Gas and Electric Meters? (Stupid Question)

ic

I'm stunned to read the responses here about staying on pre-payment! I moved into my house and it had both gas and electric card meters. In the first month whilst I was only decorating (so brief periods of heating and electric usage), I paid £40 a month in gas and £35 in electric. I now live here, run the gas and electric all the time but now only pay £25 a month in gas and £20 a month in electric.

One thing you must remember is that generally a direct debit payment will be fixed over the year. You will pay the same amount throughout summer as you will winter, whereas on card meter you pay when you use it, generally meaning high bills in winter and low bills in summer. A fixed direct debit makes life easy as you can budget to a fixed payment.

The only supplier I know of that doesn't penalise users of card meters is https://www.ebico.co.uk. They charge the same however you choose to pay.

If you do set up direct debits, you'll generally pay less, don't have to worry about keeping the gas flowing (will the card run out in the middle of the night during a cold snap?) and don't have the inconvenience of having to queue to top up the cards all the time.

To compare prices for British Gas:

Gas Direct Debit: 4.618p per kWh, dropping to 2.352p (+ 10% discount knocked off the bill, to a maximum of £15 a quarter)
Gas Prepayment: 5.145p per kWh, dropping to 2.515p (11.5% more expensive - ignoring the quarterly discount)
Ebico: 2.550p per kWh flat rate

Similar charges apply to electric. Also Ebico haven't yet reduced their prices - BG have. I'm with Ebico but pay by direct debit, they simply worked out the cheapest for me.

To stay on top of direct debit, and to avoid unexpected bills, keep an eye on the bills - if they come in with an estimated reading, ring them back and provide an actual reading, they'll reissue a corrected bill. At the same time check with them that you are paying enough to cover what you owe, and adjust if necessary. If prices change, change your monthly payment to match - don't wait for the bill to come in several months time to tell you haven't paid enough.

If you do wind up owing more than you've paid, the payment for that can be spread over the following year, it won't be expected immediately in one lump sum.

espresso

ic wrote: »

I'm stunned to read the responses here about staying on pre-payment!..............

Thanks for posting. Much more helpful and informative than:

i would sick to what you no best.

ic

Oh, forgot to add, a supplier will switch your prepayment meters for standard meters for free - as long as you're a good customer and don't have any outstanding debt (or at least significant). If you were forcibly placed on the meters it may be more difficult - if you moved in and they were already there, it shouldn't be a problem to have them changed.