Switching from a pre payment meter

welshfireman

I am in a postion to switch from my current prepayment meters for my gas and electricity.

I have the figures and am ready to switch, but martin is saying to wait for further prices decreases at this time.

Obviously I am paying a huge amount on prepayment, should I wait for martin to say 'switch now' or just switch right now due to being a current prepayment customer?

Help!

Premier_2

The reason Martin is saying don't switch now is that many people will simply use the comparison sites to find the cheapest supplier, which will probably be BG at present as they have just reduced their prices. Other suppliers are expected to follow suit shortly, and by the time a person switching to BG actually gets switched, then BG may no longer be the cheapest supplier.

Add to that the complication that not all suppliers will lower prices by the same percentage (or even the same supplier reduce all their tariffs by the same percentage) then you can see why the situation is somewhat difficult to assess at present. Hence why Martin is taking the safe bet and recommending not to switch at present.

But if you are certain of your figures and you are sure you will save money by switching, why wait? But make sure you continue to monitor that you are on the lowerst rate and allow for the fact it will probably take 4 weeks or more to switch supplier again if you've got it wrong.

Of course, if you are prepared to spend the time to continuously switch supplier, you will probably more than make up for any short-term loss in choosing a slightly more expensive supplier by the potential cash-back you might earn in switching suppliers continuously.
If you want to do this, make sure you choose a supplier that pays cash-back (some such as those on quidco can revise or remove cashback offers at a moments notice), and also make sure there are no exit penalties for switching from any chosen supplier/tariff.

afrochic

I just received my Jan 09 bill from E.ON after giving them a meter reading... i did notice my reading was higher than the previous one they estimated but entered the figures on their site anyway. Then i received a shock the next day when my bill was 100% more than it has been at any other time @ £280.00!!! :mad: i have just got off the phone to them. they explained that the reason the bill was so high was that a) i happened to provided a reading that coincided with a price increase (10.65 per kw to 14.00 per kw) AND this is the best bit.... b) i was still on the same tarriff i had when i have my prepayment meter!!!!... i switched to statments in Feb. 2005!!! I now await re-imbursement of my monies :j ... E.ON also said they were will put me on a Normal Standard Rate... which is one rate regardless of time of day and is supposed to be cheaper.. i have been charged a rate for day, night and a standing charge for the last 4 years!! I feel a bit of a numpty, i can tell you...:o here's hoping they keep their word.. i have taken the name of the lady i spoke to and some other notes.
So please make sure they take you off the pre-payment rate when u switch... eventually... even if you stay with the same supplier.
Do you guys know anyone else whose had this problem? Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this... I did do a search first...