Once a smart meter is installed, it is a much simpler process for a supplier to swap the customer into prepay mode at the push of a button, rather than having to apply for a warrant and install a physical box. Switches can either be done at the request of customers or done by the supplier as part of a debt recovery process.
Citizens Advice told the BBC that so far in 2022 almost 500 people have been in contact in distress after being forcibly moved onto prepayment - a 158% increase in cases on 2021.
Rosi Avis, who heads up the Manchester Branch, said remote switching is “disconnection by the backdoor”.
“If customers are unaware that they are on a pre-payment meter they might not top up and therefore they are more likely to self-disconnect from their gas or electric,” she explained.
Citizens Advice predicts that 450,000 people could be forced onto a prepayment plan this winter and of those, it expects 180,000 to be made as automatic remote switches via a smart meter.
More than 152,000 households with smart meters were remotely switched to more expensive prepayment plans by their supplier last year, according to data from Ofgem.
There has been a steep rise in remote switches. Some 56,000 homes saw their electricity switched in 2020. That more than doubled to 108,000 in 2021. Some 39,000 households had their gas meter switched in 2020, that increased almost fourfold to 152,000 in 2021.
Ofgem said that 60,000 households had been switched over the past three months.
That seems totally out of order …
Why is this allowed and what can you do?
Before smart meters existed, energy firms would have to get a warrant to enter your home and physically install a prepayment meter
Now, smart meters enable energy firms to switch customers from direct debit payments to a prepayment meter system remotely
Ofgem rules state that energy suppliers must have effective checks and balances in place when switching the mode of a smart meter
The regulator advises customers with concerns to speak to their supplier. Under Ofgem rules they must offer payment plans you can afford and you can ask for emergency credit if you use a prepay meter and can’t top up
Breathing Space, sometimes called the Debt Respite Scheme, is a free government scheme that could give you up to 60 days’ space from creditors to set up a debt solution. Step Change debt charity can help you to apply.
Citizens Advice offers this guide: Stop your energy supplier moving you to prepayment
I’m very happy with my smart meter , Ive always paid monthly by direct debt so no change there.
Being dyslexic writing numbers back to front … the real bonus the smart meter has relieved me of the burden of submitting meter readings
However the annoying info usage screen that went in the bin
The “Smart Meter” is an ex-Auditors dream, every morning you take the previous days readings and stick them in a spreadsheet, then, at the end of the month you reconcile the figures with those from your supplier, any change in trends is immediately apparent.
I’m confused, I thought you prepaid anyway (weekly or fortnightly?). I have read people on this forum saying they have 600 pounds in credit with their electricity company isn’t that prepaying?
Totally wretched, probably not unlawful but most certainly underhand.
However, sometimes smart meters can go into ‘dumb mode’. This means the meter’s ‘smart’ functionality is turned off so it will not transmit readings automatically to the energy provider. This means that people have to read and report their readings manually. Citizens’ advice offers Britons a tool to check if their smart meter is not in ‘dumb mode.
My bulb meter (soon to be Octopus if the deal isn’t found to be corrupt ) allows me to monitor usage and cost on a day by day basis. So, it must be sending stuff down the wire.
I don’t understand how people can’t know that they have been switched to Pre payment. You need a card or a key to get credit from a Pay Point Shop, usually a Co-op. The supplier would have to send one to you PDQ so you can top up.
I do agree though that it’s not ok to just switch you over as and when they feel like it.
Good point, if suppliers can do this remotely without first contacting the customer, then this practice should be stopped immediately. A lot will be overcharged.
We keep a close eye on our monthly payments, so that we do not have a deficit during winter months, or a surplus when using less during the rest of the year. Our water supplier is notorious for altering the amount unnecessarily.
Think taking the meter reading yourself can save you hassle.
Yes Rose, I’ve just been watching that.
Despite all the assurances that this would not happen…
Some of us knew differently…Even Nigel recommends that you should not have a smart meter and you don’t have to have one either.
I watched a video recently whereby it was suggested that power cuts were happening because the energy companies refused to pay the windfall tax and cutting power. So effectively it’s a fight between the government and the energy companies, and us little folk are having to put up with it!
) allows me to monitor usage and cost on a day by day basis. So, it must be sending stuff down the wire.