Octopus pressured us into getting smart meters and they're the folks I am speaking to to get the things to work so as far as I'm concerned they're on the hook.

Mind you, I couldn't help noticing that the meters themselves are owned by a leasing company... (there is a plate on each one explaining this).

Again I think that's mostly the governments fault - they are setting mandatory smart meter rollout targets for the energy suppliers every year.