POLL: Would you swap the prepayment meter for a credit meter?

Petra_70

windup wrote: »

would be easier to follow if you changed the word repayment to prepayment

you'd be better off making sure you're on a good tariff and concentrating on what your appliances are using, rather than faffing about with keys and topups. If you want control, you can read the meter, until smart meters are installed.

Thanks Wind up. I have now changed the word repayment to prepayment. What a muppet, putting repayment!

Can't change it on the poll choices though sorry.

Norman_Castle

Petra_70 wrote: »

However, my husband is saying he doesn't want to change it, as he likes having the control. He also says that on this meter the electric seems cheaper than in the other house. Well it is yes, but then the gas is cheaper too ; in fact WAY cheaper. It was £100 a month DD before, and now it's £35 a month DD.

Do a comparison check based on consumption. If the only way I could top up the meter involved a 10 mile round trip I would have a credit meter.

cifpower

If the OP wants to keep the prepay meter, perhaps seeing if OVO is cheaper would be good idea? You can top up via an app on your mobile so no need to go to the shop with your key.

Joyful

I would change to credit. You can change your tariff and also keep an eye online with the bills.

Owain_Moneysaver

Petra_70 wrote: »

Hmmmm mixed opinions so far. And good arguments for both ... Gotta decide what is best for us personally. Like I said, the 10 mile round trip and where we are located and the potential to be snowed in and run out of electric, or for the meter to be faulty, or the key to break again concerns me... Tricky...

And what about the loss of food from fridge and freezer when the power goes off and you can't top up quickly enough?

kelpie35

I am awaiting a meter change over with british gas.

I have never had a key meter before and never want 1 again.

I moved into this home and there was 1 there.

I think it costs more for your electricity using this key rather than giving meter readings once a month and paying by DD

footyguy

Depends.

A prepayment meter often has little choice of tariff. Most suppliers will charge you at the same rate as they would a credit meter customer who opted for their (expensive) standard tariff that is billed quarterly and the customer then may pay by cash or cheque.

As Cardew points out, this can cost 31% or £273 more than the best rates for a credit meter.
Although that is only for one supply region (prices will vary by region) and an old assumption of average usage (new values are 12500kWh gas and 3100kwh electricity), I would still expect the difference to be about £250

As a 'Serious MoneySaving Fan', I would always look to obtain the cheapest possible price (unless there was a good reason not to) :money:

But that cheapest price comes with some responsibilities. e.g. the meter is classified as 'unrestricted' which essentially means I could use what I want (subject to physical supply capacity restrictions). It also probably means paying the same amount each month by DD no matter how much or how little we use in that month. It also means making an accurate estimation of our anticipated annual consumption in kWh, or the supplier may change that monthly DD figure accordingly.

Some people may not have the luxury of being permitted to have such an unrestricted meter.

It may be that you only like to pay for what you actually use, and don't want to get a big bill you suddenly have to pay. And it may be you are uncomfortable with having an 'all you can eat' meter so want a restriction in place that only allows you access to energy once you have paid for it. In which case, keep the PPM ... but you will pay more overall for any given amount of energy consumed.

Of course, if the weather is inclement, that may hinder you going out to top the meter key, and this too will help to keep your energy costs down (assuming you are not them using an even more expensive source of energy to replace it with).

Yes, some suppliers may offer you alternative ways to top up the meter key, but how do their prices compare? Consult a comparison site to find out.

Edit: I have not voted in your poll as I do not know what I would do in your position, as I do not fully understand your position. The best person who does is you, but hopefully the above comments will help you to choose the best course of action for you

What I would !!! is that if you rent the property, you should check with the landlord/agent and gain their prior approval if you intend to change the meter. The supplier may charge a fee to change the meter, and without prior approval of landlord/agent, you may find yourself being expected to revert the meter back at the end of the tenancy (or pay again for it to be done).

iammumtoone

Cardew wrote: »

Really?

These are the figures for someone using the UK average of 13,500kWh gas and 3,300kWh electricity in the Midlands below is the cheapest annual cost:

1. Paying by monthly Direct Debit - £874

2. With pre-payment meter - £1,147

So the cheapest pre-payment tariff is 31.23% more expensive than the cheapest with a credit meter paying by monthly Direct Debit.



Obviously some people suffer with debt, but how does paying 31% more for their energy help with that struggle?

You still haven't answered how people manage to save and pay monthly/annually for their TV licence, Phone, Water, Council Tax, rent/ mortgage, car tax, car/building/life insurance etc etc, yet find it helpful to pay 31% more to PAYG for gas electricity.

This is a Money Saving Website and surely advice offered should be accurate.

For my electric it costs 16.20 pe kw for prepayment or standard cash/cheque, 15.26 for direct debit. A difference of 6%. (this does not take into account any fixed offers) That is a lot difference to the 33% you have quoted, it does go to show that people do need to work out what is best for them.

I spend around £30 mth on electric it costs me around £1.80 extra per month for the meter. As I said this is worth it to me. I have also saved money in the past as when I get an advance notice of a price increase I load the meter right up to buy as much as I can to beat the increase.

I do agree that everyone needs to do their own calculations as the extra expensive will be different for each individual but the OP asked for peoples personal opinions and mine is I would keep the meter.

Some people do not mange to pay council tax etc you tend to find that those who can't manage money can't mange it full stop however they choose to pay it, at least a pre-payment option for them stops them going into arrears with a possibility of court fees / interest which may turn out to cost more than the extra the meter would charge them.

Cardew

iammumtoone wrote: »

For my electric it costs 16.20 pe kw for prepayment or standard cash/cheque, 15.26 for direct debit. A difference of 6%. (this does not take into account any fixed offers) That is a lot difference to the 33% you have quoted, it does go to show that people do need to work out what is best for them.

You have missed the point completely. Nobody with any interest in money-saving should be paying Standard tariff rates either by Direct Debit or pre-payment.


What you are saying is that I am only paying 6% more than the most expensive tariff(paid by DD) with that company.


In having a pre-payment meter you are denying yourself any opportunity of getting one of the cheap tariffs. The figures I gave earlier were a 33% differential between the cheapest pre-payment tariff at £1,147, and the cheapest tariff paid by direct debit at £874.


In fact in all probability you will be paying considerably more than a 33% differential.


Bear in mind that the cheapest tariff was £874 for someone using the UK average and paying by DD. If you were on a pre-pay tariff with British Gas it would cost £1,241 - 42% more or NPower at £1,281 - 46% more.

windup

iammumtoone wrote: »

For my electric it costs 16.20 pe kw for prepayment or standard cash/cheque, 15.26 for direct debit. A difference of 6%..

you're paying 50% per kwh more than me.

It doesn't make sense for anyone to use prepayment by choice.