Pre-Paid Electric Meter

[Maundie]

Depends largely on which provider you are with.
Some of them charge more per unit than both a normal quarterly bill and DD. Which is why PP is a last resort in regards to debt and not paying bills on time.

Also yes arknor, they will clear it if you call, but allot of people dont even notice and phone up complaining the meter is eating the money they put onto the card. Its mainly down to the customers own stupidity and not phoning straight away though.

I can only comment on my meters and British Gas made a massive song and dance about the price per unit was the same, I ended up having the meters taken out anyway but the unit price was the same.

I prefer PP in a rental as the flat we rented in London (moved out in June) and it took 2 months of fannying about to get the utility companies to sort out our final bills (and consequently our refunds as we'd vastly over-paid).

Also if I was a landlord I'd insist on PP meters as then massive bills cannot be run up.

 

[Woden]

They're more expensive for obvious reasons, plus there is a real risk you will end up paying off the previous occupant's debt.

Switch it for monthly direct debit is my advice.

No, just no.

There is zero chance of you taking on a previous tenants debt. You move in, you call the provider, they tell you what to do (usually they send you a new card).

Unless your one of those that just carry on with the card left behind by the last occupants?

 

[Armageus]

You are also paying for the key card, the machine that tops up the card, the shop that houses the card, the person that tops the card up, the system that tracks your every payment... It's all in the additional charges.

Except all that isn't really going to be "a thing" going forward. Having just had my prepayment meter updated from the key style one, to a smart meter, then I just top up online (or worse case for someone with no internet, they go to the post office/corner shop and get a code printed out on a reciept - presumably with less overheads/issues than shops having the key machines).

Prepayment for me works well, as I can monitor what we are using, and can "stockpile" electricity when I choose e.g. before Winter/Christmas, ensuring that I am not worrying about an unexpectedly high bill coming in.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm more than happy to exit the conversation, but for the sake of the OP I'll leave you with this link and you can research for yourself (and good luck finding a pre-paid meter on those price comparison sites ):

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...&ie=UTF-8#q=are prepaid meters more expensive

 

[dowie]

these things are chav-tier, if you're able to pay your bills on time then there is no good reason to have them - why have the extra faff when you can set up a direct debit

they exist for people who can't budget/are disorganised with bills so tend to have a patchy payment history

 

[Armageus]

I'm more than happy to exit the conversation, but for the sake of the OP I'll leave you with this link and you can research for yourself (and good luck finding a pre-paid meter on those price comparison sites ):

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...&ie=UTF-8#q=are prepaid meters more expensive

And quite equally I'll leave this here:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/21/eon-cuts-prepayment-charges-to-match-standard-rates

Which if I remember, I will check and confirm when I get home.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

And quite equally I'll leave this here:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/21/eon-cuts-prepayment-charges-to-match-standard-rates

Which if I remember, I will check and confirm when I get home.

E.ON has becomes the first of the large energy suppliers to offer prepayment meter users the same prices standard customers pay – if they agree to have a smart meter installed.

Until now, customers using prepayment meters have paid substantially higher prices than those paying by direct debit.

I really need to leave this now, if anyone still wants a pre pay meter after reading the thread to this point then they probably fit the criteria for one TBF.

 

[bainbridge]

I really need to leave this now, if anyone still wants a pre pay meter after reading the thread to this point then they probably fit the criteria for one TBF.

Well I'm happy with mine Sorry you got so uppity about what is essentially a very unimportant aspect of domestic household utilities.

 

[CREATIVE!11]

I moved into a house with a meter.

You can get switched off them easily if you ask the provider.

However I now prefer it, the rates are the same as paying by DD pretty much. I am with EDF though.

 

[Zenduri]

I really need to leave this now, if anyone still wants a pre pay meter after reading the thread to this point then they probably fit the criteria for one TBF.

May 2015 article... You might want to leave the thread now.....

 

[Kronos]

All you need to know. http://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/prepayment-meters/

 

[LeeUK]

They're more expensive for obvious reasons, plus there is a real risk you will end up paying off the previous occupant's debt.

Not true. When you take over a pre-pay meter you still have to set up an account with the supplier and they will send you a new key/card. Only the dumb carry on topping up with the previous occupants key/card.

 

[Kuros]

For what it's worth, N-Power wanted to charge me £50 to change to a normal meter when I moved it.

In the end switched to British gas who then replaced it for free.