Changing prepaid meters to credit ones.

Nesmy

Good evening folks,

I have recently bought a property with prepayment meters for both gas and electric in it. I found Bulb to supply me with fairly cheap energy, however recently they have increased prices and ceased to be competitive. I called up one of the cheapest suppliers however they said they can only take on board people with credit meters and it have to be my current supplier that changes them. Bulb requested almost £240 for changing both meters :eek: There is my question - if I was to swap my supplier to prepayment Scottish Power and ask them to change meters, after which I would change supplier to the cheapest one, would that be possible? Neither Bulb nor Scottish Power charge exit fees and Scottish Power changes meters for free. This would allow me to avoid being charged so much by Bulb.


Let me know what you think guys!:beer:

Streaky_Bacon

I don't see anything to prevent you from doing this, although Scottish Power do charge a "security deposit" and suppliers may have similar terms that might trip you.

If you ask us to remove the prepayment meter we’ll ask some questions to determine the suitability of a credit meter for your circumstances. This will involve a credit check and, depending on the outcome of that check, we may request a security deposit (usually £150 per fuel) before we can arrange to replace your meter. The security deposit will be repaid when you have made all payments for your energy bills on time over a year

Is Scottish Power the cheapest supplier that you could find that would swap the meter for free?

There's a list of supplier here with a summary of their meter switch terms.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/money-made-easy/how-to-switch-from-a-prepayment-energy-meter/

Nesmy

Hi Streaky Bacon,

No, Scottish Power is not the cheapest one, it's just an example of a supplier that doesn't charge for exit fees or changing meter. I have seen the website you have linked and that's how I found these suppliers.

I thought that deposit would be returned to me once I have changed a supplier to the one I want to ultimately stay with? Also, I still have some credit on my prepayment meters (around £200 on gas and £150 on electric). How do I get that money back once I change suppliers?

Thanks a lot for an answer Streaky Bacon! :T

gaz_moose

just be wary that some suppliers drag their heels when you switch and want your meters changed. ive had 2 wait 2 months for Eon to send a guy out then they put me onto a crap tariff for a week before I was allowed to switch to the initial one I signed up for.