FloGas accidentally put me on a smart meter plan (and activated my smart meter)..

Loro78

Hi.

I moved house recently and the new house has a smart meter installed, but it hadn't been activated yet.

So when I rang FloGas customer support to cancel my previous electricity account with them, the agent told me that they had this fantastic offer at the moment, which was a 24 hour rate with a significant percentage discount, and a 220 euro welcome bonus - which would benefit me also as it was a 24 hour rate, but for this I'd have to keep my smart meter inactivated.

I agreed to this and all was good - now almost three months later, I received a phone call by another FloGas customer support agent, telling me that they accidentally had signed me up for a different plan than I had agreed to, and that this was a smart meter plan and that therefore my smart meter had been activated three months ago. Basically, I'm not able to revert this and apparently I will have to stay on this plan (that I never agreed to) for the contract period, which is one year. He also said he'll check with his manager what kind of compensation they can offer me for their error, but hasn't gotten back to me yet.

It all seems a little shady, I don't know... I'm at home all day every day, as I work out of hours, so the 24 hour rate would've suited me perfectly, and it worked out as a great annual estimate, but apparently there's no going back from once a smart meter has been activated..?!

Any advice on what I can / should do?

Thank you...

JVince

A smart meter doesn't prevent you having a 24 hour rate.

I don't understand why people think this.

I've had a smart meter for about 3 years and a smart plan with all the metrics.

I have a 24 hour rate as it suits my usage.

All a smart meter does is it gives you more choice and better information.

daheff

They can't force you to stay on a plan that you didn't agree to.

Tell them you are cancelling the contract because of a breach on their side. Look to go through their formal complaint process. Move your account to a different provider.

Nigzcurran

I just signed up to a smart 24hr plan. Something like 25c a unit

JVince

Looking at their rates there's very little difference except at the 5pm - 7pm time slot

27.77c / unit Versus 27.42c a unit 8am to 11pm

32.85 / unit 5pm - 7pm

and then a reduced rate of 21.65c from 11pm to 8am.

my guess is the overall cost difference will be rather small (or cheaper) unless you are a heavy user between 5pm & 7pm and use very little from 11pm to 8am.

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123008189#Comment_123008189

I agree with the first point. You have not consented to activation so the contract is or should be voided.

Ask them to reverse the activation due to it being their error. If this is not possible due to ESB Networks policy, perhaps you can request a new meter or MPRN, and insist it is unactivated.

Bottom line, Flogas have to put you back to where you were prior to their error.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123009239#Comment_123009239

That's ridiculous.

You can't request a new meter and a new mprn just because of a simple plan error.

Any difference would be very easy to work out and I suspect that the OP has done better on this plan unless they are heavy users between 5pm & 7pm. The OP could actually work it out themselves in a few minutes.

But lets not make this out to be an error of a huge magnitude - it will be about €50 or so better or worse off.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123009281#Comment_123009281

If a householder does not want their smart meter to be activated they have that right.

Smarten

Raise an official complaint with flogas. Detail your reasons and what you want from them. If not resolved to your satisfaction, raise a complaint with CRU and give your reasons and expectations. Once raised with CRU, it will get resolved

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123009429#Comment_123009429

They won't change back to non-smart (MCC01) plans though. CRU rules don't allow you to go back, even if in error. Best the OP can hope for is a 24 hour smart plan at this stage.

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123009281#Comment_123009281

I agree it's ridiculous to have to go to such lengths. My post just outlines the extent the customer may wish to go to be put back to where they should be.

It should never be with the customer to live with an irreversible mistake by a supplier. That too is ridiculous.

oneweb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123009429#Comment_123009429

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/consumers-home/contact/report-a-consumer-protection-issue/

https://www.cru.ie/make-a-complaint/complain-to-your-energy-provider/

https://www.cru.ie/make-a-complaint/complain-to-the-cru/

Gooser14

What was the outcome of this issue?

pacman114

Any update on this @Loro78 ?

The same thing has happened me. Only noticed when I got the most recent bill.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511457#Comment_123511457

Look at your usage and then look at the smart meter rates. Most suppliers made changes in the last year and now a smart rate is far better value that any of the 24 hour rates.

On the smart rates the main discounted unit cost is 24-26c, the "peak" 5pm to 7pm rate is literally just 1.2c - 1.7c higher (it used to be about 12c higher) and then the 11pm to 8am rate is about 13c. The non smart 24 hour rate is about 23c-25c, less than a cent lower than the general smart rate, but no benefit of a night rate

A few small changes and most households could move 30% of their use to the 11pm-8am off peak rate (I've got to over 40%). And that will see a drop of about 20% in your bill.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511749#Comment_123511749

I'm curious about this - what are you moving to the overnight rate except maybe charging an electric car if you have one of those?

