Are smart meters really being hacked?

We hear from plenty of people who’re concerned about their smart meters. From Octopus Energy to EDF and British Gas, energy customers have a lot to say about smart meters and the smart meter rollout.

There are undeniably problems – but there are also loads of wild rumours flying around.

You may have read the stories about how smart meters can be hacked or manipulated.

Understandably worrying stuff – but do you actually need to be concerned?

It’s tricky to know what’s really an issue and what’s just part of the media frenzy.

We unpack what’s actually going wrong with smart meters, so you can get things sorted if your smart meter starts acting more like a stupid meter.

Are smart meters being hacked?

Here’s the deal. We’ve helped people with thousands of smart meter complaints, but we haven’t heard about a single one being hacked or remotely tampered with.

As far as Resolver knows, you don’t need to worry.

That being said, we have seen thousands of complaints about smart meters.

I want to talk to a human!

We’ve heard from an incredible number of people who’re really frustrated with energy company answering systems.

They’re sick and tired of getting trying to get past automated answering systems.

They just want to talk to someone.

This seems to be a consistent problem for all energy companies.

There’s a strong argument for more staff being put on the ground to deal with smart meter enquiries.

Incorrect readings

One of the most common complaints we see at Resolver is about dual fuel customers getting incorrect or inaccurate bills.

If you think you’re only getting gas or electricity readings sent to your provider instead of both, get in touch with them to arrange an inspection.

It’s hard to get engineer appointments

Plenty of people have said that’s it’s really difficult to get engineer appointments to set up smart meters.

It seems there’s a real shortage of engineers available to solve smart meter issues.

Parking problems

We hear all about engineers cancelling because there’s “no access to the property” – even when there’s a perfectly good place outside.

This is absolutely unacceptable, especially when you’ve waited ages for an appointment.

If you’ve made sure there’s a place available outside only to have the engineer bail, get in touch with your energy provider via Resolver to let them know.

Whether you’re in favour of smart meters or not, there are loads of deals available exclusively to smart meter owners. It’s ultimately up to you as to whether you take one or move to another supplier.