Renters' experience of switching energy tariffs

Sheepdog_2 · 6 August 2014 at 6:29PM

I am a Landlord.
I have no objection to a tenant changing power providor.
BUT read your aggreement, probably says that you should ask your landlord first.

I have had problems, last tenants changed to prepay, without permission or asking. when they left, they left heating on full. all lights on. trying to get the supplier to stop the system, ever increasing debt, due to standing charge, impossible. I needed electricity to make the thousands of £ worth of repairs. But did not need gas. but the amount owed kept going up.

Fortunately, the tenant moving in, managed to get the amount owed cancelled, and even get some credit.

Play fair. Ask your landlord, should not be refused, unless specific circumstances.
I mainly let my tenants do what they want, It is their home, might be my house. But I say, if/when they leave, leave as they found. I will do major repairs etc asap. minor ones, well, the present tenants are willing to do some themselves, great, I will refund on materials.
Some landlords, give the rest of us a bad name

Nada666 · 6 August 2014 at 7:00PM

Sheepdog wrote: »

I have had problems, last tenants changed to prepay, without permission or asking. when they left, they left heating on full. all lights on. trying to get the supplier to stop the system, ever increasing debt, due to standing charge, impossible. I needed electricity to make the thousands of £ worth of repairs. But did not need gas. but the amount owed kept going up.

If the tenants fled by night and broke their lease early then they are still responsible for any charges for heating left on.

If they told you or you knew it was up then it is up to you or your agent to attend the property promptly and take readings. You are responsible for any accidental (or deliberate) usage since then.

Standing charges are standing charges and are now almost universal. That is Ofgem's decision and not tenants' or suppliers' fault.

AMG762 · 7 August 2014 at 7:13AM

Sorry, was i supposed to inform my landlord?

Changed from Scottish Power to EDF recently. Nightmare with Scottish Power but EDF have so far been excellent. I have found EDF customer service actually answer the phones straight away not like the 40 minute wait for Scottish Power.

I am lucky my landlord is really good, as long as the house is looked after and the rent paid on time he does not interfere. Even takes me out for dinner sometimes

Welly1 · 20 April 2016 at 2:16PM

Hi Guys,
we are private renters and have just moved into our 4th property where they have a prepay meter with SSE. We are still renting the old property until 30th April (to finish moving all our stuff, do a bit of maintenance etc to get our bond back). AT our old property we are on the USwitch Collective tariff with EON until 16th June, so I don't want to switch providers until then or I'll have to pay £60 fee.

The question is - do I ask SSE to change the prepay meter to a standard meter, then change back to EON, and then look at switching provider in June when the contract runs out.

Or, do I change straight to EON, ask them to change the meter, and then also switch providers in June.

I'm aware that I need to get my Landlords permission to change the meter, that shouldn't be a problem.

Bark01 · 20 April 2016 at 3:16PM

I've done it loads of time, never had any problems. You don't need contact the landlord to ask their permission to change tariffs.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc · 20 April 2016 at 4:37PM

Welly1 wrote: »

Hi Guys,
we are private renters and have just moved into our 4th property where they have a prepay meter with SSE. We are still renting the old property until 30th April (to finish moving all our stuff, do a bit of maintenance etc to get our bond back). AT our old property we are on the USwitch Collective tariff with EON until 16th June, so I don't want to switch providers until then or I'll have to pay £60 fee.

The question is - do I ask SSE to change the prepay meter to a standard meter, then change back to EON, and then look at switching provider in June when the contract runs out.

Or, do I change straight to EON, ask them to change the meter, and then also switch providers in June.

I'm aware that I need to get my Landlords permission to change the meter, that shouldn't be a problem.

Hope the move went well Welly1? Don't worry about exit fees on your Collective Tariff at the property you're leaving. They don't apply. Exit fees only apply to customers changing supplier outside their renewal period. As you're changing tenancy, there won't be a fee.

If you let our Home Moves team know you're leaving, they'll close the account and send a final bill. I know there's lots to do when moving but taking meter readings on 30 April will help make sure this bill's accurate. If you prefer, you can give us the details online through our website using the 'Moving Home' form.

You won't be able to take this tariff with you to your new property. It'll end when you give up responsibility for the old property on 30 April. It's also no longer available for sale. If you were to switch to us with the prepayment meter in place, we'll put you on our prepay tariff. We've only the one available.

We'll be happy to change the prepayment for a credit meter without charge provided you pass an external credit check. Once the exchange has been done and the account updated, you're free to change supplier. It can, though, take a few weeks to update the account as certain third parties like energy distributors, meter readers, national databases etc are involved. They, too, need to update their records with details of the changed circumstances.

Hope this helps Welly1. Let me know if you need any more details as happy to help.

Malc

eloisewl · 3 August 2016 at 1:47AM

Me and my boyfriend moved into a flat where the previous tenants used prepayment British Gas and so that's what we've been using. We've been here 6 months and both of us have separately applied to switch to direct debit with BG, but have been rejected.

Any advice on what we should/can do to get onto a direct debit with any of the cheaper utility companies? Have our credit checks been declined because we both previously have only lived in shared housing meaning we have never had to pay utility bills directly to the companies so have no history with them?

RayKF · 6 September 2017 at 10:58AM

Landlords have three chief concerns -

1. That you pay your rent regularly and on time.
2. That you look after your rented accom and the items it contains that are the landlords property.
3. That you promptly pay all the bills connected with the property - gas, electricity, water, phone line etc.

Apart from that, anything else you do is pretty much up to you. I've been renting my home for 14 years and I change energy suppliers whenever I spot a good deal. I don't see any need to trouble the landlord about it. I've had a water meter fitted too - that saved me a huge amount of money and I got a substantial rebate! Martin's excellent advice, website and blogs have been an enormous help to me over the years. If you don't take his advice, you're being very foolish. So don't mess around - get switching!

qwertyty · 6 September 2017 at 10:21PM

I'm thinking of switching my supplier at my rented place, if I was to switch tomorrow, what date would I do the final readings from the meters to give to my current suppliers?

andytheplumber · 28 February 2018 at 7:34PM

We have rented our home for 6 years and until 2 years ago we had PP meters and I never really bothered to switch suppliers or meters until a flyer came through the letter box from EDF. There was no problem with getting the LL's permission to change meters. When I asked him, he said he didn't even realise we had PP meters. It's often a lot easier if you don't rent through a letting agent. They seem to create issues. It was a bit painful actually getting the meters changed. Lots of missed appointments with the gas meter but it was worth it. Got a 2 year fixed deal with EDF until June 2018. DD is £78 per month but after first year we got a refund and probably will this year too. Although my credit is "OK" for utilities, EDF don't (or didn't in 2016) do a credit check so, there's no real excuse to get stuck with PP meters unless you actually prefer them.

Renters' experience of switching energy tariffs

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