Options for switching electricity supplier when renting

Stardust83

I'd really appreciate any guidance that can be offered. The problem I have is that I am currently stuck with eon. There's only myself and my partner in the flat but our bill fluctuates between £130-£160 a month. Having looked at previous bills I can see that it looks like we actually have two meters as there are two standing charges. We have storage heaters but don't use them and they are switched off at the fuse box so if one of the standing charges is for them it seems a bit unfair as we don't use them. We've been in this flat for 11 years so it's a long time to have been overpaying.
Our rate has just changed too and it looks like we no longer get cheaper rates in the evening. I tried to change supplier about a year ago but was told by the supplier that they couldn't supply us as we are economy 7. I tried again recently going through one of the comparison pages and the company that came in cheapest said that because there are two meters registered to the address we would need to call them. I tried several times but got no answer. 
Having spoken to friends I've now found out that similar sized properties are paying half of what we pay for our electricity so I'm desperate to change but how do I know that the comparison sites are going to be giving me accurate savings estimates if I have two meters and which companies will I actually be able to change to?

Gerry1

Stardust83 said:

I tried to change supplier about a year ago but was told by the supplier that they couldn't supply us as we are economy 7.

Forget what someone else says, just look at your EOn bill and find out which tariff you are on !  It's probably not E7 but an old legacy tariff such as E10 which they are trying to phase out.

Also forget about the cost of monthly payments (I assume you are on Variable Direct Debit, so the bill will be higher if you use more in any given month), concentrate on the cost per kWh and the standing charge and do the sums yourself based on actual annual meter readings.

Search this forum using terms such as Restricted Hours Tariff, RHT, Simpler Metering etc because it has frequently been discussed.  You need to speak to E.On's Simpler Metering Team.

Also see the Citizens Advice guide.

Fighter1986

Changing supplier on E7 isn't unusual and shouldn't cause problems.

I rent and am also in E7. When I moved in there was an ungodly old prepayment key meter supplied by Utilita.

They allowed me to switch to a smart meter, then pay by Direct Debit. 

I subsequently switched to Green Network Energy (which was fun - they couldn't turn on the off peak supply overnight so we lost heating and hot water until they switched out the Utilita supplied smart meter); and have since enjoyed fairly cheap electricity. The two of us are paying £75 a month which covers the summer / winter usage just fine. 

I'm only charged one standing charge for being on E7, I have one meter with a night rate and a day rate.

You might have two separate physical meters if you have an old setup, but this should be charged as one "Supply". If it hasn't been charged this way I'd raise a formal complaint to EON as well as switching away ASAP.

The price comparison sites like Moneysupermarket have an option to specify that you're on E7 when you go through the process. 

Could you post a pic of your meter cupboard and what's lurking in there?

Hasbeen

Op,  As usual all good advice from the 2 posters above.

Can I ask though, if you do not use the storage heaters, How do you heat your flat when it is cold?