Gas & Elec bills V installing a Gas & Elec meter?

uma_2

Hi, can anyone help, my house is on rent and to save me the hastle in the long run and i'm wondering if it's a good idea to install a gas& elec meter instead of paper bills? is it a good idea? pros and cons of installing? is it easier to switch back to paper bills?

thanks!
:rolleyes:

olly300

Is it the house YOU live in or the house you are renting out to tenants?

If you are renting the house out to tenants then depending on the length of the contract they can change the meter to what they like anyway. When you move back in you can then change the meter to whatever you like as you are a different individual who hasn't had an account at that address.

Some of the utility companies ask if the house is rented is "Has the landlord given you permission?" and you are hardly going to say no. (Most landlord's don't care as long as they don't foot the bill.)

I moved in to a place with a key electricity meter and changed it to a standard meter within 2 weeks. It was very easy i.e. one phone call to arrange a date and the meter guy actually turned up on the day and time slot stated. Difficulties will occur if you are an existing customer in arrears or have swapped your meter already in the past year. In the second case if you persist you can have it swapped back but you may be charged.

The advantage of having a token/key meter if you are landlord renting out to tenants is that the tenants have to pay for the electricity/gas they use. There is no way of getting round it i.e. they can't refuse to pay as they won't have that utility, and even if the account is registered in the landlord's name it doesn't matter so much unless they tamper with the meter. (This is a criminal offence.)

The disadvantages are that prepayed tariffs are more expensive even if you swap to the lowest one, and that if you don't check the meter regularly you can find that you just get cut off briefly before the meter goes on to the emergency reserve. This is fine for electricity but can be a problem for gas particularly in the winter if it happens at say 8pm at night and you can't get to a shop until the morning. Also if the meter is prepaid and the tenant changes but the old tenant takes the key to get a refund, then you will need to sort out a new key.

The disadvantages with paper billing is that the tenant can put the bill in the landlord's name or any fake name if they so chose. As only the named bill payer can be legally chased to pay the bill the landlord should check that the bill is in the tenant's name. Most written tenancy agreements have a clause in it that states the tenants have to pay the bills but in reality all the landlord need do is check that the bills are not in their name, as the utility company can only chase the person named on the bill. In fact one landlord I knew made the phone call to the utility companies in with the tenant present to ensure this happened.

Links of interest;
Prepaid meter customer workshop
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Publications/Documents1/Prepayment%20meter%20Customer%20Workshop.pdf
Consumer action group posting
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/utilities-gas-electricity-water/27556-prepayment-meters-cant-switch.html

uma_2

Many thanks for this indeed, very useful! will use the info you provided. ..........