Beware - CEO acts like a Victorian-mill-owner
I do NOT recommend Meters UK.
I gave up secure employment to join Meters UK. When I handed my notice in to my previous employer, he texted me to say: 'It’s been great whilst you’ve been with us and I’m gutted to lose you.'
Before I joined Meters UK, I saw a previous employee's review on Indeed, from 4 January 2024, entitled: 'There is no future at this company'. It spooked me, but I felt there could be decent prospects at the company, so I chose to ignore the review. In retrospect, I wish I'd heeded the warnings and NOT joined Meters UK.
Ten days after I joined the company, the CEO emailed me to say: 'May I say how happy I am that you have joined the team at Meters UK and I hope we all stay together for many years and grow the business into an international success story.'
After a few weeks I was promoted by the CEO and he said he'd 'back me all the way'.
However, after just six weeks, the CEO called me into a meeting to drop a bombshell, i.e. that he was 'letting me go' because he alleged I 'couldn't do what I said at interview' and 'didn't need me anymore'. There was no warning or opportunity to address the situation. I was unclear what the reasons were for my dismissal and I never received a letter to explain, as I requested. I call that reckless behaviour and playing with people's lives.
Weirdly, even though the CEO was choosing to let me go, he invited me to have a glass or wine or beer with him one evening for a chat, which I thought was highly insensitive and inappropriate. Needless to say, I didn't accept.
I strongly reject the assertion that I couldn't do what I said at my interview. When I applied for the role with Meters UK, I received a message from them on Indeed to say: 'We're very impressed with your CV. Our reviews rating is definitely something we need to improve on here at Meters UK.'
They asked me if I had any marketing experience. I was very clear and advised that I had knowledge and experience of 'brand development, commissioning new websites, Google AdWords and graphic design for marketing materials'. This is ALL true. In fact, previously, I owned my own company which I built from scratch to achieve a turnover exceeding £5 million over seven years. I would have worked incredibly hard to try and help to improve the business, but I wasn't given any clear objectives, training or the time to do it.
In my experience, Meters UK is an incredibly disorganised company, a toxic environment to work in and they have little regard for the welfare of their staff. Some of the situations I saw unfold with unhappy customers and staff were genuinely jaw-dropping – for all the wrong reasons. Customers regularly complained about poor service and technical problems with their orders – some customers even ended up in tears, concerning not being able to cook, light or heat their homes. The management didn't seem to care too much or take any action to improve customer service. In some cases, it appeared that Meters UK wanted us as staff to hang up on customers, which I refused to do.
I believe the CEO bought out the ownership of Meters UK in the past two years, and since then I heard he has fired many staff on a whim. It seems he is happy to act like a Victorian-mill-owner and do what he likes, with impunity, and without any regard for distressed customers (see Meters UK's Google reviews), or the welfare of his staff.
To add insult to injury, I had to report Meters UK to ACAS, because they tried to short-pay me to the tune of hundreds of pounds. When I received my final payslip, I emailed the CEO to request a breakdown of what was included. He refused to clarify that, even though I asked more than five times. At one point he said: 'Consider yourself lucky that you received the payment that you did.' In another email he wrote: 'Don’t expect '3.5 days unused holiday pay', even though that's what the Government's holiday pay calculator advised I was entitled to. I believe it is illegal to withhold unused holiday pay in a final payslip, but the CEO didn't seem to care very much!
I have finally received most of the funds I was due, after they have been drip-fed a month late. But if I hadn't queried it, or stood my ground, Meters UK would have happily let me be paid nearly £400 less than I was entitled to!
At the time of writing this review, I still believe I'm owed approximately £50. We'll see whether it arrives or whether I have to pursue that through an employment tribunal with ACAS.
The whole thing is bonkers and would be funny if it didn't cause so much upset to all concerned.
Beware!