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Utilities - Doorstep Selling @Utilita and the 'Smart Meter'

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  • #16
    Re: Utilities - Doorstep Selling @Utilita and the 'Smart Meter'

    Hi everyone. In the interest of impartiality and honesty, I'd like to state two things from the outset:

    I know this is a very old post, but it seems old practises from some energy providers die hard. Utilita are pushing their door to door exercise more than ever in 2016 and so it's worth bumping this up.

    1. I work as a retail ambassador for an outside of the "Big Six" energy company.
    2. My employer does not practice door-to-door selling of our products and services.

    That said, I feel compelled to apologise for the mal-practice and poor selling techniques of any energy supplier. As an industry we are meant to be striving to make inroads into building trust with all consumers. The poor standards of an individual energy company has a ripple effect of broken trust which travels through the whole industry. So, once again, I wish to sincerely apologise to any customers who have been affected by this form of selling especially.

    Without going into a lengthy diatribe I'll try to explain a few facts about smart meters. Some points are fairly obvious but they're worthy of confirmation all the same:

    • The government has set a target for all eligible homes in the UK to have a free smart meter fitted to replace the old generation of meters by 2020. This looks likely to be extended.
    • Tenants and homeowners alike may have a smart meter if some technical conditions are met i.e. strong wan/wifi signal, distance between existing meters, height of meters from floor, and access to meters.
    • At this moment in time, qualifying occupants of the home are only to be offered a smart meter. The occupant/s are not obliged to agree to the installation of these meters in their home.
    • All energy company representatives should introduce themselves from the outset as being an agent for the specific company they are employed by.
    • Before agreeing to the smart meter installation the agent must inform you of the switch of supplier, the process and timescales involved, and explain the energy plan you will be transferred to and the rates, standing charges, plus any positive/negative savings (accurate but not 100%) that may be accrued over a year. They must also also tell you whether or not the 5% VAT is included in the quotation.
    • If it is your current energy provider who is upgrading the meters then all conditions within your current agreement, may that be for a regular meter or a pay-as-you-go meter remains unchanged.
    • If you have a debt under the value of £501 per meter, most energy companies will agree to transferring the debt from their existing supplier to the new one the customer has switched to. If it is over £500 per meter then things get a bit confusing.


    Interesting note: Usually a great way of ensuring a swift exit by a door-step energy salesperson is to tell them you have a debt of around £800 on each meter. You have no formal repayment plan in place, and your credit score is now affected because you've tried switching numerous times already.

    I hope this - my first post - has been a helpful one. If you have any questions or if I've missed something important out, then fire me a response and I'll do my best to give you an answer.

    Best regards to all.
    Seth

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