These prepayment meter thingies

Falconhoof

Falconhoof

Winger
The house I've bought has prepayment gas and electric meters in and they seem to cost a fortune.
Has anyone had experience of getting them replaced with normal meters or the new smart meters or even the new, new smart meters?
Is it just a case of picking an energy provider and saying "replace these shit meters for me please" ?
 


Falconhoof said:
The house I've bought has prepayment gas and electric meters in and they seem to cost a fortune.
Has anyone had experience of getting them replaced with normal meters or the new smart meters or even the new, new smart meters?
Is it just a case of picking an energy provider and saying "replace these shit meters for me please" ?
Click to expand...
Used to work for london electric years ago and it really irked me that 'key meters' as they were at the time had a higher bloody unit cost than post pay metering. So they were aimed at the poorest people, forced on some and sold to others that the benefit is they can manage it and not get in to debt and yet cost the most.

Not sure if they still do mind as I'm talking 17 years ago.

And aye just ring up and register and they will replace them.
 
Bob Fleming said:
Used to work for london electric years ago and it really irked me that 'key meters' as they were at the time had a higher bloody unit cost than post pay metering. So they were aimed at the poorest people, forced on some and sold to others that the benefit is they can manage it and not get in to debt and yet cost the most.

Not sure if they still do mind as I'm talking 17 years ago.

And aye just ring up and register and they will replace them.
Click to expand...

I think there's a standing charge classes as a rent of about 60p a day or summit on the gas meter. Like you say it's disgusting as these are aimed at people who struggle to pay their bills. I'm pretty sure the government brought laws in to cap the charges they used to have in them a few years back.
 
Bob Fleming said:
Used to work for london electric years ago and it really irked me that 'key meters' as they were at the time had a higher bloody unit cost than post pay metering. So they were aimed at the poorest people, forced on some and sold to others that the benefit is they can manage it and not get in to debt and yet cost the most.

Not sure if they still do mind as I'm talking 17 years ago.

And aye just ring up and register and they will replace them.
Click to expand...

More or less the same charges as normal meters these days, part of ofgem regulations about charging, very recent thing that though and not all suppliers are on the same page as of yet.
 
Falconhoof said:
I think there's a standing charge classes as a rent of about 60p a day or summit on the gas meter. Like you say it's disgusting as these are aimed at people who struggle to pay their bills. I'm pretty sure the government brought laws in to cap the charges they used to have in them a few years back.
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Not standing charges, I pay about 30p a day on each meter - it's a f***ing joke tbh.
 
Falconhoof said:
The house I've bought has prepayment gas and electric meters in and they seem to cost a fortune.
Has anyone had experience of getting them replaced with normal meters or the new smart meters or even the new, new smart meters?
Is it just a case of picking an energy provider and saying "replace these shit meters for me please" ?
Click to expand...
yea do a "compare the market" for best supplier in your area---literally put that in search + energy and it will give you options. best if you know usuage but that is unlikely given your situation. If not I think they must use an average for that type of home. Avoid "standard tarrif" as they tend to be dearest and fixed price for x months usually best.
Gan on Money savings expert for advice marra
 
Bob Fleming said:
Used to work for london electric years ago and it really irked me that 'key meters' as they were at the time had a higher bloody unit cost than post pay metering. So they were aimed at the poorest people, forced on some and sold to others that the benefit is they can manage it and not get in to debt and yet cost the most.

Not sure if they still do mind as I'm talking 17 years ago.

And aye just ring up and register and they will replace them.
Click to expand...

Not aimed at the poorest, aimed at people who can’t budget.
 
Falconhoof said:
The house I've bought has prepayment gas and electric meters in and they seem to cost a fortune.
Has anyone had experience of getting them replaced with normal meters or the new smart meters or even the new, new smart meters?
Is it just a case of picking an energy provider and saying "replace these shit meters for me please" ?
Click to expand...

