More junk mail, spam and cold calls whoopee!

[#1]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/03/09/vulnerable-energy-customers-to-get-price-safeguards/
The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
They are going to start a database of electrical customers who haven't changed their suppliers lately so that the call centres and targeted mail offices can identify you. And you can't opt out
Also in the story all prepay meter customers are to get a reduction. No I should get the reduction because I always pay my bill and have paperless bills and read my meter myself. I'm a good customer and my reduction is due to my worth to the company. 

[#2]

Sounds like you grudge people with a pre-payment meter a reduction? I use pre-payment meters and I say it's about time.

Quote

Also in the story all prepay meter customers are to get a reduction. No I should get the reduction because I always pay my bill and have paperless bills .

We don't have any bills.

[#3]

Quote from: M

We don't have any bills.

And pay upfront!

[#4]

Exactly, and we pay more for each unit of energy, we don't have access to the best deals either.

[#5]

Back in the day my dear old Mum used to look forward to meter reading day.
Especially the bit where the money was counted and the gas man handed back the excess of  a few little columns of shillings and florins.

[#6]

Quote from: DaveyH

Quote from: M We don't have any bills. And pay upfront!

So no paper statements are sent by mail, or do you get these paperless?

Quote from: PeterLoftus

and read my meter myself. I'm a good customer and my reduction is due to my worth to the company.

So you read your meter this will not stop your provider sending out a meter reader.

[#7]

Quote from: itsme

So you read your meter this will not stop your provider sending out a meter reader.

I've supplied online meter readings for years but every quarter a meter reader knocks and gets ignored or turned away.
E.On have said that they must check meter safety every two years which, to me, is just a way of checking readings.
I made appointment for them to call and do this last November and having supplied readings on 31st December a reader appeared a few days later.
As we were so much in credit after last reading they had to chop DD to £45/month so I'm going to apply two year rule in reverse.
Gas meter is in our detached garage and I really can't be bothered, at 80, putting shoes on, going down front steps, up driveway and opening up and over door to duplicate job I did when it suited me.
Grrrrrr
[Moderators note by Mike (Mav): Fixed quote tags]

[#8]

I send in meter readings online when requested and a meter reader visits at least once a year 'to check safety of meters'.....is he qualified to do this?
However I now have Smart Meters with nPower and so far the remote meter reading and associated billing has been something of a joke.
I do have paperless billing.

[#9]

I had an email asking me to submit a meter reading. Did just that and had an email thanking me and revealing that I was slightly in credit on a guestimate of annual use divided into monthly payments by card. A week later a meter reader turned up (we were out) and departed, having left the external door of the meter open and banging in the wind. I have had to replace the door before when the same thing happened and the door hinges broke off. I had great difficulty in doing so because stores only stocked the whole plastic box & door at considerable cost but I did find one being thrown away because of transit damage.

[#10]

Reading meters is an Ofgem requirement.
But with all the problems that Npower et al have experience when updating their systems a little know regulation of back billing have surfaced so you will be in a stronger position if readings have been taken by a Meter Reader than submitting them yourself.

Quote

Under the ‘back billing code’, your supplier can only charge you for a maximum of 12 months of energy use if they haven’t sent you a bill for over 1 year.

[#11]

They should abolish meter readings and base the monthly fee on the number of bedrooms in your property.

[#12]

A bedroom energy tax.....Hmmm

[#13]

I don't have any bedrooms.
They're all living rooms.

[#14]

These living rooms, do they use the facilities? Then they should pay their way. We can't have freeloaders, y'know.

[#15]

So what  was proposed in my original post is illegal 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/20/energy-database-plan-could-be-illegal-under-new-eu-rules-...