Change from prepayment gas and electric

ncrawley

Hi

We are interested in buying a house, however we have just had a viewing of it and have noticed it is a prepayment meter for the gas and electric. How easy is it to switch to a normal meter etc, and what sort of costs would be involved?

macman

Some suppliers will charge, some won't. Typically £50 per meter, and you might be asked to pay a deposit for the first 12m.
PPM's cost the same to run as Standard tariff on a credit meter.

t0rt0ise

Your best bet is to call the various suppliers and ask. I did this 18 months ago and British Gas were the ones who changed my meters for me for free. As long as you pass a credit check you should get somewhere. Without a good credit check none of them will entertain the idea.

undaunted

Find out who the supplier is and ask them.

http://cfe.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/339/~/can-a-supplier-charge-for-exchanging-a-prepayment-meter-to-a-credit-meter%3F

Npower have (or had) a policy of trying to avoid removing them until you have been a customer for at least 12 months & will also charge you £60 if / when they do agree. (this policy is available on the net somewhere if you want to look for it)

Mike298457

We're about to move and are in the same situation. A couple of prepay meters, been quoted £120 to get them removed before we can pay by direct debit. We've always paid by DDR, never in arrears etc.

Granted it costs the energy supplier to install/remove those meters, but that's not my problem. Just say the meters were originally installed because the former householder never paid their bills. Why should I now have to pay to have those meters removed? That's not my responsibility, surely?!

Would you expect to have to pay to get your restaurant table cleaned if the previous customers messed all over it? No it's the restaurants' responsibility to take care of, or they'll loose customers.

But in this case because the energy is fixed to the property these suppliers are exploiting that in what amounts to be extortion. (pay up £120 before we grant you the freedom to choose how you pay for your energy)<- that's extortion! How on Earth can they be getting away with it?

New householders should be given a new slate to choose what ever supplier they like and at what ever tariff / payment scheme without it costing them a penny. When the previous householder moves out the meters should be put into a "void" state and it should be the responsibility of the new supplier to hook up what ever payment system the new householder requires.

At the moment it appears when you move into a new place there's already an energy supplier there dictating to you how you should pay for your energy. When did this all happen? You can't run a country like this.

Anyway, back to reality - what can we do because I'm not paying £120 for the freedom to choose how I pay for my energy.

t0rt0ise

Mike, if you stopped ranting and read the thread you will see that I have said that British Gas are good for this and will generally change the meters for free if you pass a credit check. Granted you have to set up an account with the current supplier first and then change suppliers but it's the best we can do.

macman

Are you seriously suggesting that every time a property changes owners or tenants, that any PPM's should automatically be removed (at whose expense?) and credit meters installed? That would be a bit pointless if the incoming occupiers wanted or needed PPMs, as about one in five households do.
The deemed contract system has been in place for years now-what's new?

Mike298457

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Mike, if you stopped ranting and read the thread you will see that I have said that British Gas are good for this....

sorry for my rant, it appears another post was made whilst I was ranting



@macman - No I don't.