After a decade of refusal, Shirley eventually agreed to install a smart meter and was subsequently charged an extraordinary £5,230.
Rewritten Article:
Meet Shirley Goldstein, a 93-year-old resident in Chigwell, Essex, who battled for nearly a decade against the installation of smart meters in her humble bungalow. Despite numerous letters from various energy providers pushing for a switch, Shirley stubbornly resisted, content with her existing meters and skeptical of the new ones.
"The energy giants have dogged me for years, but I refused to cower into accepting something I didn't truly trust," Shirley shares. "They'd trot out a bunch of reasons, claiming my old meters were outdated, even though they worked just fine."
Eventually, Shirley conceded and allowed EDF Energy to install gas and electricity smart meters in her home. Like many energy suppliers, EDF often offers competitive fixed-rate tariffs exclusively for households equipped with smart meters. "I caved only when they said I needed these new meters for the cheaper energy rates," she explains.
However, within a year, Shirley regretted her decision heartily, as her gas bill spiked to an staggering £5,231. "I must be living in Buckingham Palace for that bill!" she exclaims. "It nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Issues with Smart Meters:
While Smart Energy GB claims over four out of five people are content with their smart meters, many continue to express dissatisfaction. Approximately one in ten smart meters fails to work properly, pushing them to revert to traditional meter usage, requiring manual readings.
Issues with smart meter readings include poor mobile phone reception, thick house walls, or battery failures in the units. These problems resulted in inaccurate billing, leaving customers like Shirley bewildered and frustrated.
Shirley's Battle:
When Shirley saw the exorbitant bill, she reached out to EDF, but was met withRecorded messages that kept repeating how busy they were and advising her to call back later. Emails went unanswered, leaving Shirley anxious and sleepless.
It wasn't until her daughter, Nadine, hopped in that they managed to speak with an EDF customer service representative. "The call handler asked for photos of the meter," Nadine recalls. "To get those, we had to get down on all fours given the new meters were installed at ground level."
Despite emailing pictures of the meter with gas and electricity readings three separate times, Nadine was asked to submit more readings. Even after four months, the bill remains uncorrected.
Smart Meter Misfortune:
Nadine shares their ongoing struggle with EDF: "We've been battling this for four months now, and EDF claims the new gas meter wasn't registered – whatever that means! But it still doesn't explain the thousands of pounds they're demanding. If my mother didn't have a supportive family, she might have been pressured into paying the outrageous bill."
Shirley adds, "I wish I hadn't caved and allowed the installation. Until I get a reasonable bill, I won't be satisfied. The frustration and tension it's causing me aren't worth it."
EDF now admits that the smart meters' installation led to problems with the gas and electricity meter details not being accurately updated. This error resulted in a £5,231 balance appearing on Shirley's account. EDF promises to rectify the issue and issue an accurate bill with a goodwill credit for the inconvenience caused.
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This is Money Guides:
- Energy-saving tips to lower your bills
- Shirley Goldstein initially resisted smart meter installation due to her personal-finance concerns, as she was content with her existing meters and skeptical of the new ones, but eventually conceded to get access to competitive energy tariffs offered by EDF Energy in the finance industry.
- Despite EDF's claim that their smart meters promise more accurate billing and better energy management, Shirley Goldstein is now struggling with an exorbitant and inaccurate gas bill due to issues within the smart meter system, highlighting the persistent challenges in the energy sector, particularly in personal-finance matters.