E.ON prepaid meter question.

stulaunch

Daughter just moved into rented accom', she has a prepaid Gas meter on E.on energy plan, which i think is there standard tarriff.

Question is, can she change tarriffs with E.on when on a prepaid meter to a cheaper one?

Also i've never used prepaid before, is it possible for her to change onto a normal meter? I presume prepaid is going to be more expensive.

Premier_2

stulaunch wrote: »

...Question is, can she change tarriffs with E.on when on a prepaid meter to a cheaper one?

Yes, if there are any alternatives but I don't if there are any alternative E.On tariffs for PPM customers.

She could change supplier.

Best to check a comparison site if she has any idea of estimated annual consumption

stulaunch wrote: »

Also i've never used prepaid before, is it possible for her to change onto a normal meter? I presume prepaid is going to be more expensive.

Probably not for at least a year with E.On as it's a rental property (iirc), but she could always ask to make sure.

Prepaid meters usually charge about the same as a credit meter tariff nowadays ... but of course the user doesn't get discounts for paying monthly by DD, online billing, etc.
Again, she could check via a comparison site.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi stulaunch

Premier has already posted some excellent advice. Thought I would just confirm a couple of things.

Generally, we will only consider changing a Prepayment meter in a rented property once the tenant has been there for at least 12 months. We will also carry out a credit check at that time.

Each case, though, is considered individually and exceptions may be made in certain circumstances. For instance, where there is vulnerability at a property.

If we do agree to change the meter, there is currently a charge of £50 to cover the work involved.

As Premier says, prepayment tariffs are limited. Whilst prepayment unit prices are very similar to standard credit prices, the discounts for online management and payment by Direct Debit are not available.

I would do as Premier advises and pop your daughter's details on to a comparison site and see what alternatives are available.

Not sure about the policies other suppliers adopt in terms of replacing prepayment meters. Might be an idea to ring round and see.

Sorry I can't offer more positive advice stulaunch but hope this helps a little. Give me a shout if you need any more details as will be happy to help.

Malc

stulaunch

It does annoy me that when you pay upfront, hence no risk at to nonpayment to the supplier, that they make you pay a higher price.

KimYeovil

Running costs are much higher for prepayment meters. They are still run at a loss. For every few normal customers like your daughter there will always be an idiot who is calling out emergency engineers every couple of months or mounting up paypoint charges three times a week. It would, of course, be fairer having a 50p per payment charge every time you credit the meter and a call-out charge for meter visits but such charges are considered politically undoable - it is too difficult to determine 'genuine' claims from lazy, specious ones. So the burden is shared by all of those on prepay meters.

mole2704

Have just come up to the 12month marker with Eon myself so will try and see what plan i can get with them to change the PPM. I looked this weeknd and price per unit werethe same for 2/3 of the rates quoted, but about 10% for the third (I guess Eco7). Take off the standing weekly charge and the £50 to remove the meter becomes very affordable, especially if i get the rates changed over before i start turning the heating on full for the winter. My flat isn't the most energy efficient of places.

spiro

You also need to check the T&Cs of the lease as they may require a ppm refitted before you leave ther property. Remember the ppm helps the LL ensure no one does a running leaving a large utility bill behind.

Airmike23

Do bear in mind the unit rates charged on a prepay gas meter with Eon, are the same as for those on the standard eon gas tariff who pay cas/cheque/card every three months and monthly direct debit payers, justt a ppm cust gets no discount off the total unit rate ciost like the other bill paying customers do. Typically, other than ebico (a subsidiary of southern electric) Eon are one of the cheapest ppm providers. Consumption of course defines all and a comparison site as advised by other posters would determine whether or not a change of supplier is worth while.