Yahoo Finance Faulty smart meters leaving people with huge bills
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Faulty smart meters are leaving people with huge bills after going “dumb” or because of other issues, a charity has warned.
More than half of British homes have a smart meter and energy firms have long campaigned for customers to make the switch, but customers are routinely being left without help when problems arise with the technology, a report said.
Citizens Advice, the charity which compiled the report, said one man was left with a shock catch-up bill of almost £5,000, after his smart meter failed to provide accurate readings of his energy usage – meaning his bills had been significantly underestimated.
Current rules allow energy suppliers to back bill customers for up to a year’s worth of energy bills if, for example, a meter is not providing readings correctly.
Around a fifth of households surveyed by Citizens Advice, equivalent to almost three million households, said they still had to regularly submit meter readings because their smart meter was not doing it automatically.
A third of households said they had issues with their in-home display, and a quarter experienced problems with billing. Regulator Ofgem said it has written to suppliers over the connectivity concerns, saying “customers rightly expect their suppliers to treat them fairly”.
Problems with smart meters have affected high-profile consumers. In December, artist Grayson Perry complained of a £39,000 bill he received on a smart meter. In the same month, broadcaster Jon Sopel revealed his device handed him a £19,274 bill.
Last year, official figures showed that 10pc of smart meters were not working properly but Citizens Advice warned that this was likely to be the “tip of the iceberg”.
The charity’s chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty, said: “The whole point of smart meters is to empower households to save energy and money, but in reality millions are missing out on those benefits due to problems with technology and poor supplier service.”
The charity called for energy suppliers to face higher standards and ensure faulty meters are fixed quickly or compensate customers who are left “waiting in limbo” with a faulty meter.
It has also said the window in which suppliers can backdate bills should be shortened from one year to six months to avoid hefty catch-up bills.
Ms Moriarty said: “Energy companies are very keen for customers to get a smart meter but when issues arise they are often nowhere to be found. That has to change.
“Suppliers have been far too sluggish in fixing issues with problem meters.
“New obligations and stronger accountability measures are needed to restore public trust in this vital tool to reach net zero.”
In March the energy watchdog said it was considering scrapping the energy price cap in favour of using smart meters to implement “dynamic” pricing for energy – despite campaigners’ warnings that this might drive up bills for the poorest households.
Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero were approached for comment.
