Has anyone regretted removing prepayment meter?

aliasojo

I've had a prepayment meter almost all of my adult life. The first houses I moved into (council or HA) all had prepayment meters in them already and I just kinda got used to having them. I've had the one in this house for over 20 years now. The theory was that we were going to rent this house out at one point and it seemed to make sense to leave the prepayment meter in place.

Anyway, our plans haven't come to fruition and we'll be staying here for the forseeable. So we're thinking about getting the prepayment meter taken out. The supply company are happy enough to remove (for free) but something is stopping me from going ahead.

I realise we'd have a better choice of tarriffs etc so logic says we'd be better off without it, so what's stopping me? I have no idea. We pay our gas every month by DD so it seems illogical to deal with the electric by prepayment.

Has anyone ever regretted having their prepayment taken out? I don't know if my sense of unease is just simply because of change or if it's my subconscious trying to warn me of some negative reason I hadn't thought of.

Premier_2

Not quite your situation ... in fact probably the exact opposite.

I've only experienced a pre-payment meter once and that was a gas meter in a repossessd property I once bought. I so didn't want that type of meter (perhaps for the same reasons as you? - I had no prior experience of them) I got it replaced without delay. I have never regreted that decision.

HappyMJ

Do you want us to talk you out of it?

OK, you still need to go to the meter and read it regularly to prevent the supplier overestimating the bills. You can top up from home by getting a USB device from your supplier so you don't need to visit the shop. You may get charged by the bank if you forget the direct debit comes out on a particular day and have not remembered to leave funds in the account. You still effectively pay in advance by monthly direct debit. It is easier to see how much electric you are using on a key meter based on the number of days between top ups so therefore reduce consumption more than you would on a credit meter.

aliasojo

HappyMJ wrote: »

Do you want us to talk you out of it?

I'm not sure tbh. I just want to feel settled over whatever decision I make.

The bank DD wouldn't be a problem so I can discount that from the 'cons' list.

Don't think our supplier does the usb thing you mentioned, it certainly was not suggested during the phone call I had with them to go over a few things.

I think maybe the last point re: consumption is bothering me. I feel I have more control at the moment. Although that said, if the meter goes out, we just always top up, we never actually cut back as it were, so I suppose it wouldn't be much different.

Our local shop has just stopped the top up facility which is another reason why we're thinking about this now.

Plushchris

If the threat of big bill is whats putting you off then maybe look at something like BG's energysmart.

Fair enough its not the cheapest tariff around (but it will be cheaper than prepayment) but you keep them up to date with readings and you will get an accurate monthly dd for exactly what you have used, they also supply you with an energy monitor to keep track of what you are using.

You hit the nail on the head RE consumption, it may feel like you have more control with a prepay meter but you dont really have any more control, because as you say, if the meter runs out you just top it up. Thats what I found out quite quickly the one and only time I had a prepay meter. I got shot of it quick and havent looked back since.

If your supplier will change it for free then I would say take them up on the offer (most suppliers charge anything from £50 to £150)

caeler

I had one for 6 years then moved and don't have one anymore. I prefer without, I manage my consumption closely so know exactly how much my bills will be, plus I really don't miss having to top up, I never got into a routine with it and found it a pain!

SwanJon

Plushchris wrote: »

If the threat of big bill is whats putting you off then maybe look at something like BG's energysmart.

I'm fairly sure all the suppliers let you put in readings online, so you can monitor your consumption that way. (it also means that they can make a much better estimate of where to set your DD)
You could also try imeasure to help you see how much you are spending (I've signed up but never got round to actually logging on!)

Or, if you like spreadsheets you could set one up to help you monitor it.

Tariffwise there are many cheaper deals available not with PP, and you can keep an eye on it.

shelley_crow

I had a prepayment meter in for electric through npower. I had nothing but trouble. I was spending around £20 per fortnight, I could never understand where it all went. I am proper OCD about not wasting electric for this reason.

When I got a whopping bill because Npower hadn't changed the settings on the meter, I knew it was time to change. Npower wanted £100 to remove it. BG did it for free and now we spend around £29 per month by DD.

aliasojo

Well there really doesn't seem to be many positives for keeping the prepayment meter and not a lot of fans for it either.

One thing I will miss is the Tesco points I usually collect when I top the key up as I use my Tesco cc to pay (and then immediately send the money to pay for it via the faster payments service).

I think maybe it's time to bite the bullet and just get it taken out.

Thanks for all your replies.

markharding557

shelley_crow wrote: »

I had a prepayment meter in for electric through npower. I had nothing but trouble. I was spending around £20 per fortnight, I could never understand where it all went. I am proper OCD about not wasting electric for this reason.

When I got a whopping bill because Npower hadn't changed the settings on the meter, I knew it was time to change. Npower wanted £100 to remove it. BG did it for free and now we spend around £29 per month by DD.

npower:eek:say no more

Premier_2

shelley_crow wrote: »

I had a prepayment meter in for electric through npower. I had nothing but trouble. I was spending around £20 per fortnight, I could never understand where it all went. I am proper OCD about not wasting electric for this reason.

When I got a whopping bill because Npower hadn't changed the settings on the meter, I knew it was time to change. Npower wanted £100 to remove it. BG did it for free and now we spend around £29 per month by DD.

How long ago was it that you left nPower?

You see, nPower has given an undertaking that where a debt arises due to their failure to recalibrate a meter promptly/correctly after a price rise, they will cap recovery of any such debt at £70
http://cfe.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cfe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=6420&p_created=1255611251&p_sid=DeGuAWUj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9ODksODkmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0wJnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZGVidA**&p_li=&p_topview=1

Also I'm sure you are aware that PPMs require you to pay for electricity before you use it, so you will be be paying more in winter weeks than in summer weeks; with monthly DD, you pay the same amount every month of the year. So it's quite realistic that you were paying £40 per month on a PPM at one part of the year and now that is averaged out at just under £30p.m. every month.