getting rid of prepay meters

before_hollywood

ok 2 quick questions...........

1. i bought this house nearly a year ago, it came with prepayment meters for gas and electric, i want to change to quarterly bills and change suppliers- i would rather this than pay by direct debit as i can submit my own meter readings (i am not at home during the day 6 days a week, and if i post on here during the day its usually in a spare 5 minutes of my own time in work), do i have to keep the meters for a minimum length of time even though i never asked for them in the first place

2. do i have to have the meters removed by my existing supplier and then change after being on bills for a set length of time, i want to move from scottish power to either ebico, edf or southern electric, not decided which yet. decided against british gas and eon so i think they are much of a likeness

KimYeovil

You can change supplier whenever you like (if you are not more than £200 in debt). You can ask whomever you like to change the meters.

Some suppliers may ask for a fee or a returnable deposit to change the meters. Others will not.

Considering switching to Ebico now you are considering getting rid of the prepayment meters seems a little strange timing.

Mupette

KimYeovil wrote: »

You can change supplier whenever you like (if you are not in debt). You can ask whomever you like to change the meters.

Some suppliers may ask for a fee or a returnable deposit to change the meters. Others will not.

Considering switching to Ebico now you are considering getting rid of the prepayment meters seems a little strange timing.

You can move even with debt, you just pay the new company

KimYeovil

Mupette wrote: »

You can move even with debt, you just pay the new company

Corrected my post.

before_hollywood

i'm still weighing up the options to be honest.........

i used to share the house and i dont anymore, so i am redoing my budget as a lot of my bills have changed recently, i am changing to budgeting a certain amount every month for gas and electric, either building interest in the bank for quarterly bills (i barely use gas for 6 months of the year for instance) or keeping a seperate basic account and using it to pay at the shop for my meter top ups.

had an estimated saving of £250 going onto fixed direct debit with edf but i cant help thinking this is false as 65% of what i pay out is gas. it averages out at £50 a month gas £35 a month electric

KimYeovil

If you mean you currently spend £35 on electricity then you could probably save £250 per year. I am not sure why you think not using much gas over summer (like countless others) makes the estimate unreliable.

before_hollywood

KimYeovil wrote: »

If you mean you currently spend £35 on electricity then you could probably save £250 per year. I am not sure why you think not using much gas over summer (like countless others) makes the estimate unreliable.

the reason i am a little unsure of it is that i only have this year to go off, its not exactly been a typical winter, i didnt live in a house where bills were in my name last year.

£250 saving on an annual bill of £450? i like the sound of that, i'll have a look tonight when i finish work

Mankysteve

If you move to quarterly payment you'll properly find you'll end up paying more than you pay now. Find your current price per kilowatt at the moh and have a shop around just note that a few compaies will charge to switch the meter and Ebico wont switch them at all.

mattcanary

Rubbish - I am with Ebico and they do change prepayment meters to quarterly if you pass their credit check. I know - I have gone through the process. EDF and Southern are also often sympathetic to the request - as are BGas and possibly NPower (although I would never recommend switching you supply to that bunch of charlatans).
EON and Scottish Power seem to be reluctant to take out prepayment meters.

neil9313

mattcanary wrote: »

Rubbish - I am with Ebico and they do change prepayment meters to quarterly if you pass their credit check. I know - I have gone through the process. EDF and Southern are also often sympathetic to the request - as are BGas and possibly NPower (although I would never recommend switching you supply to that bunch of charlatans).
EON and Scottish Power seem to be reluctant to take out prepayment meters.

i dont think steve meant ebico, My daughter has prepayment meters for gas and electric and I would like to change them or at least the electric if she does not go on ebico. I dont want to pay a charge if possible.

neil9313

before_hollywood wrote: »

i'm still weighing up the options to be honest.........

i used to share the house and i dont anymore, so i am redoing my budget as a lot of my bills have changed recently, i am changing to budgeting a certain amount every month for gas and electric, either building interest in the bank for quarterly bills (i barely use gas for 6 months of the year for instance) or keeping a seperate basic account and using it to pay at the shop for my meter top ups.

had an estimated saving of £250 going onto fixed direct debit with edf but i cant help thinking this is false as 65% of what i pay out is gas. it averages out at £50 a month gas £35 a month electric

I understand what you are saying but apart from Ebico you will pay more if you dont do monthly DD fact.

You also wont get more interest by not doing so.


Just get an accurate dd