Electric Card Metre - High Costs

EstherH

Hi, my daughter has just moved into her first flat which is really small, and the electric is paid by card. The letting agent said that because of where the flats are situated there is no way this can be changed without it costing the landlord thousands to have a cabel run up. I don't really understand anything about this, just know that it is the most expensive way to pay for electric but we are shocked at how much it is, as it is costing her £3.00 a day and she is hardly using anything. She's too scared to put the heating on for long and is freezing. That works out at £90 a month for a tiny one bed flat.

Apart from the obvious, making sure everything is turned off when not in use and sitting wrapped in her duvet, is there anything she can do?

Is this as excessive as we think, or is this normal for a card metre with a private landlord? It is a groundfloor flat, so I know that would be colder than an upstairs one, but it can't be any different to downstairs in a house surely.

Premier_2

It is unclear whether your daughter has her own supplier's meter or simply a sub-meter off the LL's own supply.

A look at the meter should clarify this.
Or where did she get the payment card from? and how is it credited?

If it is a supplier's meter, there is no technical reason it can't be changed to a credit meter, but beware of any conditions of the Tenancy Agreement before attempting to do so.
Don't be mis-lead, some suppliers may actually charge less for a prepayment meter than a comparative standard credit tariff where the customer pays on receipt of bill, although she may be losing out on some discounts such as the ability to pay monthly by DD
Ebico for example charge all their customers the same no matter how they pay

If it is indeed a sub-meter off the LLs supply (hence why he suggests it may cost thousands to install a specific supplier's meter) then be aware that a LL may not profit from the resale of such energy.

Of course, how much she spends will always be determined by how much she consumes.

cherrykerry

£3.00 a day sounds an awful lot. Me and hubby live in a very small 1 bedroom flat and are on prepayment meters, even now that its really cold and we have 2 heaters going (which keep us lovely and warm) and a fan heater drying the clothes occasionally we are not spending more than around £3- £4 a night. We have however now changed supplier so should find it cheaper now. Have you thought about changing supplier as some charge a high standing charge for prepayment meters?

markharding557

£3 a day for all electic is quite reasonable at this time of year but she should be able to keep warm for that,you need to see what tarrif she is on and that she is not being scammed by the land lord.

EstherH

Premier wrote: »

It is unclear whether your daughter has her own supplier's meter or simply a sub-meter off the LL's own supply.

A look at the meter should clarify this.
Or where did she get the payment card from? and how is it credited?

If it is a supplier's meter, there is no technical reason it can't be changed to a credit meter, but beware of any conditions of the Tenancy Agreement before attempting to do so.
Don't be mis-lead, some suppliers may actually charge less for a prepayment meter than a comparative standard credit tariff where the customer pays on receipt of bill, although she may be losing out on some discounts such as the ability to pay monthly by DD
Ebico for example charge all their customers the same no matter how they pay

If it is indeed a sub-meter off the LLs supply (hence why he suggests it may cost thousands to install a specific supplier's meter) then be aware that a LL may not profit from the resale of such energy.

Of course, how much she spends will always be determined by how much she consumes.

We didn't know anything about sub letting electricity until I phoned our electricity supplier yesterday for some advice and was told about this. Sounds like that is what is happening. She said that the landlord was allowed to charge a percentage above the cost but only a certain amount and she couldn't remember how much. Think we need to find that out. She got the card off the letting agent and it is credited by paying another tenant in the flat above.

It's only a small flat, so it does seem a lot to me especially as she is keeping the heating off as much as possible and is out at work all day.

kippen_noedel

EstherH wrote: »

She said that the landlord was allowed to charge a percentage above the cost but only a certain amount and she couldn't remember how much.

She got the card off the letting agent and it is credited by paying another tenant in the flat above..

first part, absolutely not, it is against the law for ANY Landlord to charge more than the cost to them for gas or electricity. Their is an exception if the landlord and the tenant share a primary meter, then they can charge a small admin fee but this has to be clearly set out in the lease beforehand or is unenforceable.

second part, that sounds very suspicious,

ask the agent for a breakdown of costs for the electricity

acl25

Take a full list of setting from the meter.
There will be a cycle display button write down whats on the front screen press the button and write down and repeat until you are back at the start.

Then call the supplier and give reads! You may be paying off a debt that is set on the meter from a previous tenant!!?

Its worth a try!