Washing machines/dryers? I can imagine that getting very annoying to neighbours in a "tiger" era apartment or house where noise insulation wasn't a priority (no idea if new builds have addressed this)

_Kaiser_

Well, turns out that I now find myself in the position of several other posters in this thread...

As part of a recent house move, I likewise moved my account from my old address to the new one. All I wanted was to close down the old setup and transfer it back to the landlord, and continue it where I am now - simple enough right?

As mentioned before, I was on what's now considered a legacy non-smart billing plan with equaliser/level pay enabled so that the bill amounts are the same regardless every month which allows for predictability and budgeting, especially in these times of rapidly varying electricity costs.

It also prevents billing mistakes where random amounts can be taken in error from your bank account, wasted hours on the phone, many apologies and credits - but you're still out of pocket in the meantime! I have had this happen with multiple companies (utility and otherwise) over the years so now I try to limit direct debit access to only fixed known amounts - eg: sky broadband.

So all they had to do is move that from one property to another - but nope.. That apparently was beyond them!

Instead the agent set me up on a smart plan without my consent and despite me specifically stating on the call multiple times that I wanted to retain the existing configuration. As part of this, the ESB meter has been activated on that plan and I've lost the equaliser option as it's not offered on the plan.

Supposedly the meter can't be reset, reconfigured or downgraded to the older plan once it's activated and would require replacement - something ESB networks are apparently refusing to do as there's no actual fault with it they say.

So far I've been back and forth for about 5 hours over 2 and a half weeks with various supervisors. The latest offered me 40 quid in compensation - not good enough! Nor will I be contacting ESB networks myself to try and resolve it as has been suggested numerous times.

It's not helped that "Electric Ireland" are not actually Electric Ireland - rather they're an outsourced call centre so their own access and ability to rectify issues is limited by what they are given by the actual Electric Ireland departments.

The discussions continue, but I'm not going to be left in an inferior position and paying random amounts every time and waiting for the inevitable screw up because of their mistake.

_Kaiser_

Update on the above for anyone still reading...

Got a call this week and it seems now the impossible IS possible and I'm told ESB Networks WILL now replace the meter so I can then be put back on my original "legacy" plan and billing structure - IF I pay a 200 EUR call-out charge

Um... Nope! Why would I be paying 200 quid for "Electric Ireland's" error, so the agent (who I did feel sorry for as it should really have been one of the several supervisors I've spoke to who made this call) is gone back to share that feedback as well as the 2 options I gave him - either figure out how they will pay ESB networks the fee themselves, or credit my account by the same amount and then deduct from that.

Getting there though - but very slowly and painfully. A further update is expected from them today.

blinking

What's the problem with smart meters anyway? The same 24 hour plans that are available for non activated smart meters are available for activated ones.

Exiled Rebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761339#Comment_123761339

Nothing, it's just some people get irate when utilities screw up.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761339#Comment_123761339

That's exactly the issue though. Once the meter is smart-activated, you're stuck with it unless you are prepared to spend hours on the phone being extremely persistent as I have here. The whole reason is that I CAN'T have my older plan with it according to the company.

There's no advantage to a smart plan for me, it would cost more as my usage pattern isn't flexible, and more importantly it doesn't allow a billing structure that has served me very well for over a decade.

blinking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761368#Comment_123761368

But you can have 24 hour rates - i.e. the same rate applies during all 24 hours on an activated smart meter. The exact same rates as on a rotating or non activated smart meter.

You mentioned you're with Electric Ireland so…

Smart Plan: Home Electric + 24 Hour Saver 30% (rate: 23.82c per kW)

Non-Smart Plan: EnergySaver 26% (rate: 25.71c per kW)

It's even cheaper on an activated smart meter.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761501#Comment_123761501

@_Kaiser_ mentioned above that they were on one of the old level pay (fixed) plans, which don't have a smart equivalent.

_Kaiser_

Update to the update….

Finally, almost 2 months later, the necessary corrective steps have been agreed with Electric Ireland's outsourcing provider - namely that the meter is replaced (as that is apparently essential) at no cost to me, so that the account can then be migrated back to my previous "legacy" plan and level-pay billing structure.

One final call needed now to discuss how this has all been handled and how I should be compensated for the many hours and much frustration expended to get them to resolve THEIR issue, and hopefully I will be able to put this one to bed.

Charles Babbage

It is ridiculous to have someone physically replace a meter with an inferior one. Comreg should require that all types of plan remain available on smart meters including equalised ones.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123762439#Comment_123762439

Apparently the meter itself will be exactly the same as is there - it just won't be configured for smart metering/tarriffs. My previous address had the same type of meter and it worked perfectly in that "legacy" setup.

To me it sounds more like a software or firmware issue, but they were insistent that a replacement is required.