Pre-payment meters

Louisejane24 · 8 January 2018 at 12:41PM

Hi guys, just looking for a little advice please as pre-payment meters bamboozle me!

I have a small 2 bedroom house and live there with my daughter. We are both out Monday to Friday. We have economy 7 heaters which are the devil!

Is summer, my pre-payment meter uses on average of £15 a week without any heaters on. As soon as I turn them on, my costs rockets to an average of £45 a week!! This isn't even with them all on, just 2 or 3 when it's cold. I have had this issue since I've lived there which is about 16 years and repeatedly questioned with the housing and energy suppliers if my 2 rates are set correctly.

Anyway, my meter broke last week and I had a new one installed. Ever since, my costs have more than halved with extra heating on!!

I am now using on average of £2.50 a day where as before it was £6-£7. How can this be? I am wondering if the meter was set wrong all along? Do I have any come back for this as I'm pretty miffed at paying an extra £5 a day in error for the last 16 winters!

House_Martin · 8 January 2018 at 1:01PM

Louisejane24 wrote: »

Hi guys, just looking for a little advice please as pre-payment meters bamboozle me!

I have a small 2 bedroom house and live there with my daughter. We are both out Monday to Friday. We have economy 7 heaters which are the devil!

Is summer, my pre-payment meter uses on average of £15 a week without any heaters on. As soon as I turn them on, my costs rockets to an average of £45 a week!! This isn't even with them all on, just 2 or 3 when it's cold. I have had this issue since I've lived there which is about 16 years and repeatedly questioned with the housing and energy suppliers if my 2 rates are set correctly.

Anyway, my meter broke last week and I had a new one installed. Ever since, my costs have more than halved with extra heating on!!

I am now using on average of £2.50 a day where as before it was £6-£7. How can this be? I am wondering if the meter was set wrong all along? Do I have any come back for this as I'm pretty miffed at paying an extra £5 a day in error for the last 16 winters!

I assume you are using the most common type of prepay electric meter which operates with a key.Actaris, Itron, Landis Gyr are 3 of the most common ones but they all use the same system.
I m a meter reader for BG, Scot Power and EDF as many times I have found key prepay meters which are supposed to be set for Economy 7 rates where I have to input two readings from the meter, day and night rates which are set up on screens "H " (day )and "J " (night ) but have only found that the meters were set up for day rate only.
That meant that the meter would be debiting the night rate at double the rate it should have.
It would be on record that your old meter was set up for day rate only so maybe you could reclaim this money .
Check the screens I mentioned to see how your new meter is set up

Louisejane24 · 8 January 2018 at 1:18PM

You are music to my ears! For years I have questioned if the rates were set correctly and I was told yes! Although, I am wondering if it was a faulty meter.

It would make sense as during the day, roughly 50p to £1 is used but overnight, £6-£7 went off!

I have just received my statement from edf for 2017 and my total consumption was 4829kw day and 4729kw night rate. When I input this usage into comparison sites, the cost is not far different from what I paid last year.

Louisejane24 · 8 January 2018 at 1:19PM

Just to add, now it is set up correctly as the installation guy showed me the two rates and when I was being charged for what.

House_Martin · 8 January 2018 at 1:30PM

The total kwhs for the year is 9558, that is the day/night total. If you multiply that by the standard day rate tariff (prob around 13.7p kwh ) ,and add approx £85 standing charges then you can see if the meter was billing you at single rate only.
..If the meter was set to the day rate on eco 7 it is very expensive, around 19p/ kwh then the meter would charge you approx £1880 for the year
Check your new meter to see if any debt has been transferred to it on screens "S " and "T".
You can only see the debt screens with key inserted.
By the way , possibly you could think about getting rid of the prepay meter altogether to a credit meter and switching to the top Eco 7 rates of Iresa Energy.
They are much cheaper than EDF

Louisejane24 · 8 January 2018 at 1:57PM

There's definitely no debt and I've just spoken to edf now who confirmed I was being charged at two separate rates with the old meter but they haven't yet got the new meter details so cant really help without readings which I will get tonight. She suggested that perhaps the new meter hasn't been set up at the correct rate and I'm not paying enough.

I paid £1341 last year in total based on the figures I gave you. Electric £1208.86 plus £93.46 in standing charges and VAT. I was definitely charged 2 different rates, 17.35p day rate!!! 6.35p night rate.

There are no debts on the meter. Just seems so steep for a 2 up 2 down with nobody in Monday to Friday and I cannot understand why I'm now paying more than half of what I was prior to the meter change.

House_Martin · 8 January 2018 at 2:07PM

Louisejane24 wrote: »

There's definitely no debt and I've just spoken to edf now who confirmed I was being charged at two separate rates with the old meter but they haven't yet got the new meter details so cant really help without readings which I will get tonight. She suggested that perhaps the new meter hasn't been set up at the correct rate and I'm not paying enough.

I paid £1341 last year in total based on the figures I gave you. Electric £1208.86 plus £93.46 in standing charges and VAT. I was definitely charged 2 different rates, 17.35p day rate!!! 6.35p night rate.
There are no debts on the meter. Just seems so steep for a 2 up 2 down with nobody in Monday to Friday and I cannot understand why I'm now paying more than half of what I was prior to the meter change.

Yes, apologies, I forgot that the day rate on Eco 7 is a very high 19p kwh ( current rate in my area ) I have edited my figures to approx £1800 if it was set up to bill you the total kwh for the year at the super high day rate on eco 7.
I have just imput the day/night eco 7 rates of yours into Iresa Energy and the yearly total would be approx £1100 . That would be on an eco 7 credit meter.
Current EDF prepay rates for Eco 7 in my are are around 19p/kwh day and 7 p kwh for night. Iresa charge 11.5 p day and 8.9 p night rate.There are a few others a little cheaper, eg Ebico

EDF are one of the best to apply for a credit meter so maybe its a good idea to get them to switch the meter, its free, and start doing what most us regulars do on here and pay the least possible every year

Louisejane24 · 8 January 2018 at 2:26PM

Thank you, that's my intentions although at £15 a week in winter, I'm now quite happy with the pre-payment

I just don't know how it's so different.

Pre-payment meters

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