We Have Smart Meters!

Okay, so recently I realised how much of an adult I’d become. We had our smart meters installed, and I was excited for this…Forget trips abroad to Magaluf, or a night out with friends, my life is now fulfilled with the joys of being able to top up my Gas and Electric meters without having to leave my house. It’s revolutionary honestly!

Here is why I think they are fabulous:

Too many times in the winter I’d get caught out without Gas for the heating, which resulted in me traipsing to the shops in the pouring rain, in the dark, on my own. I’d wait until Martin got home from work so I wouldn’t have to drag the kids out too. It was quite simply, a ballache. (I know, first world problems over here!) At the time, our supplier wasn’t rolling out with the smart meters, and luckily just before Christmas, we had a man knock on our door with the typical spiel of “we can provide you this, this and this” etc, and we were swayed to switch over to a new supplier as the promise of smart meters won over our hearts. Now I know, Christmas was half a year ago now (means only half a year left to go again… Better get thinking of presents and saving money up for it! But I digress..) Originally our meters were supposed to be installed in February, but for whatever reason I can’t remember now, we had to cancel it – and it was up to us to rebook it. Which we didn’t, because we’re totally useless and forgot! But at the start of June, Martin had it arranged for our meters to be installed, and tadaaaaa! They are in and I am a lot more pleased about this than what a 23 year old probably should be.

Our suppliers have been brilliant from the word go. I was a bit hesitant about switching, as we’d switched a couple of times within the year already to other companies offering better deals/winning us back, but we took the plunge and did it anyway. Their customer service team have been nothing but helpful and they sent lots of letters out explaining the switch and what happens next etc, and the day before installation, Martin received a phone call from the installer to see if we were about for an earlier slot! (Unfortunately we were both out.) We had been given a time frame of between 9am-1pm for installation, so we dropped the guy a message to ask if it were possible for him to come after 10am, and they were very accommodating! I personally wasn’t here when they came round, but Martin said they were top guys and really nice!

It’s not often good customer service gets recognised which I think is a real shame, people are quick to bad mouth and complain than they are to compliment and highlight good work. In this case I’m glad I can compliment and highlight good work! 🙂

 

excuse the crappy photo…

 

Now with our new meters, Martin has an app on his phone which we can directly top up our meters with! No more late night walks in the rain to the shops, or battling my way through the shoe cupboard to get to the Gas Meter. Now it can all be done in the comfort of our own home, and 2 clicks of a button. Voila! Instant top up! Alongside the app, we now don’t even have to touch the meter boxes anymore! All the information we need to know is on a cool little tablet which can be screwed to the wall somewhere in your house, or just perched wherever you want it to be! It displays how much money is on both the gas and electric, and over time it accumulates your details on how you use your energy, and it will provide you with an estimate of how many days your money will last you. It also has a lighting visual for you too! A green light tells you you’ve got over £2 on your account, an orange light tells you you’ve got under £2, and if the light is red it indicates you’re using emergency credit.

So if you’re on pay as you go meters for Gas and Electric, I’d 100% recommend getting the smart meters. Even if you aren’t a fan of using an app, you can still use your phone, or continue going to the shops. You’ll just have all the information on one handy tablet and save the faff of having to pop the keys into the meters and checking them each time. It’s a big thumbs up from me!

Are you on Pay as you go? Would you consider changing to smart meters?

Becky x