[Margaret Pilkington]

That maybe one of the marketing ploys...and of course if the energy companies are not paying meter readers then they should have some spare cash to allow them to do this.
I do not require a smart meter, I pay my bills on the day they come through the letterbox, so I don't need direct debit either(I have been bitten by this particular beast before and it took a lot of mad making ....that is they made me mad,negotiations to get MY money back)so I won't be doing that again for variable bills.(I do pay for my broadband and telephone by direct debit but only because I could not get my broadband any other way. If I had had the choice I would not have done it that way)
Some people may like direct debit, and smart meters. I am not one of them.