Energy giants accused of ‘blackmailing’ customers about smart meters

Energy giants have been accused of ‘blackmailing’ customers into installing smart meters.

Many of the ‘Big Six’ are now insisting that customers have a smart meter to secure the cheapest deal, according to research by Money Mail.

Those who refuse are often told they can only sign up to a deal that cost hundreds of pounds more.

The cheapest tariff offered by Britain’s biggest supplier, British Gas, costs an average of £954 a year. But the small print reads: ‘By signing up to this tariff you agree you’ll book a smart meter installation appointment within three months.’

Those who don’t will be switched to another tariff, but British Gas’s cheapest deal without a smart meter costs an extra £266. A spokesman said: ‘Sometimes a deal may require smart meters.’

Customers are being blocked from the best deals for refusing to have a smart meter 

Trevor Brigden, 79, switches suppliers regularly

Trevor Brigden has no intention of installing a smart meter but was recently blocked from the best value tariffs at energy giant Eon as a result.

The 79-year-old switches suppliers regularly and, with his current Scottish Power deal set to expire, phoned Eon to ask for its energy prices to compare with others in the Big Six.

The retired education welfare officer, from Coventry, said: ‘I was told they could not offer me any prices for tariffs apart from the standard expensive one.

‘I was furious. Those meters allow companies to gather information about you. And they can change the pricing and control your energy supply. It’s wrong that companies are clearly pushing people to have meters when they don’t want them.’ 

Energy companies must offer every household in the UK a smart meter by 2020. Customers can refuse but firms face fines if they cannot prove they have done enough to promote them. Smart meters automatically send meter readings and show customers how much they are spending.

The aim is to end estimated bills and help households reduce costs by cutting consumption.

However, the roll-out has been hit by delays, which has led suppliers to find new ways of tempting customers.

Money Mail has been contacted by Eon customers who say that without a smart meter they must take the company’s standard variable tariff. This is currently £211-a-year more expensive than the firm’s cheapest deal.

A spokesman said: ‘If someone doesn’t wish to have [a smart meter] they will be able explore our other options.’

Npower’s cheapest deal also requires customers to get a smart meter installed. Scottish Power and SSE customers must register an interest in a smart meter when they sign up for the cheapest tariff. But both companies said they are not obliged to install one. EDF Energy is the only firm to make it clear in the small print that customers can opt out of having a smart meter. Meanwhile, other suppliers are luring customers with promises of credits or cashback when they sign up.

But Steve Playle, of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: ‘Blackmailing energy customers with financial incentives has sadly been adopted by much of the industry and it’s only going to get worse.’

Money Mail has been contacted by Eon customers who say that without a smart meter they must take the company’s standard variable tariff. This is currently £211-a-year more expensive than the firm’s cheapest deal (file image)

George Chalmers of switching website Migrate said: ‘While smart meters are not mandatory, many suppliers have been doing their best to make them seem mandatory to consumers.

‘By making their cheaper tariffs only available to people willing to accept a smart meter, suppliers have been effectively allowed to force consumers into getting one’.

Robert Cheesewright of Smart Energy GB said: ‘Smart meters deliver savings to energy suppliers and it’s pleasing to see them being passed on to consumers’.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk