Energy suppliers have been accused by Citizens Advice of trying to bully customers into accepting smart meters by bombarding them with emails, letters, texts and phone calls.
Some messages have claimed that the meters are a legal requirement, Citizens Advice said, and engineers have been sent to properties where occupants have refused them. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute has written to Energy UK, which represents the industry, to say that companies may be breaking trading rules. “We will take further action if complaints continue to come in,” Steve Playle, from the institute, told the Daily Mail. “Firms are getting more and more aggressive.”
Victoria MacGregor, of Citizens Advice, said: “Smart meters are not compulsory and customers shouldn’t feel pressured to have one installed. We appreciate suppliers are under pressure to install more meters but they have a responsibility to act reasonably toward their customers and not to use misleading or aggressive sales practices.”
Energy UK said: “Energy companies will be adopting various methods of communication with their customers to enable as many people as possible to experience the benefits smart meters bring.”