the system as a whole is not fit for purpose. Indeed. But by and large the meters themselves are reliable. Communication via the DCC to the supplier seems to be where the problems are. Does anybody know the there is a North vSouth divergence on communication? Or does performance vary by supplier? If there isn’t it would suggest a fundamental internal problem within DCC.

[JoeSoap]

I started this thread just to flag up that I was finding it a bit more difficult than usual to get my smart meters and IHD updated to my new tariff. I’ve had a read through some of the enormous amount of correspondence on the subject in emails, PMs and forum threads to try to digest what has happened and what I’ve learned.

What has happened is quite simple. My smart meter tariffs were updated on request but with incorrect rates and the problem cannot yet be fixed. Also, my meters have now lost comms so I have to submit manual readings and have no recent usage data in my apps. I have an engineer visit booked in to investigate.

What I have learned, looking back, is that this one issue of incorrect tariff rates can seemingly be caused by many different things and one fix doesn’t fit all. It seems each case needs to be looked at individually so some will be fixed quickly and some not. I’m in the latter category.

Next, I’ve learned that raising a customer complaint does not automatically raise an issue to a higher level immediately. This may, or perhaps will, happen if the case goes to the ombudsman so raising a complaint is not a waste of time. Just be aware that your complaint may initially be dealt with by the customer service advisor you are already in contact with.

Finally, and the reason I’m summarising, I think this thread may be closed down soon, so I thought I would sum up in a few short, simple paragraphs my confusing and convoluted journey as each new post, including this one, could be my last… on this thread at any rate.

Edit... It seems that the other thread got locked so maybe this one will survive a bit longer.

[solidbond]

Just a little update from me. I changed tariff from Wednesday 23rd to the Next Pledge Tracker - on Thursday morning at 7am the was still showing the original tariffs for both electricity and gas, but by 9am the electricity had updated to the new tariff. At midday the gas was still showing the original tariff, but by 5pm it too had updated to the new rate. The thing to note is that these both updated in the middle of the day, not overnight, and I didn't have to do anything to get the IHD to show the new rates, so it seems that, at least for me, the problem of updating the tariff is resolved.
Here's hoping @JoeSoap gets the connection and any other issues resolved once the engineer attends next month

[JoeSoap]

@solidbond

Good to hear all seems to be working as it should for you. I too have had cases where one fuel updates in the morning and one in the afternoon. I’m a bit worried about an engineer coming as I’m happy with the make of my meters, comms hub and IHD and don’t really want them swapped unnecessarily to what may be inferior types. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens I guess.