@gazza7251 You're missing the point. Apart from the fact that putting a card in your window advertises to every opportunist burglar out there that no-one's home, your post doesn't say why people should give a firm they've never heard of their data, only that they can. And as far as I'm concerned, the issue is: why should I?
I say, if the accountancy firm Grabbit & Skarpa call unannounced at my door saying they've been sent by the DWP to have a gander at my financials, they should be made to explain under what authority they should be allowed to see them. I'll do it, once I know, but until I know, I'm not going to divulge anything.
This might be relevant though:
Gazza7251: "Scottish Power and the Meter Readers are only paid for jobs that are accessed so don’t advertise the fact that MDS are reading their meters because it costs them less and still require a 75% access rate which is why pressure is put on Meter Readers to obtain the reads and access rate."
What exactly does that mean?
It means that Scottish Power only pay MDS and the Meter Readers for the jobs where they obtain a reading.Also there are penalties to pay if the 75% access rate is not achieved.So Scottish Power don’t really want MDS to achieve the access rate so that it saves them paying out for jobs not accessed plus they can reclaim penalties for not achieving the 75% access so it’s win win for them.
If MDS don’t read your meter in one quarter they automatically send it out again the next quarter to obtain a read.As you can imagine this makes the job even harder and difficult to achieve targets set by Scottish Power.
If you object to MDS reading your meter I suggest you ask for a smart meter to be fitted to your property and you won’t be pestered by Meter Readers trying to read your meter.
Dont believe them when they say your meter will not need to be read after you have a smart meter fitted because they still need a safety check which requires a reading to prove access and we still get jobs out to read smart meters after a smart meter has been fitted..
As already stated it’s completely up to the customer if they allow access and your comment that it advertises the fact that the property is unoccupied does not make sense as lots of people do it even if they are in the property..Providing a reading yourself by leaving a reading in the window is accepted by Scottish Power as a means to obtain your reading but you may get constant requests to read your meter on a regular basis .
I think if you actually read your terms and conditions with Scottish Power you will find that it states that your meters will be read by their agent.(in this case MDS).
You will also find that the card supplied by MDS says your supplier is Scottish Power although there are cards that just state your supplier.
I suggest you take the problem up with Scottish Power if you aren’t satisfied with what I have tried to explain .
Trouble is there aren’t any meter readers left at SP and it’s up to you to send in readings. SP use MDS as an agent and you have agreed to it in the terms and conditions of your contract. The days of personalised service and emails have gone now.
You will be waiting a long time because Scottish Power have no Meter Readers.
How do you expect Scottish Power to arrange for every customer to have their meters read by appointment? It’s an impossible task and the cost would push your bills up tremendously.
Each postcode is issued on a 3 month cycle so that the meters Scottish Power require a read for are condensed down to a small area for density of reads in that area which makes it cheaper and more convenient to read keeping costs down for you and Scottish Power.
If you are not happy with the service and terms with Scottish Power I suggest you change to another more expensive supplier like British Gas who also have no Meter Readers and use MDS.
That is your choice.