I have not been writing a great deal in the past few weeks, as I’ve been dealing with other things, but; after watching the TV news just this afternoon, I decided to comment.
The single source of my annoyance? The stories about how almost 70,000 households have been switched, by the use of a selective electronic circuit in their strangely-named ‘Smart Meters’ from paying by the chosen method of a Direct Debit, to a pre-payment service: with absolutely NO NOTICE whatsoever!
Now I have written previously about these so-called ‘Smart Meters’, and about how the only way that a consumer can actually “save money” with using these infernal devices is to switch any or all devices OFF. To be perfectly frank, the only bunch that wins from the connection of a ‘Smart Meter’, are the bloody suppliers and generators of both electricity and gas.
But here’s the truly annoying thing that even I did not either know or appreciate; which is that these Electronic meters can be; and have been modified so that they will ONLY WORK when a pre-payment has been made, and if the cash is not immediately available, that electricity or gas will not flow until that CASH is paid!
As winter speedily approaches, and the true cost of living rockets upwards, many of those families will suddenly find that COMPUTERS have no sympathy; no compassion; and have no gas or power to heat their homes or cook their food.
"....many of those families will suddenly find that COMPUTERS have no sympathy; no compassion; and have no gas or power to heat their homes or cook their food."
ReplyDeleteSadly very true. Welcome to the world of digital concentration camps.
JH: I've done it slightly differently ... insisting on keeping my prepayment lekky card meter, also DD gas set tariff, neither a "smart" meter.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was born a natural extreme cynic, but the last few years have shown me that I wasn’t even close to my limits, and … recent revelations show even that wasn’t close to how cynical I ‘should’ have been.
ReplyDeleteI was moved into (due to chronic disability following “multiple, work-related, involuntary, ballistic body-implants whilst employed in foreign parts”) a property that already had a smart meter. Truthfully I haven’t noticed any difference.
My, not particularly caring, typically money-grubbing, and always virtue-signalling electricity supplier has me on the “emergency priority list” (as whilst a loss of power may not mean my survival is “contra-indicated” it would definitely be “compromised”). As such they regularly (annoyingly so) contact to check if I am having difficulty paying, offer support options and ‘schemes’ to make it easier.
The small print in my own contract – I checked - if I fail to make the payment by DD as agreed and without contacting the supplier to explain/negotiate, I will be “automatically transferred to a pre-payment scheme”. Duh!
Those 70,000? What’s the betting someone (they) may be ‘exaggerating’, as to how uninformed and honest they really were, a little here. (and why does the cynic in me assume that we aren’t talking about formerly hard-working pensioners here, but the “single mothers”, “unemployed” and “budding footballers/rap-stars” who will not have been so lax as to fail to pay for their tatts, big-screen TV’s and game consoles, or their ‘social lives’ whilst failing to pay their electricity bills?).
Will there be some few legitimate cases of hardship? Guaranteed, and they need someone to help, but the vast majority cited here ‘will’ be the usual suspects trying it on as per usual.
Like I say, a cynic, but often (as here) the only difficult part is deciding ‘who’ I should be being cynical about.
So? We're not talking about people paying, or even just trying to pay, their bills being subject to random switching to pre-paid here, so don't panic.