Thames Water letter says it needs to fit a ‘smart’ water meter in my home: Is it a scam? CRANE ON THE CASE

I’ve received two letters which appear to be from Thames Water. 

The letters claim that Thames Water has some sort of right to enter my home to install a smart water meter. 

I’ve heard of smart electricity meters, but not smart water meters, so I am wondering if this is a scam. Can you advise? D.W, London

Concern: This reader was worried a letter from Thames Water may not be genuine

Helen Crane, This is Money’s consumer champion, replies: Thank you for getting in touch. The first thing I want to say is that you are absolutely right to be vigilant.

Scammers and would-be criminals are seemingly getting better at spoofing real companies every day. 

Just last week, I wrote about a lady who handed over a £500 television she was returning to a very convincing impostor of a delivery driver – before the real one turned up half an hour later. 

And Lloyds Bank has recently warned that more people than ever before were tricked into buying fake concert tickets, holidays and even cars this year. 

So when something doesn’t feel quite right, it never hurts to test the water. 

A good way to do this is to contact the firm in question directly – making sure to use the phone number from its official website rather than one from a potentially suspect letter or email. 

But of course, that might be easier said than done given the gargantuan call waiting times at some firms.  

In your case, you dropped me a line to see if I could help.  

Having spoken to Thames Water and shown it the letter, I can confirm that it is genuine. 

But smart water meters aren’t all that widely known so I can see why you treated this with caution.

Below, I outline what smart water meters are, what powers firms have to forcibly fit them, and how they could affect people’s bills. 

Smart water meters look like this, and work in a similar way to smart electricity meters – sending regular readings to their supplier

What is a smart water meter? 

Similar to electricity smart meters, they rely on wireless technology to transmit regular readings showing a customer’s water usage to their supplier. 

This means they do not have to send a person out to read the meter – this, in turn, should save the water firm money.

Water firms say fitting them also helps to reduce the water used by households in areas where supply is scarce, or might be scarce in future. 

Having them also allows the supplier to identify and fix leaks quicker. 

The Thames Water region was designated an area of ‘severe water stress’ by the Government in 2007, and in 2012 the firm was given the power to make it compulsory for their customers have meters fitted. 

It is able to do this under provisions in the Water Industry Act 1991.

A spokesman from Thames Water said: ‘The South East is a water stressed region and we need to act now to protect our future resources. 

‘We have legal powers to fit water meters at all properties in our region.’

You were told in the letter that a meter couldn’t be fitted outside your property, so it would have to be indoors.

‘Severe stress’: Thames Water is allowed to make it compulsory for customers to get smart water meters, in order to ward off water supply shortages in the future

You were worried about someone forcing entry into your property to fit a meter, given the scandal that erupted with electricity firms breaking into customers’ homes to install pre-payment meters earlier this year. 

The second letter of the two did also use some fairly heavy-handed language, calling itself a ‘final reminder’ and said you needed to make an appointment within 14 days.

The letter also stressed that Thames Water had the ‘legal authority’ to fit a meter in your home. But Thames Water reassured me that this would not be the case. It said: 

‘We will also only enter a customer’s property if we’ve booked an appointment with them and have permission to enter their home. 

‘We will continue to write to customers to advise them of our smart meter rollout.’

Will it make my water bills cheaper? 

Water firms argue that the meters are fairer, as people only pay for the water they use rather than being billed based on estimates. 

Thames Water told me: ‘Smart meters are the fairest option for customers, as people only pay for the water they use. 

‘Our data shows that on average metered customers tend to use 12 per cent less water.’

Households without a water meter – smart or otherwise – pay estimated bills based on the rateable value of a property as calculated at least 30 years ago. 

It may not work out cheaper to have a smart water meter, especially for large families living in smaller properties who probably use more than their estimate suggests. 

But for those who are careful with their usage, it could cut bills substantially. 

Customers won’t be charged on a metered account until one year after their meter has been activated, unless they choose to switch sooner.

This means they can get used to the meter and their bills won’t change straight away. 

Thames Water added: ‘We’ll write to customers to let them know the date we’ve activated their meter, and then start sending comparison letters at 3, 6 and 10 months, showing what they could pay on their smart meter, compared to their current bill.’

> Water bills set to soar by up to 44 per cent by 2030: See how much extra your water firm wants to charge 

Will it save cash? Smart meters charge based on actual usage rather than estimates, so it depends on how much water you use, and what your property’s rateable value is

What if I refuse a smart water meter?  

As with electricity smart meters, some customers will be uncomfortable with digitally sharing data about their water use with their supplier. 

The roll-out of electric smart meters also shows that they can be unreliable – and in that case the cost of fitting them in so many homes also added to customers’ bills. 

Those that don’t want a smart water meter could end up with higher bills. 

If a customer does not book a smart meter installation appointment, Thames Water will move them onto its ‘no access tariff’.

The no access charge is a fixed annual charge, which may be more than what a customer would normally pay.

For 2023/24 it is billed at £764.04 per annum. According to Water UK, the average household water bill in England and Wales is around £448 a year.

I hope this helps to clear the muddy waters.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk