Can prepay meters be as cost effective as other payment options?

KommanderKeen

I may be stuck with a prepay electric meter because I cannot get it removed without also having an electrician move my consumer fuse unit and I've been quoted £450 for moving the unit 6 inches higher to make space.

I was originally intending to move to a standard duel fuel tariff as bill calculators suggested it would be cheaper.

Still, it would take a significant amount of time for the cheaper bills to outweigh the £450 upfront cost of removing the prepay unit. It's my first house and there's plenty of 'real' improvements to make so it doesn't feel worth handing the cash over for something I won't notice for years.

So can a prepay meter and separate gas bill be as cheap as the usual direct debit options?

Bonus points for a solution that allows me to top up the electric via the internet - going down to the shops for it is irritating!

CashStrapped

Things are improving, but prepay tariffs are usually a lot more expensive. There is an official article on this site that covers everything. I and others will probably just end up repeating bits of it.....so have a good read as there is lots of useful information.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

There are, it seems (according to the article) a few good deals available for prepay as an option. The best thing to do is a comparison using average annual figures in KWH for comparison, and see what comes up. These are around 3500kwh (electric) and 12000kwh (gas) or around 6000- 7000kwh for electric only.

In fact compare for both prepay and normal meters and see the difference for your area for the best deals. Change the figures if you think they are too high (if a small property, live on your own etc.). Low use typical figures can be around 3000kwh electric and 9000kwh gas or around 4000 - 5000kwh electric only.

Back to your issue.....

The one thing I do not understand is that modern credit meters are tiny. They are much smaller than equivalent prepay meters. So I do not understand why there is not enough space for a credit it meter once the prepay meter is removed.

Has the energy company come out and inspected or attempted to replace it? Who has determined that there is an issue with placement?

A picture may help as there are some resident meter readers/swappers on the forum.

[Deleted User]

KommanderKeen wrote: »

I may be stuck with a prepay electric meter because I cannot get it removed without also having an electrician move my consumer fuse unit and I've been quoted £450 for moving the unit 6 inches higher to make space.

I was originally intending to move to a standard duel fuel tariff as bill calculators suggested it would be cheaper.

Still, it would take a significant amount of time for the cheaper bills to outweigh the £450 upfront cost of removing the prepay unit. It's my first house and there's plenty of 'real' improvements to make so it doesn't feel worth handing the cash over for something I won't notice for years.

So can a prepay meter and separate gas bill be as cheap as the usual direct debit options?

Bonus points for a solution that allows me to top up the electric via the internet - going down to the shops for it is irritating!

Try switching supplier.That sounds like a Scottish Power sort of price. Try EDF, they do not charge for prepay switches and dont credit check.
Its odd that they say the meter has to be moved.Its usually in the exact same place where the old credit meter sat.