Switching from prepayment to credit

skm1981

We moved into our house in the middle of January and found that it was on a prepayment meter.  We called the energy company, they said we need to wait 2 weeks, then we can call back and they will run a credit check and if all is ok, they'll change the meter.  I don't know why we had to wait 2 weeks.

So we called back 2 weeks later, all fine, they'll change us over to a credit meter, but they couldn't do this until the middle of March.  So the day before they're coming to change the meter, we get a text saying they're coming to fit our prepayment meter.  My husband calls to tell them we're not switching to a prepayment, we already have that, we're switching to credit.  He's told yes, it will be a credit meter, we probably just got sent the wrong text.  So the guy comes to fit the meter.  It's another prepayment meter, although I think this one you can top up online rather than having to go to the shop.  

So my husband called the energy company again and they said we can switch this over, but we need to wait another 2 weeks.  I'm confused.  Has anyone else had this?  I don't understand why they've switched us from one prepayment meter to another and now telling us to wait a further couple of weeks.  With these smart meters, can they switch it from prepayment to credit remotely or will they have to come and fit another meter?  I'm confused and wondering if we can just change energy supplier now to get ourselves on a better credit tariff. 

MWT

Yes, a smart meter can be switched between prepay and credit remotely.
Also, yes it can take a few days for a new smart meter to become properly accessible to your supplier, so it would be normal for it not to be done immediately. 

Shouldn’t take two weeks though, but that may just be a standard response to cover any issues. 

Who is your supplier?

skm1981

Hi, thanks for your reply.  It's Scottish Power.