help with meters

nikkit72

I have a problem with my electric supplier and would love some help please.

I currently have a pre payment meter with E on , My electric costs have nearly doubled in the last few weeks , from £10/£13 to £20 a week , i called them today to see if i could go on a normal meter and pay direct debit monthly, yes they said as i have never had any arrears and have lived at my property for 4 years , after them telling me this , they then said that will be £50 charge for this , i then said , i don't have £50 to change the meter as i am changing the way i pay as i can not afford the £20 a week charges, i said i will be looking around for another supplier for my electric, he then turned round to me and said 'On a normal meter you do not save any money compared to a pre payment meter.
Erm i don't think is true ,as surcharges are added to pre payment meters. if i am wrong please correct me ,,

Please could you advise if i do have to pay to change the meter in my property , my property is rented the landlord does'nt mind what meter is in here . Also is there a difference in charges over the year by changing . If there is a charge will another supplier change meter at no charge for a new customer ?

Thanks in advance

spiro

Typically suppliers will change a meter for free if it is for theiir benefit (credit to prepayment to recover debt) and charge when there is no benefit (prepayment to credit). Therefore you are unlikely to get it changed for free. You might want to check the settings on your meter to ensure no debt has been placed on their by mistake and that the prices are correct. You might also ask E-On if they would spread the cost of the exchange over the first couple of bills. In terms of price difference suppliers are starting to reduce the gap because whilst ot costs them more to administer prepayment meters (mainly due to payment collection) the goverment are concern of the impact on the fuel poor.

SwanJon

Some suppliers will credit check you before changing the meters (a winter quarter bill could easily be a couple of hundred quid).
Other times they may ask for a security deposit (which you will get back with interest after a year)
I'm not 100% sure, but I think SP charge the same as their standard tariff for PP, but you don't get any discounts, and can't use the online tariffs.
If you speak to other suppliers be careful of them offering to swap the meters with no checks - they are probably just after the commission.

nikkit72

thanks alot for the info , but i have found british gas will change me over to a capped bill and will also work out cheaper than eon staying on a pre payment meter too

tinkerbelle

Some suppliers have stopped standing charges on a pre payment meter meaning that do pay the same as if you had a normal meter.

Premier_2

tinkerbelle wrote: »

Some suppliers have stopped standing charges on a pre payment meter meaning that do pay the same as if you had a normal meter.

It's not the standing charges that are usually the issue, it's the higher unit costs associated with PP meters that is the primary concern.

I believe the only supplier to charge the same, no matter whether the customer has a PP meter or a credit meter is ebico.