British Gas, Eon and Npower ‘blackmail’ customers into getting smart meters by withholding cheapest deals
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ENERGY firms have been accused of "blackmailing" customers by blocking them from the cheapest tariffs if they refuse to install a smart meter.
Customers who turn one down are then offered a deal that costs hundreds of pounds more, according to research by switching service Migrate.
Smart meters automatically send up to date readings to allow customers to pay for their exact usage rather than with estimated bills.
Suppliers must offer one to every household by 2020 but the roll-out has been hit by delays leaving suppliers to come up with other ways to convince customers to get one.
The cheapest tariff for gas and electric at British Gas - Britain's biggest supplier with 12 million customers - was £954 a year on average in August.
But you will only be accepted if you agree to install a smart meter "within three months".
How to find a cheaper energy deal
FIRSTLY, you’ll need to have a recent bill to hand. This will have all the details you need, including the name of your tariff and your recent spending on gas
- Use a comparison website: Customers can use websites such as uSwitch.com or Energyhelpline.com to compare tariffs and find a cheaper deal. You could save up to £400 a year if you’ve never switched before.
- There are other service you can turn to: MoneySavingExpert’s Cheap Energy Club will let you set up an email reminder that alerts you when cheaper deals become available.
- Things to do before you switch: Compare prices and before you switch check to see if you can get cachback from a website like Quidco or TopCashback
If you refuse, the next cheapest deal without a smart meter costs £1,220 annually - that's an extra £266 a year.
Eon customers who turn down a smart meter must take the suppliers' standard variable tariff that's £211 a year more expensive than the cheapest fixed one.
Npower's cheapest tariff costs £1,134 a year but only if you'll agree to having a smart meter installed within four months of taking out the deal.
Scottish Power and SSE customers have to register an interest in smart meters if they want the cheapest deal, while EDF is the only Big Six provider that lets customers opt out of having one.
Other smaller firms offer credits or cashback when customers take one out.
Steve Playle from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said: "Blackmailing energy customers with financial incentives has sadly been adopted by much of the industry and it’s only going to get worse."
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Cordelia Samson, energy expert at uSwitch.com, says: "Households shouldn't feel like they are being pushed to install smart meters just to meet government quotas, so it needs to be clear whether a smart meter is obligatory when people sign up.
"Switching to an energy deal with a smart meter can have many advantages in terms of cost and helping households use less energy.
"But consumer choice is the most important thing and customers should continue to shop around if they're unhappy with the way they're being treated."
A spokesperson for British Gas told The Sun that the smart meter deal is no longer available.
They added: "We regularly refresh our tariffs, and sometimes a deal may require smart meters. If a customer isn’t eligible for smart meters then they can stay on the tariff."
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Npower did not wish to comment. The Sun has reached out to Scottish Power.
It comes a few months after The Sun revealed how customers are being "pressured" into getting a smart meter with perks to encourage switching.
More than half of energy customers with a smart meter found that the devices failed when they switched supplier.
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