‘Shock’ bills and ‘alarming’ supplier letters mar smart rollout

Citizens Advice reports on significant and increasing consumer concerns with smart meters

The number of complaints submitted to Citizens Advice relating to smart meters has almost trebled since 2014, a spokesperson for the consumer body has said.

The top three areas for complaints cover the following topics:

• Bills or usage increasing and/or backdated billing following the installation of a meter
• Perceived inability to switch suppliers or difficulty in switching following installation
• Inaccurate information and sales practices of suppliers

Speaking at a smart metering conference hosted by Policy UK yesterday, Daniel Walker-Nolan, principal policy manager at Citizens Advice, said that given the looing ramp up in smart meter installation rates, it is likely complaints will continue to increase sharply.

On the first major complaint area, Walker-Nolan said Citizens Advice has seen multiple instances of customers who have had estimated bills for years being issued “shock” back bills after their smart meter has been fitted.

Furthermore, he said: “Citizens Advice does not believe [these bills] come up to scratch in terms of regulations which says that if it is not the consumer’s fault – they can only be back billed for up to a year.”

In another scenario which has caused smart meter billing complaints, Walker-Nolan said that customers paying on direct debit have seen their instalments increase sharply after meter installation. However, when they have raised concerns with their supplier, they have been ignored and unable to get someone to come and see if the meter is faulty.

“Overall, billing cases for consumers with smart meters more than doubled between 2015 and 2016,” said Walker-Nolan.

Switching problems

The second largest smart metering complaints area seen by Citizens Advice was also one which animated delegates to Policy UK’s conference.

Several speakers were challenged to clarify apparent interoperability and switching issues relating to early generation or SMETS 1 smart meters.

One delegate raised concerns that limitations in SMETS 1 meter functionality may stunt consumer interest in switching to the most attractive deals on the market – many of which are offered by smaller suppliers who cannot yet support smart meters.

Rob Smith, head of policy and public affairs at Smart Energy GB – the body responsible for public engagement in smart metering – insisted that there is “never any reason for anyone not to get a smart meter” and that “now is a great time to get a smart meter”.

He did admit that some customers may experience a loss of functionality from SMETS 1 meters after switching suppliers, but commented: “If some people do lose functionality they will get functionality reinstated in time,” after meters are enrolled in the DCC communications system. Others observed, however, that this might take “years”.

Walker-Nolan’s main concern was that energy suppliers appear to be failing in their duty to inform customers of the limitations of SMETS 1 meters.

According to research conducted by Citizens Advice, just 3 per cent of people with early generation SMETS 1 meters said that their supplier warned them about the likelihood of losing smart functionality should they chose to switch supplier.

Furthermore, 43 per cent of those without smart meters said that limitations in functionality would make them reluctant to get a smart meter.

“Alarming” letters

The third complaint category – inaccurate information and sales practices – has revealed what Walker-Nolan described as “alarming” supplier tactics in the race to rollout meters before 2020.

Some suppliers have sent letters to consumer telling them they “have to have” a smart meter, said Walker-Nolan.

“Some of the language that we have seen in these letters has been quite alarming and we really would caution against doing this because it could poison the world for consumer uptake of smart meters.”

Again, independent research showed that cases of suppliers attempting to mandate smart meter adoption are not isolated incidents – 20 per cent of consumers said they were not told that smart meters are optional.

Citizens Advice has made recommendations to government and suppliers to remedy these issues which threaten to undermine the benefits of smart metering – about which the consumer champion is “broadly” positive.

Setting out these recommendations, Walker-Nolan said that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy “should introduce a ‘hard backstop’ date for enrolment of [SMETS 1] smart meters into the DCC so that they can retain smart functionality after a switch.

“We also think that the requirement to inform consumers about the limitations of SMETS 1 meters should be strengthened.”

Walker-Nolan clarified that it is not good enough for suppliers to include functionality information “on page 10” of a leaflet. They must communicate with customers in a “salient” way.

Another recommendation to government is that it should limit the period of time for which back bills can be issued after a smart meter install. Citizens Advice advocates 6 months as a limit.

Beyond government intervention however, Citizens Advice is also calling on suppliers to do more to “limit the impact of ‘shock bills’.

Next week, Citizens Advice is due to publish a report revealing further challenges for smart metering, particularly in relation to the experience of vulnerable customers.