Pre payment limit on EON meter

nothappy120

Hi , I advised my daughter to do what Martin Lewis advised for people on pre payment before the price increase, she put £200 on her top up key, she already had £57 on the meter, when she went to put the £200 on the meter it wouldn't accept it, it turns out that EON has a limit of £249 on the meter, so she has lost out on any possible gain, actually she has lost out as she now has £200 on the key earning no interest.

QrizB

Yes, this happens.

nothappy120

Why an upper limit they got your cash, £249 is nothing in the middle of winter 

QrizB

nothappy120 said:

Why an upper limit ...

Why not? It makes the entire system easier to design and operate and reduces the amount of money tied up in the system, for starters.

nothappy120 said:

... £249 is nothing in the middle of winter 

The limit was set 10+ years ago when electricity was half the current price. Almost all new prepayment meters are smart meters, where your balance is held in an online account rather than on the meter.

And even at today's prices, £250 should be enough to get most households through a winter month. So it's hardly "nothing".

nothappy120 said:

Hi , I advised my daughter to do what Martin Lewis advised for people on pre payment before the price increase, she put £200 on her top up key, she already had £57 on the meter, 

I don't know exactly which MSE article you read that had this advice, but this one for example:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/02/prepay-for-your-energy--you-could-keep-today-s-cheaper-rates-for/

... includes this info:

Yet there is a limit on how much you can top up each time, and how much credit your meter can hold. We asked all the big names and they said that usually you can top up between £1 and £49 at a time, while the meter itself can typically hold up to £249 for electricity

So the limit wasn't a secret.

nothappy120 said:

... actually she has lost out as she now has £200 on the key earning no interest.

£200 in a savings account would be earning £1 a month, or less.

nothappy120

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out with your concern. I understand that an upper limit of £249 may feel insufficient, especially during the winter months when energy usage tends to increase.

As classic prepayment meters are old now, those limits have been in place for a long time to help manage energy costs and ensure that we can support all our customers effectively. However, I completely understand that everyone's situation is different, we do have smart pay as you go meters now, these can be topped up more, no more key and card it's all on the app, and an in home display is provided to help track energy.

I'd also like to address the price increase and topping up before this to get a lower rate, this actually does not happen, you could top up £250 on the 30th September ahead of the price change on the 1st October, the prices will still change on the 1st October and you will still be charged the new rate for usage used after the prices changed, messages are still sent to be picked up by the key during top ups and when we review accounts and see that there is an imbalance in the charges the difference is billed either you've been billed to much and get a credit not not billed enough and a debt is sent to the meter

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Rebecca

QrizB

Rebecca sounds like an AI, or at least as though her communication was assisted by one.

nothappy120

Probably, your point is?

MWT

AI, possibly, but also correct, that old dodge of loading a meter key before the prices go up doesn't work these days as either the meter is smart and doesn't get its unit pricing from the 'key' anyway, or even if it is an older meter the energy company can apply the correct pricing based on when the units are consumed. 

nothappy120

Live and learn, it won't happen again, I'll do more research on things from now on before making a decision.