How much need I do in terms of providing access before a smart meter can be fitted?

​@old_rog through mystical forum details ive already got your account deets.... I shall get my colleague to give you a call monday, his name is Jo and dont worry if you miss his initial call :-)

That is fantastic, Luke - many thanks!

Firedog - IYou have a pronounced eye for odd thongs <lol>

I meant “things” Firedog -- oops

Just to mention…

I can speak about what other suppliers are doing regarding Traditional (Non-Smart) Meters. Pretty much all of them are taking the same stance as OVO in that they no longer fit them by default and they’re deliberately burning down their stocks to zero. None have been made for UK use in over a decade now so I can’t make any promises whatsoever that you’ll find a supplier willing to fit one - and those that do will charge for a Non-Standard Install which isn’t cheap.

As for Luke? The guy is a legend as you’ve noticed. From being able to magic up keys to blocks of flats, diagnosing meters from photos and various other tricks… You’ve got one of OVO’s top engineers helping you out - it’s exactly why we love working with him!

Hope that helps!

Hey ​@old_rog 

I’m really glad to see you’ve had a great amount of support here on this and you’ll hopefully get a little further forward following the call. Thanks ​@Lukepeniket_OVO! 

Do let us know how you get on with this.😊

After reading all comments, I’m intrigued to see the result!

Engineer called by on his way back from another job.  Took a good look and some photos and said (like Luke) it was doable.  He reckons the best way if to put steps/a platform across in front of the washing machine and for the engineer to use that - no need to move the cooker!

So - we’re booked in for 4 weeks time.  Thanks to Firedog and all the others who gave their help, and a special thanks to Luke for taking the whole thing on.  (Luke - would you thank Jo for us?)

Consider it done! Luke and Jo already saw this because of… Magic tricks… :D

Word on the street is that you’ll get the same engineer coming back as the job has been pinned/locked to Jo - who also apologises he couldn’t get to you sooner. He’s been a bit jammed up this week but we’re glad you got somewhere!

Keep us posted with how things go. We’re here if you need us. :)

Hey ​@old_rog 

Thanks for the update!

I’m glad to hear you’re booked in and as Blastoise186 mentioned, sounds like the same engineer will be back to do the job.

Do keep us updated with how this turns out.😊

One postponement, but the engineer turned up on the re-scheduled day and did an excellent job, carefully balancing with one foot on his stepladder and one one the worktop when needed. 

Many thanks to Luke, Jo, Firedog and all the others who chipped in.  Much appreciated.

*[Off-topic:]

Now about to do battle with the accounts department.  When we were with SSE we had a “pay for what you’ve used” account.  Every 3 months they said what we owed them and we paid.  Great system - no debit, no credit - you knew exactly where you were.  When we were transferred to OVO they had this “same amount every month” system. Tried to get OVO to use the SSE method. OVO’s robot says this can’t be done, but I’m going to give it a go    British Gas will do it if we transfer our elecrricity to them, but that would be a last resort...