My smart meter installation was aborted due to asbestos - What should I do next?

The level of misadvice  and lack of support from Ovo is truly shocking

I had to arrange a smart meter due to the RTS switchover. I asked if this could be in dumb mode. I was told it could but then told not. I was offered the princely sum of £10 for the wrong advice which I declined, but the complaint was closed anyway

An engineer came to fit the meter but said he couldn't do it as he suspected as bestie in the backboard

Ovo said they would 're-book with asbestos trained engineers, but didn't show up for the new date 

They then told me I had to contact the DNO to arrange an asbestos trained engineer

DNO told me this was rubbish. They don't do these visits and ovo are continually giving out this wrong advice. They said our meter was previously changed in 2006 with no issues, so why would there be this time?

They said it should be ovo's responsibility to do these checks, but because they deliberately chose not to renew their licence for asbestos trained engineers, this is why they are trying to wiggle out of it

I called ovo today who said I had to pay for an engineer of my choice at my expense

Ovo told me a month ago that they would leave extra detailed notes for their engineer to visit

I am now approaching the cut off date. They are a shambolic, couldn't care less company

Hey ​@Dcoop !

Please show us your current meters. I’ll grab ​@Lukepeniket_OVO as he can usually help get these ones unstuck.

JSYK, Smart Meters won’t be fitted in “Dumb Mode” just because you ask - especially when replacing RTS. They need to run fully-functional from the start.

You have some time yet - the final cut-off is September 2025.

I was told by the DNO that the cut off is the end of June.

June 2025 is the public deadline that most folks know about.

However, there’s a secret deadline of September 2025 that’s not as well known about - it’s intended for cases like yours and that’s when the signal is actually being shut down.

It should not be relied on just because one wants to be lazy however...

Hi ​@Dcoop. Thanks for your post and welcome to the OVO Forum.

I’m sorry to hear of what’s happened here, I’d be left feeling very frustrated in your shoes here - I hope it can be sorted soon 🤞.

Make sure that you’ve requested a complaint be raised about this. The complaint may need to be escalated internally if a fix can’t be put in place immediately, and the complaint will need to remain open until it’s resolved, eg when the new meter is on the wall. With asbestos it can be quite complex - we have some asbestos trained engineers, however I imagine they can’t work in some scenarios. 

If you send over some meter photos hopefully ​@Lukepeniket_OVO can give his informed opinion.

When I tried to ask OVO on what basis they alleged suspected asbestos they said they couldn't tell.me. It would have been the engineers who visited who raised this and they don't have access to them, which seems complete hogwash. They are Ovo's own engineers. If I am being asked to fork out for an asbestos check I need to know that it is justified and On what grounds. As I said earlier my meter was replaced in 2006 with no issues and any asbestos would have been detected then if there were any

I did raise a complaint but it was closed without my agreement and only 're-opened when I have a Trust pilot review

​@Dcoop I’m sorry to hear this.

I have worked complaints for OVO in the past and just to let you know - a complaint can’t be closed as resolved without your permission - a resolution that suits you must be offered. 

Regarding the engineer’s job report - these are available to view unless the engineer hasn’t sent it (this is incredibly rare). Hopefully your complaints handler will be able to view the job report and find out exactly what went wrong (there should be photographs attached to it by the engineer). 

Let us know how you get on now that the complaint has been reopened again, fingers crossed it’s handled correctly going forward.

hey ​@Dcoop, hope you have had some movement? if not please DM me account number / Photos of the meter. thank you!!

Finally the complaint which should never have been closed down was re-opened and allocated to a case handler. I had to pay for an asbestos check of the back board region should be refunded. When the guy came out to do the check he said he could not see why it was reported as suspected asbestos. It was obvious from the initial look and further examination he did that there was no risk and that was proven when the report came back from the lab. As OVO won't tell me On what grounds their engineer reported suspected asbestos I am none the wiser why I had to go through all of this. I think the problem is systemic with OVO. Staff must just not be trained properly, which gives me zero confidence to stay with them

A couple of brief comments:

• The man who came to take a sample of your backboard was a fully-trained asbestos technician. Meter engineers aren’t. They may have some idea of what an asbestos-containing board looks like, but they don’t have the in-depth knowledge to be able to rule out the possibility of asbestos content.
• Asbestos is really nasty stuff: “Exposure to asbestos is the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain.” Any meter engineer who has the slightest suspicion about the material he was about to drill into is IMO completely justified in calling for an expert opinion.
• OVO has meter engineers fully trained to handle asbestos. However, they’re spread very thin, so booking one might push the meter exchange many months into the future. 
• The backboard is the property owner’s responsibility, while some of the stuff mounted on it is owned by the network operator or electricity supplier. It’s as well that you now have certification for the board’s fitness for purpose. 

I'm not disputing what you're saying, but if the engineer is saying there is suspected asbestos he should say on what grounds and where it is suspected because when the asbestos engineer came out he had no idea really where to start looking. He said he could see obviously that there was no asbestos on the back board and he did further extensive checks with fuses etc. The meter was replaced in 2006. Asbestos has not been an issue in blackboard since before 2000. It was obvious that if they successfully replaced the meter with no issues in 2006 that there should be no issues now

Hello all, ​@Dcoop if you could DM me your account number I can look into this more for you.

Also, judging by the photographs I cant tell whether it is asbestos but also I cant tell whether its not. Most meters have been installed on Chipboard back boards which are brown in color but MPAN 17 as well as Hampton Moldings boards are installed on cement boards, if you've ever snapped a cement board it ominously has fibers inside it but they aren't asbestos.

It can be frustrating but we must air on the side of caution with these, luckily within OVO we have a dedicated team of transient workers who can install meters on these boards.

I didn't send any photos or my account details

Luke is highly trusted as he's one of OVO's top engineers. If you’re OK with him knowing your account number, he can probably get this fixed for you. He will only access your account purely to help get this sorted out - and that’s a promise.

If you’re up for it, you can do that via https://forum.ovoenergy.com/members/lukepeniket-ovo-36229

I had a failed engineers appointment to replace my meter with a smart meter because the backboard may contain asbestos. There is a certificate that backboards in my block of flats have been tested and are clear but because it didn't specify which backboards were tested, it was not sufficient.The engineer was fairly sure it would be fine but needed to confirm - understandable, don't want anybody's health to be put at risk. They made it sound quick.

I confirmed it was Ovo who would do the testing but after more chasing it turns out no appointment for testing has been made because nobody is available with the appropriate skills/qualifications. The way it was phrased made it sound not like it was a long wait but like nobody was employed or sub-contracted to do this work for them. And now I have been advised to wait indefinitely.

Has anyone has a similar experience? I'm concerned based on comments here and elsewhere that this is going to add a delay of months on and leave me with an incorrectly functioning RTS meter post switch off.

Howdy ​@L_N ,

Hmmm… This sounds like it’s ripe for a ​@Lukepeniket_OVO Speciale! I’ll see if he’s around in the morning but it may take a bit longer. Bear with us!

morning!! =]

If you could DM me an account number I canlook into this and get you rebooked in?

Cheers

Thanks both - I've sent a DM :)