New property - removing prepayment meter.....

phoebe1989seb

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice please......

Yesterday DS and his GF completed on the sale of their London flat and the purchase of a new one in Brighton.....yay :j

Trouble is the flat was previously a buy to let and has a prepayment electric meter in situ which - as this will be their home - they want to have removed.

Currently the electricity supplier is EON (iirc) and they want to change to Ecotricity.

Is this going to be an issue and how do they go about getting it done ASAP?

As they are currently without internet I've offered to investigate on their behalf, but the Ecotricity site seems to make no mention of having prepayment meters removed - I guess they'll need to speak to a real person as opposed to filling out an online form.....

I've read some stories online re: fees/long waiting times to change over from a pre-payment meter, but as they own outright, I guess stipulations that might apply to tenants won't apply here.....or will they?

Thanks in advance x

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

All companies have varying policies on meter swaps from PPM to credit. EDF, BG and e.on will do it for free, providing the applicant passes a credit check. Other companies charge around £50-60 pre meter.

I have no idea about ecotricity, and if it doesn't specify on their site it's best to call them. If they do decide to switch, it'll take approximately 6 weeks, during which time they will be customers of e.on.

Alternatively, they could ask e.on to change the meter, and then commence the switch to ecotricity.

Waiting times are really anyones guess, and the above applies to anyone regardless of tenant/owner-occupier.

EnergyInside

As above info, can only add I would advise switching supplier first, as sometimes there can be issues with meter readings when there has been a meter change and an immediate change of supply.

Ecotricity will certainly change a prepayment meter to a credit meter, but as to their charges (if any) and terms and conditions you would be best to phone them to find out.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Morning phoebe1989seb

Hope the move went well and wasn't too stressful. Thought I'd pop on and confirm what Bluebirdman says about changing from Prepayment to Credit.

We'll change your DS/GF's meter without charge provided they pass a credit check.

If they decide to do this, please ask them to let us have readings and a note of any credit left on the meter when they call. This will speed things up.

Waiting times will depend on the engineer's workloads in the Brighton area. Our advisor will be able to let them know more when they call.

Just a quick heads up. I do understand the pressures when moving home but have they let us know they've moved in? If not, I'd advise them to do this.

This will allow us to set up a new account for them and either send them a new key or give them a number so the existing key can be re-programmed. This will make sure payments go on the right account and any debt belonging to the previous occupant is cleared from the meter.

If they haven't done this yet and there's debt on the meter, they're probably paying too much for their electricity. It will also affect their request for a meter change.

Tell them not to worry if there's debt on the meter as this can soon be sorted once they talk to us.

Hope this helps and DS/GF are soon settled in their new home.

Malc

chanz4

100% Correct

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Thanks for that chanz4. Much appreciated.

Malc