I don’t want smart meters so Eon charges me £316 to replace my old one: SALLY SORTS IT

I have gas and electricity meters that need replacing as they are quite old now. Eon tried to convince me to have smart versions installed, but I resisted.

On the phone, an Eon agent told me that I could have conventional, non-smart meters installed, but this would cost £147 per meter, while the smart meters would be free. I said I’d rather pay than have a smart meter. I have just received a message stating that the costs are now €158 per meter. Why has the amount changed? PL, Aldwick, West Sussex.

Sally Hamilton replies: Energy suppliers are legally required to replace gas and electricity meters when they reach the end of their life and since yours are 20 years old, it’s time to replace them.

But since these old-fashioned meters are no longer produced, some providers are charging to install them – if they can even get their hands on them.

Your request for a replacement coincided with the national rollout of smart meters – the new technology that connects meters directly to suppliers via a secure network, with the aim of receiving regular, automatic and accurate readings.

Energy companies must meet government targets for installing the new meters, and around four-fifths of households in England, Scotland and Wales are expected to have them by the end of 2025. Although anyone with properly functioning old-fashioned meters can continue to use them.

The advertised benefits of smart meters are that customers no longer have to deal with the tricky issues of meter readings or estimated bills. The meters come with a separate screen that allows people to see in near real time how much energy they are using in their home – and how much it costs. The idea is that this knowledge will help households reduce use.

There’s no requirement to accept a smart meter – and as Money Mail’s mailbag can testify, many people don’t want them. A disadvantage for refusers is that they may miss out on competitive rates that energy companies may only offer to customers with smart meters.

You told me that the fear of poor reliability was one of the reasons you did not want smart meters. You don’t like the idea that someone can turn off the power on a whim, even though power companies say they would never do it.

You’re nervous that hackers might gain access to data. Experts say the meters run on a secure network and even if miscreants were to carry out a successful hack, the information collected would be limited. Still, you felt uncomfortable enough to request the old-fashioned meters and were willing to pay.

I have contacted Eon on your behalf to ask why you received two different figures for the cost of replacing your old meters. In it I was told that you had been misinformed by the first agent, who had mistakenly quoted the cost of removing a meter completely, while the second price – €158 – was the correct one, meaning it would cost €316 to replace both your gas and electricity meters.

Eon then contacted you to apologize for the incorrect quote and offered £50 as an apology. At the same time, it suggested that you could choose to have smart meters installed for free – and then run them in ‘dumb’ mode, meaning they work like a classic meter, taking regular readings as before .

You said you would have preferred the old-fashioned meters, but reluctantly agreed to a compromise.

When we caught up last week you confirmed that the smart meters have been installed and are working satisfactorily in dumb mode.

An Eon spokesperson said: ‘We have made it clear that there are additional costs associated with requesting replacement traditional meters for two reasons: firstly because suppliers have a government mandate to handle the rollout of the smart meter and secondly because classic meters are no longer produced, which means suppliers are less able to source and install them.’

Staff! Vinted froze our account after the watch we sold went missing

My wife sold a brand new, unwanted Samsung smartwatch on the online marketplace Vinted for £120. The buyer said the watch was not in the package when it arrived. Vinted suspended my wife’s account, offered a refund to the buyer, but now it is not responding to our questions. Please help. SJ, London.

Sally Hamilton replies: You said that you carefully packed the watch in a special envelope and took a photo of the IMEI number (the unique identification number) on the device. You then shipped the watch via Evri from your local post office, ensuring that the guidelines for shipping items with batteries (a special sticker was included) and having them weighed were adhered to. The package was approved for shipment by the counter employee.

When you followed up on the missing watch issue with the buyer, they informed you that the package had been left on the hood outside their home and that the envelope had been tampered with. They sent you pictures to prove this.

Vinted refunded the buyer, but why not you?

Under the terms and conditions, buyers who use Vinted pay a mandatory buyer protection fee with every purchase, as well as commission and shipping costs. Fees range from 3 to 8 cents plus 30 cents to 80 cents per transaction. The protection fee means that if the item does not arrive, is damaged or is significantly different from the description, the buyer will receive a full refund as long as Vinted is notified within two days.

There is no such protection for sellers. But I note that Vinted’s terms and conditions do mention sellers who have a problem. It says: ‘We will act for you if your buyer’s claim for a refund proves to be unsubstantiated.’

I have asked the company to look into your case.

Shortly thereafter, Vinted agreed to refund you and reinstate your wife’s account as a gesture of goodwill. A spokesperson said: ‘Our team has investigated and we are pleased to inform the customer that we will issue a refund to the Vinted account to cover the loss whilst the parcel was in transit.’