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Just a blank … a smart meter wouldn’t work because we had no signal.
Just a blank … a smart meter wouldn’t work because we had no signal. Photograph: Alamy
Just a blank … a smart meter wouldn’t work because we had no signal. Photograph: Alamy

Scottish Power’s new meter wasn’t a smart move

This article is more than 6 years old
We have no signal and so I knew it wouldn’t work ... but it went ahead anyway

Last February our electricity provider, Scottish Power, asked to install a smart meter. I immediately told it we have no trace of a mobile signal here, and, as result, it would not work. But it insisted, and in February someone called to install one. After a few seconds he concluded that it wouldn’t work, and left without undertaking the work.

Since that day, Scottish Power has insisted the meter was changed. It claims that the reason it cannot read the meter is because some gadget is in the wrong place. It insists that we must move this non-existent gadget nearer to the non-existent smart meter.

I can no longer supply a reading. I have phoned and emailed Scottish Power again and again. I have sent a picture of my meter, in every possible format, but its system seems unable to call up these pictures.

Until it is resolved, I cannot even change to another energy provider since the wrong meter is on its record.

WGL, Ceredigion, West Wales

This was another case of smart meter nonsense and, in your case, a staff member who refused to accept that what the computer was telling them was wrong.

Scottish Power has apologised and is rectifying the problem. It says: “Our system was updated incorrectly, which appears to be human error. We have spoken to WGL to apologise. We have taken manual readings and billed the account up to date (showing a small credit), and we have agreed to pay £50 as way of an apology.”

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