Should I switch electric to direct debit??

Abby_Normal

Hi,
I have been living in my property for 25 years now and all the while I've been paying my gas by direct debit and electric by pre-payment meter.
 
The energy supplier is the same for both (EDF) and I've heard that I may be paying more on my electric by using the pre-payment meter so my question is, is it worth me switching my electric to DD and is it a good time to do so bearing in mind all this business with the prices rocketing sky-high?

Many thanks.

Mstty

Here is the EDF deemed rate tariff info. Find your region and what you pay now and then look at the DD payment

https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/r505_deemed_rate_card.pdf

TheBanker

Yes - the OFGEM price cap is higher for pre-payment customers. I think the difference based on the OFGEM 'typical household' is about £60 per year. Actual saving will depend on your usage but I think it's worth switching to direct debit if you can.

In the short term, if the Government cap all bill types at the same level it won't be worth doing, but for the longer term it's still worth it. 

victor2

See what today's announcement says about help with energy bills, but payment by DD has been slightly cheaper than prepayment, and more convenient, so it probably will be worth contacting EDF to change it. Do make sure it won't jeopardize the £400 credit all electricity users are supposed to be getting though.

Robin9

@Abby_Normal    Do you find paying by pp helps you budget / keep you in control ?

[Deleted User]

TheBanker said:

Yes - the OFGEM price cap is higher for pre-payment customers. I think the difference based on the OFGEM 'typical household' is about £60 per year. Actual saving will depend on your usage but I think it's worth switching to direct debit if you can.

In the short term, if the Government cap all bill types at the same level it won't be worth doing, but for the longer term it's still worth it. 

But strangely that isn’t always true in the October caps, for some combinations of region and fuel, prepayment is a lower cap.

jj_43

I wonder why? Prepayment now less of a debt risk than credit, offsetting the usual higher prepayment cost to serve?

Abby_Normal

Thank you all for your answers and I will look into the suggestions offered, though I would like to respond specifically to Robin9 - yes paying by pp does help me budget and keep me in control and this is perhaps the main reason why I have been reluctant to change it over the years. On top of that I have this niggling worry in the back of my mind that if I relinquish this control and go for some smart meter option I might get ripped off.

macman

You will pay about 2% less on a credit meter: and much easier to budget, as on a fixed DD your payments will not increase massively in the winter.