Landlord is converting to PAYG

renegadefm

Hi, posting this for a friend as they need to see where they stand.

Basically their landlord is changing the meter from a direct debt way of paying which the tennant is happy with, to a pay as you go complete with new smart meter.

I dont know why they are doing this as they are not behind on paying bills or anything, and PAYG is more expencive to the tennant. Plus they now will have a settlement fee of £275. And dont have that kind of money spare.

What rights does tennants have to prevent this going ahead?

I can only assume the landlord thinks its easier to sort out when exchanging tennents each time.

m0bov

What does the tenancy say?

Owain_Moneysaver

in whose name is the energy account?

Kernel_Sanders

Why would the tenant have to pay £275 when they are not the cause of the change?

Swipe

I'd give the landlord an ultimatum, the credit meter stays, or I go

Gerry1

If the tenant is paying the energy company directly, how can a third party change the contracted tariff unilaterally and order chargeable work? :huh:

MWT

renegadefm wrote: »

I dont know why they are doing this as they are not behind on paying bills or anything, and PAYG is more expencive to the tennant. Plus they now will have a settlement fee of £275. And dont have that kind of money spare.

Too much missing information, but just to pick up on that 'settlement fee' - just because they have been paying the DD doesn't mean that what they pay has covered what they have used...


Is this settlement fee actually the difference between the actual usage on the meter and the DD amounts that have been paid to date?


The rest of this is all just odd as others have pointed out, does your friend pay the landlord at the moment or the energy supplier direct?

Smart_Energy_GB

renegadefm wrote: »

Hi, posting this for a friend as they need to see where they stand.

Basically their landlord is changing the meter from a direct debt way of paying which the tennant is happy with, to a pay as you go complete with new smart meter.

I dont know why they are doing this as they are not behind on paying bills or anything, and PAYG is more expencive to the tennant. Plus they now will have a settlement fee of £275. And dont have that kind of money spare.

What rights does tennants have to prevent this going ahead?

I can only assume the landlord thinks its easier to sort out when exchanging tennents each time.

Hi there,

It's up to the individual who pays the bill to decide which meter they'd like to have. If it's the landlord who's paying the bill, then they can choose to change it, however if your friend is responsible for paying energy bills, then it's up to them.

Hope this helps.

Kind Regards,
Smart Energy GB

renegadefm

I will ask them, but as far as I know the Tennant pays the bills and is in their name which explains why the settlement fee falls to them.

I still dont know why the landlord wants to change it to a prepayment meter as its not like its a flat or anything, its a seni detached 2 bedroom house. But I assume the landlord is doing it so its less complicated each time there is a tennacy change, for example no settlement fees each time. But it forces the tennants to pay for more expencive electricity which is wrong in my opinion.

MWT

If the account is in the name of the tenant then the landlord can't change the meters as already mentioned several times.


There isn't a lot more advice that can be given without specific confirmation of the basic details.


Whatever motives the landlord may or may not have are not relevant, unless the account is actually in the landlords name...