Switching from Pre-payment to Credit Meters

Caitie16

Hi
I have just joined the forum and am hoping to get some advice please.

I moved into a rented property on Friday and the lady who lived here before me had pre-payment meters for both gas and electricity supplied by Southern Electric. I don't want pre-payment meters not only because I've been told they are more expensive but because I am disabled and cannot get to the shops to keep topping up the gas card and electric key. I have therefore been in touch with Southern Electric who did a credit check on me and are happy to change both of the meters over on the 21st April for the gas and 19th May for the electric, but then I am tied in with them for a period of time and they will automatically put me on the standard tariff.

The property I have moved from and where I lived for the past 5 years had no gas in the village, the property had storage heaters and only had one tariff available through Eon so I had no choice whatsoever as to which company I could use or what tariff. Now that I can have normal gas and electric I want to get the best deal possible as I am not well off and any savings I can make would make a big difference to me. I did ask Eon about supplying credit meters and a competitive tariff but they said I would have to tell them what tariff I was on at my new property so they could do a comparison and of course I don't know yet as I only moved in 4 days ago.

So I'm confused and don't know what to do for the best. I just want to be on a fair and competitive tariff, get the best deal available with whichever company can offer it and not be ripped off. However I can't give a comparison as to what tariff I have been on previously as I have not had duel fuel.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Autumnella

Do they not just mean you will be on their standard tariff until the meters have been changed and all details updated? So, a couple of weeks after the meters have been changed. I would query this with them again.

If not EDF Energy do meter exchanges free of charge and you wouldn't be tied in, but their cheapest tariff prices are quite good anyway.

You can ask SSE what tariff you are on, probably a standard prepay one, to get a comparison with other suppliers or you can find other suppliers unit rates for their cheapest tariff by searching for the TIL (tariff information label) on their website.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


Southern Electricity(SE) cannot place you on a 'Standard Tariff' and then tie you in for a period.


I suspect you have misunderstood SE. They probably want to place you on a fixed tariff see https://www.southern-electric.co.uk/GasAndElectricity/ and these have and exit fee if you leave before the fixed term - 1 year or 3 year.


I suggest you seek clarification on that point.


It is worth pointing out that many firms charge a fee for changing meters - usually £50 to£60 per meter so if they are not charging you are lucky.

Caitie16

Thank you both for your replies.

I did think I would have to pay for the meters to be changed so I was surprised they said there was no charge for doing it.

I will phone them again this morning and clarify the situation regarding tariffs.

Thanks again. :-)

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Caitie16 wrote: »

Hi
I have just joined the forum and am hoping to get some advice please.

I moved into a rented property on Friday and the lady who lived here before me had pre-payment meters for both gas and electricity supplied by Southern Electric. I don't want pre-payment meters not only because I've been told they are more expensive but because I am disabled and cannot get to the shops to keep topping up the gas card and electric key. I have therefore been in touch with Southern Electric who did a credit check on me and are happy to change both of the meters over on the 21st April for the gas and 19th May for the electric, but then I am tied in with them for a period of time and they will automatically put me on the standard tariff.

The property I have moved from and where I lived for the past 5 years had no gas in the village, the property had storage heaters and only had one tariff available through Eon so I had no choice whatsoever as to which company I could use or what tariff. Now that I can have normal gas and electric I want to get the best deal possible as I am not well off and any savings I can make would make a big difference to me. I did ask Eon about supplying credit meters and a competitive tariff but they said I would have to tell them what tariff I was on at my new property so they could do a comparison and of course I don't know yet as I only moved in 4 days ago.

So I'm confused and don't know what to do for the best. I just want to be on a fair and competitive tariff, get the best deal available with whichever company can offer it and not be ripped off. However I can't give a comparison as to what tariff I have been on previously as I have not had duel fuel.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello Caitie16 and welcome to the Forums.

We don't charge to replace a prepayment with a credit meter but we do ask to do an external credit check. I'm afraid, though, we can't do a comparative quote without a tariff to compare with so I'd suggest popping your usage in kWh on to the independent comparison sites. These will list your options with all suppliers.

Hope this is useful Caitie16.

Malc