Prepay electricity and cash card for Gas? help.

theviking51

With Southern electric in Herne bay,kent.
We use a key pay as you go for electricity and with gas we pay on post office card every week.
Really stuck on what to do?
I know we should swap but don't really want to go down the DD route.
We dont use much energy as im always moaning at lights being on. Gas if for heating and cooking.
Cant really work out the key amount but prob no more then £15 a week. We put £12 a week on gas card and do sometimes get some money back on gas. Suppose total would be roughly £1,400 a year?
We are low income. plus like most people scared to change.

fedupfreddie

I am a low user with prepayment meters too.
I use Ebico because they don't have standing charges.
Their energy is supplied by SSE so you probably wouldn't notice much change except in your bills.

footyguy

theviking51 wrote: »

With Southern electric in Herne bay,kent.
We use a key pay as you go for electricity and with gas we pay on post office card every week.
Really stuck on what to do?
I know we should swap but don't really want to go down the DD route.
We dont use much energy as im always moaning at lights being on. Gas if for heating and cooking.
Cant really work out the key amount but prob no more then £15 a week. We put £12 a week on gas card and do sometimes get some money back on gas. Suppose total would be roughly £1,400 a year?
We are low income. plus like most people scared to change.

Does this MSE article help you?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

At £1400 per year comsumption, I wouldn't class you as a low user, but rather an average one.
(Actually, looking individually at the fuels, well above average for electricty, and slightly under average for gas)
Contact your supplier for an anticipated annual consumption in kWh for gas and electricity based on your historical usage.

[Deleted User]

Get rid of the prepayment meter and get switching . SSE s rates for prepay electric are around 14 p a kwhr with high standing charges, gas is very high at around 4.4p kwhr. You could go down to as low as around 2.2 p kwrh and 10 p a day SC with Zog Energy for your gas which is a big reduction . You are not a low user but a slightly above average user.
I ve just switched for third time in 8 months collecting around £90 in cashbacks and I m on 8.0 p kwhr electric and 2.6p kwhr gas ( S. Yorks rates ) Just avoid the real stinkers like Npower/Scot Power at the moment until they fix their billing systems.

macman

As above, if spending £1400pa you are nowhere near to being a low user. The average is around £1250. With PPM's you pay the same as standard tariff, so you could save maybe £270 a year on credit meters with a decent one year fix.
Forget lights being on, what matters is the 80% of your usage that goes on heating and hot water.
If you switch to credit meters but don't use DD, then you filter out most of thr decent tariffs, which mostly require monthly DD. DD is a much better way to budget, as you will pay the same all year round without high winter bills.

theviking51

We must be getting ripped off, possible. i dont have heating on during good part of the day and not at all in the summer. live in a mid terrace 3 bed house which is fully done.cavity the lot. all lights are energy. 2 year old valor boiler. out of 6 in family we dont shower every day. 3 boys share baths.only real usage would be tv and kids tablets and few phones. Might have a chat to e-on about paying all by card in post office.

[Deleted User]

You re definitely getting ripped off with the prepay meter and gas as well if you re on a standard/variable tariff..Phone SSE up and start the ball rolling with a meter exchange. There are big savings to be had on a one or two year fix. They may charge you or credit check you. EDF are known to change prepays for free whilst Scottish Power have charged customers over £200 a meter.

theviking51

Just worked out our electric pre meter £10 every 5 days So roughly £60 a month.
bar the usual machines we run im always switching lights off all the time and all energy bulbs.