Any advice for a pre-payment meter virgin?

sackcloth

Dear All,

After a terrible year at home, we have now been told by our electricity supplier that we have to have a pre-payment meter. Yes, we have a great deal of debt built up over the past few months while both me and my OH have been out of work but we have continued to pay something no matter how small the amount was. Prior to that we were paying by DD monthly and obviously being in work we had enough to manage any increases.

Part of the reason for the debt is the supplier (and I don't want to mention them) has had customer readings from me and there was a bit of a disparity between an estimated bill back last year and my reading which has also added to the debt. Plus it turns out that we have been on an Econ 7 tarriff when we should have been on the standard one! They also reneged on an agreement to pay a lump sum and have increased that to double what I had agreed. To be honest, they've been a bit hit and miss with some advisers being great and very helpful and some treating me like a naughty school girl who needs to be in detention!

Trouble is that both me and the OH have been adamant that we don't want to get a pre-payment meter but with the debt running at a very high rate it is actually the only way to pay it off and pay for our electricity without too much stress. So I'm biting the bullet and going to accept their offer today so that I can start paying the debt off and pay for our electricity up front. I've worked out how much I need to pay each month and the debt will be spread over 52 weeks, so won't take that much out of my usage.

What I wondered is how other people manage and how easy is it to get the meter changed back to a standard meter after everything's paid off? My OH is spitting feathers about the whole matter already and I need some reassurance. The rate that we are being offered is the standard rate so no extra charges or anything for changing over but I'd just like some positive stories if possible to make me feel better????

Thanks,
Sackcloth.

KimYeovil

It is not usually necessary to accept a prepayment meter if you agree to repay over twelve months. Of course, if you (or, as seems to be the case, they) have breached previous agreements or ignored too many demands then it may be too late. But as there seems to be incompetence (or at least confusion) on their side it may be worthwhile persisting with the complaint and asking again for a repayment plan over a year with the current meter.

Unfortunately it is not straightforward to lose a prepayment meter if you are the customer who incurred the change. Regardless of fault the supplier may refuse to switch you back. Once your debt is paid off you may have to switch supplier with the prepayment meter in place and then the new supplier will provide a credit meter - but they may charge or ask for a returnable deposit of £200 or more for a year for the service.

sackcloth

Thanks Kim, and I do appreciate you taking the time to post on this. To be honest, none of the "agreements" that I had with them have been in writing other than on their system - which all the advisers have confirmed that the notes are there. But it was all a bit flexible because of the problems with paying once a month and then twice a month when our benefits were paid. I paid them for both gas and electric as soon as our benefits arrived but this wasn't enough for them and to be honest, I can see their position as well as our own.

Anyway, I've decided to go on to the pre-payment meter because frankly it will be less hassle than having to deal with them about this all the time. I understand that it may be difficult to have it removed after the debt is paid (although our supplier has been adamant that we can have it done and this is the first time we've had any problems paying in over 8 years) but having had the first good night's sleep in ages (without worrying about the electricity on my alarm clock burning up the pennies :rolleyes:) has been worth making the change.

The good news is that it has galvanised my OH to look at all our electricity usage. He used to moan when I turned things off and wouldn't leave stuff on standby... will be interesting to see if we can get our usage down in the future.

Thanks,
Sackcloth.