FTB house...unoccupied - gas &elec costs?

jamtart6

Hello!
Have just bought my very first house. We are in the process of doing it up, so don't live there at the moment.

Previous occupants were on a meter for electricity with Npower. We have paid £14 (including standing charge per week) in 7 weeks.

Currently on quarterly for gas also with Npower - not planning on using it yet. We have used 23 units in 7 weeks (assuming that isn't much? )

Anyway, my question is basically, which sort of tarrif should we go for. Eventually we want to get rid of the meter and get a dual fuel tarrif. At the moment we thought the meter was a good way to go as it is just pay as you go basically?? (£1.14 charge per week as well)

I spoke to the man at Npower and he said "because we don't know your usage, you can pay whatever you want per month, as long as it is not under £5"

He also said to get the direct debit set up asap so that I could get discount in the future??


I literally have no idea :rotfl:so any advice as to what is the best thing to do from this point would be really useful?? Is it worth getting rid of the meter now? Or just use the electricity meter until we move in and pay £5 per month for gas?

Are meters cheaper in the long run or a direct debit? Help! I am totally lost!

Thanks in advance

anniecave

when you say "meter" - do you mean pre-payment meter? Or a credit meter?

If you mean you have a pre-payment meter, then if you keep this then you will always be paying pre-payment prices via the pre payment system. Whichever supplier you go with. Pre payment is more expensive than you can get with a credit meter. The tariffs are totally different. Suppliers often charge you to get a meter changed though.

If you have a non pre payment (credit) meter, then changing supplier won't affect your meter anyway!

Premier_2

How long until you move in?

As you are not using the property, I guess you are not using any energy (or very little), yet you are paying a a standing charge. Consider a no standing charge supplier (e.g ebico, SSE, BG all offer no standing charges for their PPM customers)

As anniecave says, a PPM is generally more expensive than a credit meter (but this may be changing slowly due to government pressure). However, you will not be charged a premium by ebico to use a PPM compared to credit meter with them.

If you want rid of the PPM and nPower will not change it for free, shop around and ask for a free meter change when negotiating a new supplier.

Note that a refundable security deposit may be required for a credit meter (it depends on your credit profile) - this is different to the non-refundable charge some suppliers may make to actually change the meter.

Ultimately you'll probably get the cheapest deal (based on typical usage, not when the property is empty) by getting a credit meter, agreeing to paperless online billing and payment monthly by DD
(you won't get any discounts with ebico - one price fits all)

jamtart6

anniecave - I mean a meter where I go to a shop, buy electricity on a card and put it into the meter, is that a credit meter?

Premier - at least 6 months until we move in.

I have spoken to npower who said we will only be charged for the gas we use quarterly, and charged for the electricity we use on our meter.

Think we will stay with them until we move in as this seems like the cheapest option.

Fire_Fox

Are you on the standard tariff with NPower? This is probably the most expensive; you may also wish to switch supplier before moving in as they aren't known for cheapness. Are you getting a duel fuel discount?

jamtart6

I have no idea, we have only just managed to set up a new account (previous owners had left major debts, so took us a while to prove we owned the house).

Is duel fuel when you pay in advance?

Premier_2

A dual fuel discount is given by many suppliers when you agree to buy both their gas & electricity from them. I don't know if you can get this when one or both supplies is on a pre-payment meter.

jamtart6

Ah OK. thanks for the info, I will ring them up and ask - you don't get if you don't ask!