Smart meter failed installation from THTC

​@Lukepeniket_OVO ​@Ben_OVO 

My long awaited sms meter swap arranged by ​@Lukepeniket_OVO was aborted today due to the engineer not having the correct replacement meter, it has been consistently stated throughout a 5 terminal traditional pay as you go economy 10 was required, the engineer had a 4 terminal non economy 10 meter or a traditional credit meter, none were suitable for my needs hence mission aborted. There was nothing on the engineer notes to say it was a 5 terminal pay as you go economy 10 traditional meter that was required even though I have checked and double checked with the sms team since receiving this appointment. This is now my 3rd failed meter swap, will phone sms team to see what happens next.

Very disappointing and time wasting all round.

Jane

​@Lukepeniket_OVO ​@Ben_OVO 

*update*

Have spoken to sms team who have said that they cannot rebook this meter swap and that the correct details regarding a 5 terminal pay as you go economy 10 traditional meter will have to be requested by  ovo again, can ​@Lukepeniket_OVO arrange this ?

Hey ​@janie, 

I'm really sorry to hear that you're still dealing with this situation! I’ve reached out internally to ​@Lukepeniket_OVO for you, as he might not have a chance to check the forums when he's busy on-site. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we have any news. Hang in there!​

Thank you, have tried ovo customer service support and they're going to try and raise a form with the correct details and requirements for the meter swap but I am not convinced this will be sufficient..the wait goes on..15 months and counting, it's very frustrating. 

I totally hear you! I caught up with ​@Ben_OVO this morning since I know he’s been helping you for a spell. He filled me in on everything, and since he’ll be out on holiday for a while, I’m happy to take over on the Forum for now. If you need anything, just let me know!​

Hello again, Jane 👋 It’s been a long time …

I seem to remember that we worked out last time that a smart meter couldn’t communicate from your property over the Wide Area Network (WAN) because you’re on the wrong side of the Law, so radio communication to the Angus TV mast doesn’t work well enough. A lot has changed since then, and new Communication Hubs (CH) that connect via a 4G mobile network are now available to Scottish customers in your situation. This being the case, there’s no need to insist on getting a ‘traditional’ - i.e. non-smart - meter. If even a new-style CH refuses to connect initially, the installing engineer should have some remedies in his van. 

If it is possible to get a smart meter to communicate from your property, it’s probably not so important to have it ‘pre-programmed’ for Economy 10; the engineer should be able to arrange for that configuration while he’s installing the meter. It’s also quite easy to switch a communicating meter from prepayment to credit and vice versa. I hope you’re not making things too difficult for yourself - you’ve been waiting too long for the process to fail now because of unnecessary ‘requirements’.

Hi ​@Firedog 

Thanks for your response, I do appreciate what you're saying about improvements being made to help with communications etc but I am still in a no signal area and neighbours 2 doors away can't top up their pre payment gas and electric smart due to this problem, they have to contact ovo support every time they top up which seems to me there is no obvious communication improvements in this area.

I was told in November by ovo there was no resolution for no signal areas and my only hope was a 5 terminal economy 10 pre payment to which I readily agreed.

The engineer did not have the correct meter with him and said he wouldn't be able to do it anyway because it was an sms team job, ​@Lukepeniket_OVO ​@Ben_OVO were made aware of this and it was to be arranged.

Sms team arrived yesterday and needless to say only had a 4 terminal pre payment meter on the van.

I'm not being difficult, I'm constantly being told by ovo there is no resolution to no signal areas ((my 2 doors down neighbour can verify this)and that I need a five terminal economy 10 pre payment meter, hopefully ​@Lukepeniket_OVO may be able to shed some further information on this, in the meantime I will wait to see if ovo support can arrange a further appointment with the sms team to proceed with another appointment with the correct meter.