Key meter electric

CharlotteElizabeth · 29 November 2017 at 3:10PM

Hello, I am currently on BG key meter and I seem to be feeding it every 5 days with 30 quid each time. I do have a fan heater on quite a bit, as my house has economy 7 which is useless cos I work all day.

How do I find deals for a key meter? The good deals listed in the MSE emails, are they for houses who pay by monthly bills? I failed a credit check for BG monthly so can't switch from key meter

Thanks

Raxiel · 29 November 2017 at 4:12PM

You can switch supplies with a pre-pay (key) meter. The tariffs are different to those for credit (monthly) meters.

If you want to switch from prepay to credit, British Gas are the worst for that, even for people with a good history. Switch your supply to a company that doesn't do credit checks, EDF is the usual recommendation but there may be others, and then request a switch to credit once the switch is complete (ask for the new meter to be single rate at the same time if you don't think economy 7 will ever be worth it for you).

At that point you're free to sign up for a fixed deal with your new supplier, or shop around again.

Robisere · 29 November 2017 at 4:46PM

I second EDF, I have their Online Saver August 18 tariff and pay just £83 per month for gas and electric. Pre pay meters are expensive, you would be better of switching to a 'normal' meter.

Economy 7 is even more useless if you are at home all day as well: as Senior retired, we had Economy 7 NSH heaters before we had GCH. By 3 pm the heating was gone, as the storage was exhausted. Consider how good a scenario that was for us older folk! No heating on a winter night, when you really need it, which meant 'normal' electric heaters and more expense.

CharlotteElizabeth · 29 November 2017 at 6:43PM

I'm worried that if I have a credit meter then my bills will become unmanageable. Is there a way you can see on average how much you are spending so you aren't hit with a shock bill? I'm new to all this switching stuff so I'm not really sure what a good deal is. Do they need to come and change the meter, I work in the next city so leave early and get home late so I'm not at home often to deal with this kinda stuff.

iammumtoone · 29 November 2017 at 6:47PM

Credit is slight cheaper but if you are spending £30 a week you will still be spending a lot.

Do you have storage heaters?

if no, he answer is to stop the E7 and stop using the fan heater.

Even if you keep E7 stop using the fan heater these cost a ridiculous amount of money. What other heating do you have in the home?

CharlotteElizabeth · 29 November 2017 at 7:01PM

I don't have any other heating. I don't have gas at all. I basically heat 2 rooms in my house (I live in a 2 bed flat) that's completely electric, all my money goes on heating my living room and bedroom. I have storage heaters with E7 but they are useless cos I work from 7am-6pm everyday. I'm in rented accommodation also so can't make drastic changes without permission

AndyCF · 29 November 2017 at 7:19PM

CharlotteElizabeth wrote: »

I'm worried that if I have a credit meter then my bills will become unmanageable. Is there a way you can see on average how much you are spending so you aren't hit with a shock bill? I'm new to all this switching stuff so I'm not really sure what a good deal is. Do they need to come and change the meter, I work in the next city so leave early and get home late so I'm not at home often to deal with this kinda stuff.

If its a 'key' meter then yes they would need to visit to replace it, a smart meter (no key or card) would not in most cases need changing as they are usually 'dual purpose' in that they can act as a 'credit' or 'pre-pay' type.

So if you actually have a 'key' or 'card' you take to the shop etc to 'top up' then yes it is highly likely they would need to change the meter although as others have said switch supplier first if needed, then once its "settled properly" see about going from pre-pay to 'credit'

iammumtoone · 29 November 2017 at 7:56PM

CharlotteElizabeth wrote: »

I don't have any other heating. I don't have gas at all. I basically heat 2 rooms in my house (I live in a 2 bed flat) that's completely electric, all my money goes on heating my living room and bedroom. I have storage heaters with E7 but they are useless cos I work from 7am-6pm everyday. I'm in rented accommodation also so can't make drastic changes without permission

Any young children? If not, have you considered calor gas? Do you have transport to collect the canisters?

I suggest starting a new thread asking for help with the most efficient way to heat your home as whilst changing to a credit meter will help its not the full answer as heating a home with fan heaters is always going to be expensive however you pay for electric.

House_Martin · 29 November 2017 at 8:07PM

CharlotteElizabeth wrote: »

I'm worried that if I have a credit meter then my bills will become unmanageable. Is there a way you can see on average how much you are spending so you aren't hit with a shock bill? I'm new to all this switching stuff so I'm not really sure what a good deal is. Do they need to come and change the meter, I work in the next city so leave early and get home late so I'm not at home often to deal with this kinda stuff.

There are details on the meter which can show you how many Kilo Watt Hours (,kwh on the meter ) you have used since you took over the account.
If you know the date you should be able to work out a rough number per year of kwhs you have used .The supplier should also be able to update you on a full years usage of kwh s used.
This is important because you can then get your monthly direct debit more or less correct so you don t under or overpay.
On the meter if you press the blue button 5 times it should show "G " Total kwH.. this is how many units used since the meter was installed. The next push of the button is "H " (Day rate ) which shows the total kwh s used since you took over the account used on day rate. "J" will give you the total number of units used at night. Dividing those two totals by the number of months you have lived there then multiplying by 12 will give you a years usage of the day/night to input into a comparison website to find the cheapest suppliers for you if the meter was changed to a credit meter. The difference could be 25% cheaper than any prepayment meter tariff
There does not appear to be any smart Eco 7 meters around yet other then with a few suppliers who use Liberty Secure meters.
Iresa Energy have some of the cheapest Eco 7 rates for credit meters which should be far lower than prepayment meter rates. This is the way forward for you to at least pay the minimum ammount possible for your electricity.
Switch to a credit meter, switch supplier but get very accurate day/night annual usage so you get the direct debits spot on to avoid nasty shocks underpaying or overpaying. But you do need a full years usage
EDF have the best record for people with a poor credit history and they would be my first choice to try to get the meters changed if your current supplier blocks you

Flt._Lt._Biggles · 29 November 2017 at 8:40PM

CharlotteElizabeth wrote: »

Hello, I am currently on BG key meter and I seem to be feeding it every 5 days with 30 quid each time. I do have a fan heater on quite a bit, as my house has economy 7 which is useless cos I work all day.

How do I find deals for a key meter? The good deals listed in the MSE emails, are they for houses who pay by monthly bills? I failed a credit check for BG monthly so can't switch from key meter

Thanks

Have you read the MSE guide?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

CharlotteElizabeth · 29 November 2017 at 10:53PM

My car died this morning so I've not got transport till I can pay for the work to be done. No children, but do have cats (would these be safe around pets?) do Color gas heaters cause damp as I have heard they do?

Key meter electric

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