Martin Lewis shares pressing good meter warning and says ‘do not hassle’

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning around smart meters and has claimed that many Brits are willing to pay more to avoid having one installed.

The money guru said there are ‘too many broken’ smart meters, as he revealed a staggering one in five are on the fritz. Lewis has called on newly appointed energy chief Ed Miliband to address what he calls an “industry wide problem” of dysfunctional smart meters and their “heavy handed” installation tactics.

The financial whizz shared that many of his followers are hunting for deals that dodge smart meter installation due to their notorious glitches.

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In an open letter to Mr Miliband, Lewis said: “Too many smart meters don’t work. The industry can pump all the money it likes at marketing them, but when word of mouth is often saying ‘don’t bother’, it’s tough to shift the dial.

“I am regularly contacted by people asking: “What’s the best tariff I can get without having to fit a smart meter?”, as many who don’t have one now are willing to pay more to avoid getting one.”

He sharply criticised the current state of affairs, saying, “Our latest MSE research (via statistically representative polling), which asked people if their smart meters work, shows 19% say theirs don’t work.

“The reason this is so much higher is that it includes everything people feel has gone wrong, including in-home displays that won’t communicate or connect, incorrect data on tariffs or usage, and prepay top-ups that don’t register correctly. These aren’t in the official stats,” reports the Express.

“When it comes to installations, it’s undoubtable many of the low-hanging fruit have now been picked. This means providers are having to use more forceful language and exclude customers from better deals to try and heavy-hand them into having a smart meter all of which risks breeding resentment.”

Martin urged the government to rethink its approach by shifting focus from installing targets to the actual number of smart meters in operation, ensuring that customers with malfunctioning units get the attention needed for repairs.

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