Change my Key Meter Key?

odgeuk

I'm with Southen Electric for both Gas and Electric.

We've long known that there are apparently benefits to switching to a dual fuel tarrif if you have the same supplier but we've liked the convenience of paying the Electric on Key Meter and topping up the key around once a week (sometimes less frequently) for £10 at the local shop. There's something comfortable about knowing to set aside £10 a week for Electric and then never having to worry about a bill.

When we switched to Southern Electric a few years ago, the engineer came over with a replacement Key for the electric meter. Upon finding an old British Gas Key in the Meter he actually advised (off the record) that we should continue using that key as it was an old type of key which is most likely giving us a lower tarrif. He said that once we put in the proper key from the supplier that benefit would dissapear, even if we were to resume using the old British Gas Key.

The tarrif on my paperwork from Southern Electric is "Economy 7 (Key Meter)" and my Gas is "General Domestic NSC - Moneysavers".

Anyone ever heard of this? It's pretty much the only thing really that's stopped me moving onto non-Key Meter (and the presumed hassle of having an engineer out to change the meter type?).

Joyful

The engineer has done you a disservice if you took his advice. Southern will bill you and if the tariff on your meter is lower than it should be you will be liable for any shortfall. There is also the posibility that Southern do not have any payments if you are not using their key.

chanz4

the supplier will also investigate it for none charging of the meter.

odgeuk

Thanks All. Well I can't say I understand these meters and the billing but I do know the usage is certainly being recorded by Southern Electric as they send me a summary every year of Electric usage and the most recent one is pretty much spot on.

I don't think the engineer was suggesting that the billing would go to another Service Provider on a different Tarriff. The way I interpreted his suggestion was that the British Gas key was an old style key which would mean our meter was configured in a way which gave us a favourable tariff. By inserting the Southern Electric Key this would somehow update the Meter in a non-reversible way, maybe like when you update a games console and it installs the latest firmware? :question:

It's probably by-the-by anyhow, I'm going to call Southern Electric to talk about going on some sort of Dual-Fuel Tarrif I think, seeing as we use them for both Gas and Electric.

Joyful

You ae already on Dual fuel if you have both supplies with the same supplier. What you may mean is you want to change to credit meters to pay by another way. The first thing I would do is call them with a meter reading and how much credit is left on your meter then ask them to bill you.This will make sure they have your payments and your tariff is correct.

Joyful

You ae already on Dual fuel if you have both supplies with the same supplier. What you may mean is you want to change to credit meters to pay by another way. The first thing I would do is call them with a meter reading and how much credit is left on your meter then ask them to bill you.This will make sure they have your payments and your tariff is correct.

odgeuk

Joyful wrote: »

You ae already on Dual fuel if you have both supplies with the same supplier. What you may mean is you want to change to credit meters to pay by another way. The first thing I would do is call them with a meter reading and how much credit is left on your meter then ask them to bill you.This will make sure they have your payments and your tariff is correct.

Thanks. Yes, as I understand it, the discounts available to "Dual Fuel" customers only extend to those who have Electric on a Credit Meter, so although I have both Gas and Electric from the same supplier I am probably paying more than some other customers.

Joyful

I work for British Gas and a customer that has either credit or prepayment meters gets the Dual Fuel allowance of £15 per year for having both supplies with us. I'm not sure if other companies have restrictions. Most companies also now charge the same price for a pp meter as for a credt meter on standard price. The way to make savings is to have a credit meter and go onto an online tariff and set up a direct debit.

odgeuk

Joyful wrote: »

I work for British Gas and a customer that has either credit or prepayment meters gets the Dual Fuel allowance of £15 per year for having both supplies with us. I'm not sure if other companies have restrictions. Most companies also now charge the same price for a pp meter as for a credt meter on standard price. The way to make savings is to have a credit meter and go onto an online tariff and set up a direct debit.

:cool2: Thank You