Change E7 Smets2 Smart Meter From DD Credit to PAYG

ngr49er

Wow, didn't expect this old thread to ever get a reply.

I did not follow through, as I did not want to take the risk of getting stuck on PAYG, especially as the savings were not high enough to outweigh the downsides (at least in my opinion).

The original interest was as EDF had a really low night option for Q1 23 3.80p,  but by Q2 23 the night option went back to a more regular ratio with Day rates (at least for SW region it did).

If this ever became a known option with the ability to switch easily back and forth readily established and the savings were high enough, then my decision may change..

lohr500

Only reason I was considering it was because I would rather have £108 in my bank than EDFs. It represents around a 3% saving. 

We have already worked on reducing our usage and shifting more to the off peak periods. A 10% reduction in total kWh year on year.

But the fear is that if we decide to move supplier or EDFs DD rates change and become lower than PAYG, I worry that re-establishing a credit account could be challenging, especially with a high consumption.
Our credit rating is excellent with no records of any detailing payments. However, I can't help but think that there may be a black flag in the systems when customers request a move from PAYG to DD 

ngr49er

lohr500 said:

Only reason I was considering it was because I would rather have £108 in my bank than EDFs. It represents around a 3% saving. 

We have already worked on reducing our usage and shifting more to the off peak periods. A 10% reduction in total kWh year on year.

But the fear is that if we decide to move supplier or EDFs DD rates change and become lower than PAYG, I worry that re-establishing a credit account could be challenging, especially with a high consumption.
Our credit rating is excellent with no records of any detailing payments. However, I can't help but think that there may be a black flag in the systems when customers request a move from PAYG to DD 

Like you I would also prefer £100 or so to be in my bank account and not the energy company's.

Unfortunately in the end the unknown difficulty of changing back to Direct Debit if / when the savings reversed, made the decision for me, even if meant paying more.

lohr500

An update for anyone who may be interested :

After speaking with several people on the EDF support phone line and via WhatsApp last week, I finally received a call today from a very helpful lady in the complex metering team. 

She was able to answer all my questions about the switch from DD to PAYG and to confirm the current and 1st Oct onwards DD & PAYG rates for my tariff.

She also said it would be easy to switch back to DD if the rates favoured DD in the future. (Only time will tell if this is indeed true!)

Although the saving is small, I decided to move to PAYG. She then ran through some basic questions and submitted the smart meter mode change request.

She advised that the mode change could take up to 48 hours. At the point of switch over a final bill is generated against the DD a/c and a new PAYG account is created.

I also asked her to confirm the latest rate 1 and rate 2 unit readings she had from my smart meter. To within a unit or two these agreed with the actual meter readings. I have taken photos as a precaution just in case there is any subsequent dispute with the final DD bill.

Within a few minutes of my call, I received a text message to say the new PAYG a/c was open. Within an hour the smart meter had received an update and showed the new day time rate and S/C. I will watch it closely over the next few days to make sure it toggles between the peak and off peak rates at the relevant times.

In passing, I mentioned that the IHD had never worked since we shifted from ECO7 to GoElectric98 two years ago. She said she would post out a replacement IHD for me, although I have little confidence it will make any difference. I tried the old IHD after the meter update today and it still didn't work.

One minor hiccup that I have run into so far .

Because the final DD bill takes up to 5 days to generate, the +/-£310 credit I anticipated would transfer today to the PAYG balance hasn't. So the PAYG a/c immediately needed a top up to stop it going negative. Not a problem as it can be done online and quickly.

Going forward I have setup the "Auto Top Up" facility to top up the PAYG a/c from a debit card with £50 every time the balance falls below £50.


So in conclusion has it been worth it to save +/- £110 a year?

I would say yes.

Positives.

• It represents over a 3% saving which I would rather have in my pocket than EDF's.
• It means I can control the credit balance directly by tweaking the auto top up amount and/or the trigger point as I see fit rather than debating the budget DD monthly levels with EDF.

Negatives.

• If the auto top up process or low credit alert system fails, then we could wake up one morning to find the power is off. I will pay particular attention to the balance prior to going on holiday so there is no danger of an extended power cut.
• There is still the unknown over how easy it will be to switch back to DD if the scales tip in favour of DD with future rate changes. The lady assured me it wouldn't be an issue, but I still have doubts.