unwanted prepayment meter

lozzie123_2

I have a prepayment meter for electricity, That was put in by the previous tenant. The meter was installed 12 years ago.I was wondering can i go back to. quaterly cash bills as the prepayment meter is becoming very expensive?

HappyMJ

Very expensive? It's probably just about 5% more expensive than the best online direct debit tariff you can find. Rates have gone up a lot recently. All you have to do is ring the supplier. I'd read some of the articles on here some suppliers will switch for free and some charge. I'd switch suppliers first then change it for free.

espresso

How long have you been a customer with your supplier? They may change it to a credit meter for no charge and you would usually get a better deal paying by direct debit.

[Deleted User]

Of course you can, start the ball rolling and phone your supplier, there is usually no problems in getting shut of the awful prepays, getting it done for free is the problem. Most will want either something like £50 or an upfront deposit repayable later. Some will do it for free if you have a good credit history,there seems to be no hard or fast rules

sheffield_lad

Have you thought that it may not have anything to do with the PP meter and you are struggling to cover your usage? Is there any electric heating involved? It might be this time of the year is expensive and it may be worth considering how you would pay the quarterly bill when it comes in which might put you in debt! I would be suprised if the key meter was any more expensive than quarterly billing.

sheffield_lad

sacsquacco wrote: »

there is usually no problems in getting shut of the awful prepays,

I don't have one but know others who do have them, I am convinced they make folk think about conserving energy and while not perfect its better than getting into debt.

Take this op not suggesting this is the case but it might be that electric heaters are costing a fortune, with a pp meter she can see this and maybe take steps to insulate the house better. Where as with a credit meter she may falsely believe the amount she agrees with the energy Co will cover her usage!

[Deleted User]

Yes Howee, there is that side of prepays i suppose, stopping people getting into debt, but I spend the best part of my week seeing the poorest members of society paying the dearest electric in the country even though they pay their money upfront in advance. they are also lumbered with problems in actually topping the things up being as they are 10 years out of date in upgrading them to modern methods of topup.They also have to enter a shop where they make impulse buys of things they dont really want or need. At least BGas have got an online top-up going,but havent publicised it much, the others havent even bothered
I am always surprised when I see decent people, and aged and disabled etc who ve inherited these things and are not even aware that they dont have to keep them, . The suppliers do nothing at all in making people aware. I certainly do though when ever I get chance

chris1973

with a pp meter she can see this and maybe take steps to insulate the house better.

Of course she could be renting the property, in which case taking a loan out for £xxx to upgrade insulation in a property she doesn't own is not astute advice on what is, after all, a MONEY SAVING forum.

The clue being in the OP's opening post,

That was put in by the previous tenant

Which could suggest that there is a good chance that the OP is also a Tenant in the property

She could of course lose all of her marbles, and pay £1000's in upgrading a property she doesn't own, only the LL to give her notice in six months time because his sister / cousin / Aunt / Granny etc wants to move in there, in which case she would never see a penny of this investment back, nor have had much opportunity to have benefitted from it!.

Note, that if you are a tenant in a rented property, there is often no issue with you changing supplier, however there may be issues if you change the meter type from Prepay to Credit without the permission of the Landlord. Some LL's fit prepay meteres to rented properties on purpose, because they have previously been saddled with the hassle of dealing with the energy companies in respect of writing off the huge debts that their ex-tenants have left in their wake.

All Tenancy Agreements generally stipulate that the property has to be left with exactly the same fixtures and fittings, and in the same condition when vacated as it was when the agreement commenced, if a LL does find that the meter type has been changed, they may withhold part of the deposit to pay the fee imposed by the supplier for changing the meter type back.

So in short, make sure that the LL is aware, and in agreement with a meter type change before you do it, unless you are willing to pay to change it back before you vacate!.

[Deleted User]

good point Chris, get landlords permision to change the prepay, they re good at witholding the £400 deposit if they get a chance

sheffield_lad

chris1973 wrote: »

Of course she could be renting the property, in which case taking a loan out for £xxx to upgrade insulation in a property she doesn't own is not astute advice on what is, after all, a MONEY SAVING forum.

The clue being in the OP's opening post,

Which could suggest that there is a good chance that the OP is also a Tenant in the property

She could of course lose all of her marbles, and pay £1000's in upgrading a property she doesn't own, only the LL to give her notice in six months time because his sister / cousin / Aunt / Granny etc wants to move in there, in which case she would never see a penny of this investment back, nor have had much opportunity to have benefited from it

Errrr who mentioned a loan? lol as a TENANT she can pay £0.00 and get free cavity & loft insulation which will not only cut her bills but also make the place warmer.

Look up or google FREE loft wall insulation.

This is a money saving site after all!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

sacsquacco wrote: »

At least BGas have got an online top-up going,but havent publicised it much, the others havent even bothered

Scottish Power have had 'In Home' Pay As You Go for a few years now.

Look.