How can I move from SSE (key meter) to Neon Reef (smart) without being charged?

nottsphil

Neon Reef don’t have an option for prepayment meters when seeking a quote on their website, and they're  too small to be obliged to fit smart meters themselves. 
According to the MSE guide, SSE won't let me switch to a smart meter for the sole reason that my present meter is Economy 7!  So, the only option is to switch to another large supplier, get them to fit the new meter and then switch again to Neon Reef (if they're still trading by that time!). But don't all the big companies charge for the meter change if you've not been with them for a year, or don't intend to ?

Gerry1

You don't need a smart meter to switch to Neon Reef.

I'm not aware of NR offering either an E7 tariff or pre-payment, but they will happily bill an existing non-smart credit E7 meter at single rate if that's what you're seeking, and thankfully they've never pestered me to have a smart meter.

The issue might be that of switching from pre-payment to a single rate credit meter.  You could ask Neon Reef whether they would do this; alternatively you could ask SSE or another supplier to do so before then switching to NR.

stewie_griffin

I'm sure any large supplier (and most smaller suppliers) we fit you a smart meter for free. Do you want a smart pay as you go meter or a credit meter?

nottsphil

stewie_griffin said:

I'm sure any large supplier (and most smaller suppliers) we fit you a smart meter for free. Do you want a smart pay as you go meter or a credit meter?

Credit, but I don't see the relevance as smart meters are switchable between the two.
 The issue is this

stewie_griffin

The relevance is that some suppliers will require you to pass a credit check before fitting a credit meter, which could limit your options.

Shedman

My stepdaughter changed from prepayment meter (SSE) to Neon Reef credit with no problem, although she wasn't E7 but as Gerry1 says they'll happily supply you on single tariff for the combined readings.  

If you want to check with NR  suggest you use the chat function as they are very quick at responding that way (emails can take a while).  The chat function isn't always obvious...it's on the bottom of the Contact Us page but the chat icon only appears when chat is live (9am to 5pm I think).  If you do decide to change to NR don't forget to look for a referral code in the Referrals section of the forums and get £25 credit

nottsphil

Thanks for the detail on that live chat advice Shedman, which I presume doesn't operate today.

Was stepdaughter's electric prepayment meter a smart one, or did it  use a key/card? 

I'm aware of Neon's referral scheme but will first be PMing the person I have already  found to be the most helpful on this board first, if I do eventually end up with them.

Energyinsider

They'll have had a smart meter in prepay mode, as those will switch automatically to credit.

As you have a legacy/ dumb prepay meter you'll need it exchanging. 

Some suppliers are doing prepay to smart prepay installs which you can enquire with your supplier about.

Or you can ask to switch to smart credit, and then your supplier will likely want to do a credit check first.

You won't be charged for the smart meter installation, even if you switched supplier. These are free to everyone.

Shedman

nottsphil said:

Thanks for the detail on that live chat advice Shedman, which I presume doesn't operate today.

Was stepdaughter's electric prepayment meter a smart one, or did it  use a key/card? 

I'm aware of Neon's referral scheme but will first be PMing the person I have already  found to be the most helpful on this board first, if I do eventually end up with them.

It was a non smart meter and was card top up, although I didn't think that would have mattered if it was key because, as I understand it from many conversations with SSE see below, when meters change suppliers the outgoing supplier is supposed to put it back into credit status mode on transfer (or it not a smart meter is automatically treated as a credit meter)  

The issue she had was that when she moved into the flat there was a Smets1 smart meter that the previous supplier Ecotricity hadn't put back into credit mode but because it was left in prepay mode SSE couldn't access it (only the old supplier can apparently) either to change it to credit mode or to add funds remotely (and she couldn't add credit either ).  So we had to let the residue prepay amount that was on there run down, but that occurred at a weekend so the £5 emergency credit then kicked in , so we then had to use that up as well and then wait until the power went completely (all heaters blazing so as it was mid summer it got very very warm lol) before SSE would do an emergency meter change.  Hence why she ended up with an old non smart prepay meter 4 days before the switch away which went to credit status on switch to NR.  Still she got compensation from SSE that was far greater than her usage for the period so made about £20 out of it.  However SSE in their incompetence didn't base the final bill on the old meter reading and passed the wrong meter info and readings to NR.  NR have been valiantly trying to get it sorted ever since so we have no issue with them...it's just the crazy way the industry works that resolution seems to problematic even when you've supplied photographic evidence of the new meter and the signed SSE Engineers label showing old meter details and readings and the new meter details and readings.....

nottsphil

Wow, I wasn't expecting all that considering Shedman said:

My stepdaughter changed from prepayment meter (SSE) to Neon Reef credit with no problem, 

I hate to think of the hassle they would have gone through if there had been a problem

I think this information finally confirms the solution to my problem because apparently all I have to do is first switch to a variable credit tariff with SSE, then get them to reset my current key meter rates to 0p night, 0p day and 0p SC ( or maybe the other way round?) That would mean electricity flowing through my meter uncurtailed, so no different to a credit meter.
  When that is all in place it would be easier to switch to Neon Reef, and I wouldn't need an unwanted meter change.

I'm surprised to find an internal SSE tariff switch via MSE Energy Club yields  £12.50 cashback, payable in 3-6 months. Not sure what happens when I switch again before it's paid, though. 

Shedman

nottsphil said:

Wow, I wasn't expecting all that considering Shedman said:

My stepdaughter changed from prepayment meter (SSE) to Neon Reef credit with no problem, 

There wasn't any hassle with the actual switch to NR (which was my initial point) .. it went through in the timescales they had indicated.    

The problem issue was due to a quirky set of circumstances and has been of SSE and/or the mysterious industry third party validation service's making due to not supplying correct meter references... not to do with NR.  I just thought I'd detail the meter issue just to eleborate on the fact the prepaid meters should be automatically switched to credit on transfer but that sometimes it doesn't seem to work and that's where issues can arise.  

I'm happy enough with NR that I'm switching my electric to them ( but,as with all smaller suppliers,  crossing fingers that they stay in business for a while...certainly more than the 9 days I was with Simplicity before they went t*ts up😅)  They seem to be picking a lot of new customers so hopefully that's a positive rather than a negative (presumably starting a referral scheme they have geared themselves up for an influx).  Customer service on chat has always been prompt and knowledgable in my experience.