from prepay to quarterly

barjam_2

my son had used a prepay meter for approx 2 yrs his only problem was not putting money on til the very last minute..so he decided to have a change and go for quarterly and eventually got his meter changed..he used to spend approx £10 per week on his prepay for his gas but since his change of meter he has worked out it is more like £15 per week dare i say he is with n-power:rolleyes: he phoned them up to complain and they have said if they send someone to check the meter and there is no fault they will charge him:mad: is this correct, i cant understand that going from a prepay which they charged extra anyway his bill is so much higher as he is a low user
has anyone else had this same kind of problem

tripled

Don't forget there were several large price rises by the major suppliers last year, so even though his meters were changed his bills may well still have gone up.

Yes it is right, they do charge to test the meter if nothing is wrong - the utility co has to pay for the test, unsurprisingly they don't see why they should cover the cost out of their bottom line if there was nothing actually wrong with the meter. All the suppliers do the same.

SwanJon

The price rises would be the most likely reason for the change, but it is a lot easier to budget on a pay as you go meter, some of those good habits might be slipping without being able to see the benefits on the meter.

Might be worth looking for other discounts - direct debit if you feel comfortable with it . .

vixx

Of course they will charge if it is not a meter fault... I used to work for an energy supplier and nearly everyone who has a higher bill than usual will say they think they have a faulty meter and ask for it to be checked. So most companies will try to establish where the extra usage is coming from first, take meter readings etc, then offer a meter check if there really is no evidence of extra usage and they can't work out what the problem is.

To be honest, it is very, very unlikely that a meter will speed up, like most things that break or get old, they are much more likely to slow down or stop. It does happen, but rarely.

So if it is a case of sending someone out to install a test meter, take regular readings, then go back and remove it and compile all the data it has measured and then establish if there is a fault, this costs lots of money.
Why should the company pay this if it is not their fault??

I would get your son to take regular readings, establish uusage and keep an eye on it, plus as people have already mentioned, allow for price increases, which have been huge in the last year.