topic Re: smart meter installed - no notification in Meters & Connections

smart meter installed - no notification

scruffy1 — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:54:50 GMT

recently, some unknown agent let themselves into our property and installed a smart meter, telling my wife (who discovered him almost finished the job, after having noticed he had left our front gate open) - "i'm a subcontractor, you received notification"

firstly, bull**bleep** ! - we had no prior warning of this process taking place at any stage

unfortunately she failed to demand his identification, and nor did he offer it, or leave any documentation regarding the work - he was apparently pleasant enough, although leaving the gate open and unattended could well have allowed our dog to escape

and secondly, entering the property unannounced and uninvited is trespass, let alone undertaking non-urgent work on the meter box

there was no opportunity to decline the "upgrade" and no informed consent to having it occur

having now read here that this "upgrade" alters our contract, potentially to our financial disadvantage, and having no information at all before this fait accompli, i would like to know what the digital meter does for me as a customer, and what is involved both operationally for my supply, and contractually and financially as a recipient

might be good, might be bad, but regardless, the fact that it was unilaterally imposed rather than negotiated makes it simply wrong to do, and i am not pleased

thanks for some clarification of what happened, why, and how

does agl have statutory rights (akin to nbn) to do whatever it considers appropriate to supply a service? our electricity supply was already fully functional to our satisfaction, and no interference was authorised

and i'd like an explanation as to who needs to receive my formal complaint regarding the unsolicited intrusion on my premises

my enthusiasm to keep you as service provider has taken a huge plunge based on this experience

Re: smart meter installed - no notification

scruffy1 — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 13:02:24 GMT

additionally i now discover online from the australian energy regulator:

Your retailer must give you two notices to make sure you have a chance to opt out:
• your retailer must write to you between 60 and 25 business days before they propose to replace the meter.
• they must write to you again at least 10 days after the first notice and no less than 15 business days before the
proposed date to replace the meter.
In these letters, your retailer must tell you:
• that you have the option of opting out of the meter installation (including instructions on how to opt out and
the last opportunity you will have to opt out)
• the expected date and time for the meter replacement
• any upfront charges you will incur
• their contact details.

as such, agl has failed completely on every parameter listed

i look forward to receiving a formal explanation at my mail address, to prove you are aware of those contact details, and to also prove that you had opportunity to fulfil your obligations as noted above via that option

i might still love the smart meter, but your actions are totally outside the regulator's explicit defined standards, and unacceptable practice

Re: smart meter installed - no notification

_Mark_ — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 05:11:08 GMT

Hi @scruffy1, I'll check your account so that I can see if we sent out the correspondence on your behalf. I'll just send you a private message to get started. Thanks- Mark