Forced pre payment meter

Lesley_Rossle

Hi everyone, I live in social housing with a communal heating and hot water system there is a meter installed which they read and inform me how much my weekly charges are. I am not in arrears, I'm in credit and I pay online.
They are now saying I MUST have a prepayment 'smart' meter installed if I refuse I will in breach of my tenancy agreement. The tenancy agreement I signed 5 years ago had no mention of prepayment meters.


I don't want to return to the dark days of having to put a 'shilling' in the meter. Can they force me?


Any advice is most welcome

Cardew

Is it the social housing or the energy company insisting on a 'pre-pay smart meter'?

http://www.utilita.co.uk/smart-meters/what-are-smart-meters

macman

Sounds like private metering on a communal system. OP, how do you currently pay for the metered usage-is it added to your monthly service charge?

spiro

My quess would be that the HA is suffering from bad payers so to resolve the issue they are making everyone have a ppm. If it is actually a smart ppm you should be to top it up remotely without the need to visit a shop or insert anything into the meter.

undaunted

Are you sure that it is a pre payment meter & not just the supplier replacing meters with newer smart meters / misunderstanding by the H.A.? What is there stated in it for you to be in breach of the tenancy agreement ?

misterbarlow

Agree with macman, sounds like you have a private sub meter to me and not a supplier/MOP owned meter.. if this is the case you will have to do as they ask I think..
Does your meter say "property of..." on the front?

[Deleted User]

I have only heard of Ovo and Utilita using "smart " prepayment meters..The Liberty Secure which has bad reports. Some suppliers can use a method of paying online with a normal prepay meter by fitting a dongle. I m sure that the HA cannot force you to have an inconvenient and expensive meter unless you are constantly in debt. Plenty of smart meters around but not in dual mode prepay/credit as yet