Gas/Elec meter's in rented property

emmar2011

Hi,
I'm new to this site and am looking for any advice on how to save on our gas and electricity charges in our new house. We are in a rented house with our utilities being on pre-paid meter, this is working out extremly expensive and I am not sure if I can switch provider.
Does anyone know about pre-paid meters as I'm new to them having previously only known the usual meters/direct debit thing.
Many thanks.
Em

Premier_2

Saving energy is the same process irrespective of the type of meter you have.

Yes you should be able to switch supplier if you want (assuming the supplies are registered in your name). Use a comparison site to see if you can get yourself a better deal.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

did you contact suppliers to let them know that you are a new tenant, the meters may be set high to collect a debt from the previous tenant.

Cardew

The days are gone when pre-pay meter tariffs were much higher than normal(standard) tariffs. However there are internet tariffs that will be cheaper.

The problem is that pre-pay meters have often(not always) been fitted for people who have had difficulty in paying their utility bills. Therefore Utility companies are reluctant to go to the expense of fitting new credit meters - especially for tenants.

If you are prepared to pay a returnable deposit, that might help, but some companies charge for fitting credit meters - others don't.

As said above, check that your meters are not set to 'claw back' the outstanding debt of the previous tenant. People can owe £hundreds and you could be paying off their debt.

Alioth

emmar2011 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm new to this site and am looking for any advice on how to save on our gas and electricity charges in our new house. We are in a rented house with our utilities being on pre-paid meter, this is working out extremly expensive and I am not sure if I can switch provider.
Does anyone know about pre-paid meters as I'm new to them having previously only known the usual meters/direct debit thing.
Many thanks.
Em

I'm in an exactly the same situation, will move into a flat next week with a pre-payment meters. I want to shop around for a cheaper tariff and hope that I won't get stuck with a pre-payment. It's not only the higher cost but also the inconvenience of topping-up. But it's good to hear that the pre-payment rates start to be competitive.