Is this a scam by EDF/SSE?

MoneySavingMiss

Moved to a place with a prepayment electric meter during lockdown - haven't yet switched to credit meter and currently opting to stay on my prepayment fixed tariff for now, due to current energy crisis.

SSE guys came out yesterday to change meter - apparently faulty - and put £50 "credit" on the new meter, stating that a new key would take up to 10 days to arrive and so I wouldn't be able to top up.

On looking at the meter - my tariff appears to have changed! The standing charge weekly rate is higher and so is the charge per kWh.

My tariff is 16.42p unit rate/27.25p standing charge. The new meter is showing 17.31p unit rate/28p standing charge. My tariff is supposed to be fixed until May 2022.

Also, apparently I can't pay this £50 "credit" off in full, but instead will be charged £3 weekly. This is starting to feel like a loan that I didn't ask for, and it seems that on top of the changed unit rate/standing charge, the £50 "credit" is actually being treated like debt and is going down faster than normal, with no change in electricity usage (I track my usage daily and average 58p per day, +35p if I wash and dry 1 load of laundry).

Can anyone advise? I've not used prepayment meters before and something feels fishy about this.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

would think that the £3 payback will come off at 42/43p per day.

MoneySavingMiss

[Deleted User] said:

Hi,

would think that the £3 payback will come off at 42/43p per day.

Hi!
This is intriguing because 43p is the exact amount that has been deducted so far. Current balance is £49.57. It reduced in increments however (was £49.83 a few hours ago) so I assumed it was electricity usage/standing charge being deducted.

If 43p is being deducted each day from the credit, how am I paying it back? I don't quite understand - in my mind, they've put £50 credit on there, and I want to top up £50 once the new key arrives, and clear the debt. But I can't quite figure out how this works, if the charge is being deducted from the credit itself?! 

What happens when I then top up? Will I be paying £3 weekly again?

Gerry1

You've effectively been given an overdraft which they are clawing back gradually.  Would you prefer to have been cold and dark for ten days instead?

Not a good idea to be on a Prepayment meter: it'll cost you a lot more because the kWh rate and the daily charge will both be higher. 

QrizB

Gerry1 said:

... it'll cost you a lot more because the kWh rate and the daily charge will both be higher. 

Although 16.42p or 17.3p/kWh is pretty good by current standards. OP is using roughly 2kWh/day which would be 5-6p/day more expensive on the current Ofgem DD cap, even allowing for the SC.