They'll do a credit check first.

Pre payment meters cannit cost more than the company's standard tariff mind but you're pretty much stuck with the big 6 if you have them.
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
They'll do a credit check first.

Pre payment meters cannit cost more than the company's standard tariff mind but you're pretty much stuck with the big 6 if you have them.
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This has always bothered me. I’ve been with EDF, NPower and British Gas in the last 4 years. Not one of them credit checked me, yet all of them reported the gas and electric accounts to the CRA’s.
 
No7 said:
This has always bothered me. I’ve been with EDF, NPower and British Gas in the last 4 years. Not one of them credit checked me, yet all of them reported the gas and electric accounts to the CRA’s.
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Bizarre because non of my utility accounts appear in my credit profiles.
 
No7 said:
This has always bothered me. I’ve been with EDF, NPower and British Gas in the last 4 years. Not one of them credit checked me, yet all of them reported the gas and electric accounts to the CRA’s.
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I cannit speak for them 3 but SSE will do a credit check before changing pre payments for credit meters (if you already had credit meters and changed supplier then that's a completely different scenario).

Goat Eyes said:
Give over.
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I do know some affluent people who have pre payment meters. They reckon it makes them more aware and careful about what they're spending.
 
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Paddy O'Dors said:
I cannit speak for them 3 but SSE will do a credit check before changing pre payments for credit meters (if you already had credit meters and changed supplier then that's a completely different scenario).



I do know some affluent people who have pre payment meters. They reckon it makes them more aware and careful about what they're spending.
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Aye, that’s an obvious choice.

The majority are on them because they have to be not because they want to be.

f***ing stupid remark from Pop.
 
Goat Eyes said:
Give over.
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If you want the pre payment meters out they will take them out.

The only people who are forced to have them are the ones who built up massive debits and couldn’t pay them through not putting money aside.

Goat Eyes said:
Aye, that’s an obvious choice.

The majority are on them because they have to be not because they want to be.

f***ing stupid remark from Pop.
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They can’t ring up their provider and say take them out?
 
Pop said:
If you want the pre payment meters out they will take them out.

The only people who are forced to have them are the ones who built up massive debits and couldn’t pay them through not putting money aside.



They can’t ring up their provider and say take them out?
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No, if they were unable to pay the bill and have arrears they can’t get them taken out as far as I’m aware. You assume that everyone who can’t pay their bills do so as a result of not budgeting properly.

Give your head a shake, for fucks sake.
 
Goat Eyes said:
Aye, that’s an obvious choice.

The majority are on them because they have to be not because they want to be.

f***ing stupid remark from Pop.
Click to expand...

You can get off them much easier now than you used to be able too. Just ring up your supplier and mention treating customers fairly. A sad fact is though that many end up on pre pay after having credit meters and thinking the energy they use is free. When they get a £500 bill drop on the mat they shut off and don't answer letters/calls. Fitting pre payment meters really is a last resort.
 
Falconhoof said:
The house I've bought has prepayment gas and electric meters in and they seem to cost a fortune.
Has anyone had experience of getting them replaced with normal meters or the new smart meters or even the new, new smart meters?
Is it just a case of picking an energy provider and saying "replace these shit meters for me please" ?
Click to expand...
They're an absolute rip and are only used by people who basically can't be trusted by providers
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
You can get off them much easier now than you used to be able too. Just ring up your supplier and mention treating customers fairly. A sad fact is though that many end up on pre pay after having credit meters and thinking the energy they use is free. When they get a £500 bill drop on the mat they shut off and don't answer letters/calls. Fitting pre payment meters really is a last resort.
Click to expand...
Aye, I get that.

I’ve never had a pre-payment meter but my Mam does for instance. It wasn’t because she couldn’t budget it was because we lived month to month with zero spare cash.

My sister in law does due to a failed business and struggling to make ends meet. Not because they can’t budget efffctively.
 

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