New house

XlordB

Moving into our first house its has a pre paid metre, any tips on the best energy company to go with since im not sure which energy company was in the house before. Does it have to be a switch to get the cheapest rate etc? im willing to do online only however id like some feedback on that? also few years ago i remember paying direct debit and ended up with an arrears bill because i was told i was using more than i was getting debited. how can i avoid that with future companies I dont want to get any hidden costs as its hard enough trying to pay the normal ones.

CashStrapped

You are already in a deemed contract with whoever the existing supplier is.

If you cannot find any letters from an energy company ring your local distributor and they will tell you who supplies the property already.

You need to ensure you take the meter readings for when you moved in and take note of any debt left on the meter. Take a photo of every screen on the meter to give yourself some evidence in case an issue arises.

If there is debt on the meter - do not forget, you will be paying off someone else's debt if you are using key cards left by them.

Once you find who your existing supplier is you will be sent your own key cards (with no debt). You will have to use the prepayment meter for a short period.

You can then compare suppliers and initiate a switch.

However, to get off a prepayment meter you have to request a meter exchange from your supplier.

You do not have to do this with the one you are in contract with. Suppliers have differing meter replacement policies. For example, EDF and EON do not normally charge for replacing a meter whereas others such as SSE can charge £60-90 per meter (I cannot remember the exact amount). Some do credit checks, some don't.

So you may want to switch to a company with free meter replacement policies and cheap tariffs.

However your immediate priority is get signed up with your deemed supplier. Do not let them put you on a contract with exit fees. You will want to stay on the standard tariff until you work out which supplier is best to switch to.

Switching supplier can take 2 to 4 weeks and then arranging a meter exchange can take another 2-4 weeks.

On-line tariffs are usually cheaper these days. But the name "online tariff" does not guarantee this.

Paying by direct debit is by far the cheapest payment method. To avoid the DD causing issues just give a meter reading every month (or every quarter at the least) and this will ensure you can assess if the DD is set at the correct amount.

XlordB

I meant to say its one of those key metre thingys like pre paid key metres. I want to get a normal meter in or smart meter or whatever just want a reliable not to expensive tariff. I think its scottish or british gas its a private let renting.

CashStrapped

Read my post - I gave you all the information you need - The key meter will be a prepayment meter.

[Deleted User]

Excellent advice from CashStrapped. Be aware that to see most of the prepay electric screen you need to have the key inserted. Debt screens are "S" and "T" .Standing charge debt will be on the first screen and you would be liable for weekly standing charge only when you took over the property.