Need to change meters/supplier - but how do I work out what's best for me??

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

I'm on pre-pay electric key & gas card meters with EDF. I'm happy with their service, but am aware that I'm paying over the odds because it's PAYG, so was thinking of changing to a billing/DD meter.

I use £7 electricity and £4 gas per week (Winter usage). I was stopped in the supermarket the other week by an EDF salesman, who said that on pre-pay I'll be paying double the amount of "normal" meters, and worked out that if I had my meters changed, my combined bill per annum would be (on average for a 2 bed property) £500.

Now, taking into account Summer (where I would use less than my Winter spendage), that's an INCREASE of around £40. The rep did say that's an AVERAGE 2 bedroom use, but how do I know that I won't end up paying more than currently? The online comparison sites don't let you compare PAYG against the other packages...

So please help!

annabel14

there is a thread on the board s somewhere which will help you in very detailed way but it is my experience that ebico supply cheapest fuel for prepayment meters. look for gas and electricity forum:)

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

annabel14 wrote: »

there is a thread on the board s somewhere which will help you in very detailed way but it is my experience that ebico supply cheapest fuel for prepayment meters. look for gas and electricity forum:)

Thanks, but I was hoping to switch to non-prepay as it's apparantly cheaper than pre-pay, but I don't know how to work it out or compare companies/prices:(

seafarers_wife

first thing to do is speak to your current supplier and ask them to tell you how much each year you use in kwh for gas and kwh for electric. they will need current meter reads to do this.

It needs to be in KWH and not £££ as KWH gets a better comparison and you can then compare accurately if pp or billing is cheaper for you.

then go onto some site like uswitch where you can compare your annual usage figues on both pp and on monthly dd/bills to work out whats cheaper.

if you want to change to a billing meter with a different supplier they might require a deposit/credit check/payment before changing the meter so i would suggest speaking to your current supplier DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE CONSIDERING CHANGING COMPANY and asking them if they would change the meter for you and once meter is changed go from there with switching to a cheaper company if thats what you want to do.

macman

Firstly, ignore anything that a rep tells you, they'll tell you that the moon is made of cheese if it gets them their commission for signing you up-usually to their supplier's most expensive (standard) tariff.
None of the reps (many of whom are just short term freelancers or marketing agents) have better deals than are available online through a comp site and then a switching site-do it that way and you keep the commission for yourself and earn cashback. Do your own research and find out who is cheaper once you have your annual consumption figures.

Tupperware_Queen

hiya,

you can compare prepay with direct debit, I have done it in the last few weeks. It just warns you that you can't get all plans with DD whilst on prepay.

I was with eon on credit meters in old property, and initially was with BG in new home, on prepay. I moved over to eon on prepay, and they are changing me to credit meters next week.

To be fair, the basic price for eon is the same on prepay and credit, what makes the difference is the DD discounts and online savings is what reduces the bill

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

seafarers_wife wrote: »

first thing to do is speak to your current supplier and ask them to tell you how much each year you use in kwh for gas and kwh for electric. they will need current meter reads to do this.

It needs to be in KWH and not £££ as KWH gets a better comparison and you can then compare accurately if pp or billing is cheaper for you.

then go onto some site like uswitch where you can compare your annual usage figues on both pp and on monthly dd/bills to work out whats cheaper.

if you want to change to a billing meter with a different supplier they might require a deposit/credit check/payment before changing the meter so i would suggest speaking to your current supplier DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE CONSIDERING CHANGING COMPANY and asking them if they would change the meter for you and once meter is changed go from there with switching to a cheaper company if thats what you want to do.

Thanks so much for this

Could you tell me where/how to find my KWH and KWH usage on the meters?

spiro

r.a.i.n.b.o.w wrote: »

Thanks so much for this

Could you tell me where/how to find my KWH and KWH usage on the meters?

The meter readings are in kwh, so if you read your meter once a week/month you will know how many kwh you are using.

macman

spiro wrote: »

The meter readings are in kwh, so if you read your meter once a week/month you will know how many kwh you are using.

The gas meter will read in cu ft or cu m units. so you will need to do the necessary conversion to kWh. The electricity meter reads in kWh.

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

spiro wrote: »

The meter readings are in kwh, so if you read your meter once a week/month you will know how many kwh you are using.

I don't read my meters. I don't know how/where to find the info?

macman

From the dials or digital display on the front of the meter.