Changing suppliers with prepayment meter

k66yla

I use a prepayment meters for both gas/electric. I prefer to have those as I get my wages weekly.

I've been with SSE for years(10+) but am now looking to change. I'm looking for a supplier that has an online top up so I've not got to keep going to the shop now the weather is changing.

I see OVO do this but I've never heard of them before. Are they a good supplier? Also I've seen adverts on the TV saying EON will be offering this. Is it worth waiting to see what they come up with?

Anyone use any other supplier that they could recommend?

[Deleted User]

I know BG and Eon can manage an online top up.They send you a "dongle " thing. Ovo ( and Utilita ) are using the Secure Liberty smart prepayment meters which none of the others can support so you would need a meter exchange, which is free. These meters only work with those suppliers as prepayment meters so you will be more or less fixed with Ovo. I ve heard they make it awkward to switch from them by charging (£100) or delaying the switch. The meters have their problems especially when you have to manually key in a credit if the online top up fails. Imputing a 40 to 60 digit code can t be much fun, and its got to be done not too slowly !. Make sure they actually are any cheaper for your usage. The ones I ve been to read for OVO did nt seem any cheaper than BG s rates. I can t find anything in their terms and conditions about the charge to rid you of their meter. A woman I met was sick to death of the meter and wanted shut of it.
Possibly a much cheaper option would be to go to SSE and get credit meters then go on a monthly exact direct debit of your actual usage.Once you are on credit meters you can lower your expense by as much as 25% with one year fixes. BG run "energy smart " a monthly exact usage direct debit.SSE will run the same sort of thing .

k66yla

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Do you know if any suppliers accept a weekly standing order? I tend to pay all my bills weekly ie Council Tax, Water etc.

[Deleted User]

k66yla wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Do you know if any suppliers accept a weekly standing order? I tend to pay all my bills weekly ie Council Tax, Water etc.

The monthly debit will vary all the time if you opt for the exact monthly usage option, low in summer , high in winter for the gas so I dont think a standing order will work. It would work if you committed to a normal monthly ( or quarterly) direct debit. EDF do excellent one year fixes for credit meters which charge the same for payment by cheque or direct debit. That option will me much cheaper than SSE s prepayment rates which are set at standard/variable tariff, usually the most expensive tariff.

footyguy

k66yla wrote: »

I use a prepayment meters for both gas/electric. I prefer to have those as I get my wages weekly.

I've been with SSE for years(10+) but am now looking to change. I'm looking for a supplier that has an online top up so I've not got to keep going to the shop now the weather is changing.

I see OVO do this but I've never heard of them before. Are they a good supplier? Also I've seen adverts on the TV saying EON will be offering this. Is it worth waiting to see what they come up with?

Anyone use any other supplier that they could recommend?

Do a search- there's a feedback thread for almost every supplier here

At home top up of pre-payment meters is becoming more common. Not all suppliers support this at present but I think British Gas as an example also do.

So consult a comparison site, and find the cheapest deal for you. The comparison site may mention if home top ups are possible, if not, it's probably worth calling each supplier from the top until you find one that does ... and then you'll see how much more you will be paying for this facility.

k66yla wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Do you know if any suppliers accept a weekly standing order? I tend to pay all my bills weekly ie Council Tax, Water etc.

The advantage of PPMs is that you can pay what you want, when you want

The disadvantage in this regard is that if you have not yet paid for what you want to consume, you will not be able to consume it (save for a small emergency amount)

Pennydropped

I have prepayment meters with British Gas and use their home top up service. I've just started using it and love it. No more trudging down to the shop weekly to top up the meters. Just hook each card/key up to the laptop on the little top up thingy (yes, very technical terms used here), log in, and top it up. If there is ever a problem with the home top up, there's the backup of knowing I can still top up at the shop if I absolutely need to.