Prepayment meter advice please? new user

foxyuk

hi guys bought flat to rent out.. at mo its scottish gas and scottish powere respectively on bills..... tenant moves in next mon wants prepayment.


checked web and EBICO seems the best


do all companies take 4 weeks min to carry out change over? thougght of a bill in her name for 4 weeks scares me , i know not my debt but......

Premier_2

Yeah, it's about that long normally.

If you are worried about her not paying her leccy bills (the suppliers problem) you should really be worrying about her not paying her rent (your problem).

Why not seek a tenant you have more faith in?

foxyuk

Getting safeguard hoefully so rent direct from housing benefit to me. At the end of the day don't reckon u can trust anyone these days.

KimYeovil

Remember there is likely to be a charge for a voluntary change of meter. Has the tenant agreed to pay that cost or are they wanting you to pay for it?

Personally I do not think you should be involved at all - if the tenant wants the meters let them make the requests.

All you need to do is take a careful note of the readings on the meters the day the tenant moves in (preferably in their presence and get them to sign them off). You can send them to the suppliers with the name of your tenant and date of entry.

foxyuk

KimYeovil wrote: »

Remember there is likely to be a charge for a voluntary change of meter. Has the tenant agreed to pay that cost or are they wanting you to pay for it?

Personally I do not think you should be involved at all - if the tenant wants the meters let them make the requests.

All you need to do is take a careful note of the readings on the meters the day the tenant moves in (preferably in their presence and get them to sign them off). You can send them to the suppliers with the name of your tenant and date of entry.

never knew there was a charge to change.... had a look and thought EBICO was best........ nothing in that site mentions charge to change to them.... nor did b/gas mention anything

mattcanary

I don't think companies normally charge customers if they want a prepayment meter to be fitted. Prepayment meters obviously should mean a customer will never be in debt so it eliminates the suppliers' risk (well, that's the theory anyway).
Now, if a customer wants a prepayment meter to be taken out and changed for a quarterly meter, that is often a different matter completely. The supplier will often charge the customer (in the form of an actual cost for doing this work, plus a ssecurity deposit) if this is the case.

jimmyk_2

never pay to have a pre payment meter replaced with a credit if you inherit one when moving in.you cannot be compelled to pay a premium on your usage. if they try the £250 in advance security trick.change shippers to one that will change the meter free of charge..give them 4 weeks to do the work if they are obstructive in any way. change shipper.