electric key meters

xixdavid

I have tried to get a key meter fitted by my utility company Scottish Power for my electricity as they keep wanting to raise my monthly direct debit from £40.00 to £90.00 I normaly top up any excess from my savings which are disapearing rapidly. I have a key meter for my gas which i find ok to deal with. When they arrived to fit the key meter they said they could not as it was over 1.8 metres of the floor and this was in breach of the H&S for the company and customers and needed lowering to enable a key meter to be fitted.I got back in touch with Scottish Power on the telephone and after explaining what the fitter said to me she gave me a phone number for a company who move mains cables & meters and they quoted £800.00 to do this. As I am trying to save money this seems a bit much .Can you tell me if there is any loophole to not only enable me to get it done free or for a lower price but any one in my predicament :mad:

dogshome

Hi xixdavid - Could you please post your size of dwelling, it's heating arrangements and type of Elec meter

£40 a month, (£480 a year), is a reasonable Elec bill for someone with Gas central heating, but the demand for £90 a month, (£1080 ayear), is HUGE.
Even on the assumption that of the £90, £25 of it is going to pay off debt, that still means you are being billed £780 a year for what you use, which is still HUGE - Is it possible that you have Gas heating and an ECO7 Elec meter?

t0rt0ise

That's a sensible rule and must be new as when I moved in here the key meter was far higher than that off the ground.. up by the ceiling in a high ceilinged Georgian house.

The problem with the key meters is that the tariff is always the highest. Are you on the cheapest online tarrif available? Simply changing tariffs might help you but having a key meter installed seems like a backwards step as you would be paying even more.

bigfatface

yes it is a (fairly) new rule due to the amount of compensation claims received from people who had fallen over or had an accident while trying to reach up/stand on an unstable chair etc to top up their meters, and blaming the supplier for installing the meter so high up in the first place.

Its also risky for the meter fitter to install a meter above his head height. To be honest, I can't see you getting this done for free or at a reduced rate. The only time you would have it moved for free, is if you already had a key meter installed, and it was too high up for you to top up safely.