Help - Energy Billing, Pre-paid > Monthly Direct Debit Confusion

matthewlane

Hi,

I'm utterly confused on this (please be gentle, yes I'm 38 years old and should know this but i don't) and really need some help.

Following my divorce I've moved into rented accommodation and have moved into a house with Pre-Paid (if this is the right term) gas and electricity - I have a gas card, and electric key thing. Which i have been using to top up what is on the meters.

I understand that buying energy this way is expensive and would wish to move to a 'proper' bill with direct debit monthly. I wish i knew what the exact term other than 'proper' is and this is where I am getting stumped, among many other points.

I have contacted nPower and have had an account set up, and am due to get the cards put into my name, which is fine for the interim while i sort all this out.

Upon contacting nPower to have the meters removed they want to charge me £60 / meter to remove a total of £120, which honestly i think is extortionate, considering i am potentially remaining with them as a supplier, and am in fact an entirely new customer as well. Effectively charging me to so i can make their lives easier without the meters.

My landlord is happy for me to have the meters removed, and no doubt the previous Tennant had them installed for free, as i understand this is the case.

Now here is where i get confused, should i switch to another supplier, or am i likely to see them make the same removal charge - i have read some stuff on the internet that indicates this is the case and sometimes not, but being completely new to doing any of this its stressing me out somewhat, and also having little or no understanding of the right terms for what i am after I'm concerned that i'll end up getting the wrong thing. With money being tight due to the divorce and also being self employed i can't afford to make any kind of mistake on this, or at the same time being paying a premium for my energy use.

Thanks to all in advance who can help.

Matt

victor2

Not everyone will charge. For example, this is a link to E.On's pages stating they don't...
https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/your-account/prepayment/prepayment-change-credit-meter
Not sure if you would have to switch to E.On first on the prepayment meters before applying to have them changed. Quite possible.
As you don't know what your usage is likely to be, try looking for a supplier with a reasonable tariff based on "typical" consumption (the comparison sites let you choose this, by saying "I don't know my usage" or similar) and NO exit penalty if you leave early. Then see if your preferred supplier will fit credit meters for free. Or you could just go for a variable rate tariff and then look for a cheaper supplier once you've got new meters installed. Not sure if suppliers require you to stay with them for a certain period if they fit new meters for free, but I would investigate that also.

matthewlane

Thanks for the input, I'll have a good read over the link you sent, and likely update with my findings.

cifpower

I don't see how you not having pre-pay meters makes nPower's life easier. There is a cost involved in swapping meters - should this be borne by the person asking for this switch or by other bill payers? Pre-pay meters give the utility companies certainty of payment and credit meters do not.

EON do switch meters for free but they will credit check and may ask for a deposit of £200/fuel which you get back after 6 or 12 months.

EDF switch meters for free with no credit check; you need to have been a customer with them for 28 days before asking.

You need to switch your pre-pay suppliers first and then ask for a meter switch.

macman

The terms used are pre-pay meters (PPM's) or alternatively credit meters. A credit meter does not require you to pay by DD, though most of the competitve tarifs do specify DD. The alternative is quarterly billing.
The charge of £60 per meter is already heavily subsidised, not unreasonable at all, so you'll need to negotiate with your prospective supplier if you want to blag a free meter change. As above, the majority of suppliers will credit check you.
PPM's cost the same as Standard tariff on a credit meter, so unless this saves you at least £120pa, it's not worth changing if you have to pay.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

victor2 wrote: »

Not everyone will charge. For example, this is a link to E.On's pages stating they don't...
https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/your-account/prepayment/prepayment-change-credit-meter
Not sure if you would have to switch to E.On first on the prepayment meters before applying to have them changed. Quite possible.
As you don't know what your usage is likely to be, try looking for a supplier with a reasonable tariff based on "typical" consumption (the comparison sites let you choose this, by saying "I don't know my usage" or similar) and NO exit penalty if you leave early. Then see if your preferred supplier will fit credit meters for free. Or you could just go for a variable rate tariff and then look for a cheaper supplier once you've got new meters installed. Not sure if suppliers require you to stay with them for a certain period if they fit new meters for free, but I would investigate that also.

Hi victor and thanks for posting the link.

Just to confirm, we don't currently charge to replace a prepayment with a credit meter but, as cifpower says, this will depend on the outcome of an external credit check. We also need to be the supplier before an appointment can be made.

Again as cifpower mentions, in certain circumstances, we may ask for a security deposit. The amount depends on individual cases and will be refunded after 12 months provided there are no overdue bills or collection activity for non-payment within the previous 6 months.

After a meter exchange, it can take a few weeks for accounts to update. This is because the details need to be passed to various industry bodies like the energy distributor, meter operators, meter readers, national databases etc. Until all bases have been covered, changes of supplier will be delayed. Once done, though, customers can switch whenever they want.

Hope this explains.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

cifpower wrote: »

EON do switch meters for free but they will credit check and may ask for a deposit of £200/fuel which you get back after 6 or 12 months.

You need to switch your pre-pay suppliers first and then ask for a meter switch.

Hi cifpower

You're right, sometimes we do need to ask for a security deposit. Where we do, as above in reply to victor, the actual amount will depend on individual circumstances. This will be refunded after 12 months provided there aren't any overdue bills or collection activity for non-payment within the previous 6 months.

Hope this explains.

Malc

[Deleted User]

Dont whatever you do waste your time switching to Scot Power. they will charge over £200 to switch meters.BG are the best for that and use Sainsburys Energy for excellent tariffs

nPower

matthewlane wrote: »

Hi,

I'm utterly confused on this (please be gentle, yes I'm 38 years old and should know this but i don't) and really need some help.

Following my divorce I've moved into rented accommodation and have moved into a house with Pre-Paid (if this is the right term) gas and electricity - I have a gas card, and electric key thing. Which i have been using to top up what is on the meters.

I understand that buying energy this way is expensive and would wish to move to a 'proper' bill with direct debit monthly. I wish i knew what the exact term other than 'proper' is and this is where I am getting stumped, among many other points.

I have contacted nPower and have had an account set up, and am due to get the cards put into my name, which is fine for the interim while i sort all this out.

Upon contacting nPower to have the meters removed they want to charge me £60 / meter to remove a total of £120, which honestly i think is extortionate, considering i am potentially remaining with them as a supplier, and am in fact an entirely new customer as well. Effectively charging me to so i can make their lives easier without the meters.

My landlord is happy for me to have the meters removed, and no doubt the previous Tennant had them installed for free, as i understand this is the case.

Now here is where i get confused, should i switch to another supplier, or am i likely to see them make the same removal charge - i have read some stuff on the internet that indicates this is the case and sometimes not, but being completely new to doing any of this its stressing me out somewhat, and also having little or no understanding of the right terms for what i am after I'm concerned that i'll end up getting the wrong thing. With money being tight due to the divorce and also being self employed i can't afford to make any kind of mistake on this, or at the same time being paying a premium for my energy use.

Thanks to all in advance who can help.

Matt


Hi matthewlane

Thanks for posting. Please send me an email (using the email address on our profile) with your account details and I'll be happy to look into this for you.

Kind regards

Vicky