Prepayment meters themselves aren’t the problem in most cases it’s the charges that go with them. If you move into a home with a prepayment meter or currently live with one and ask for it to be switched you’ll need a credit check (as the meter name says) which probably everyone with money issues will fail.
Giving people who can’t afford their energy a credit meter and building up a debt isn’t the solution. Prepayment needs to be more tightly regulated with how they are installed as we’ve all seen, the prices been to be on par with regular tariffs and as the article suggests a social tariff for the customers who are already classified as vulnerable in the system which isn’t hard to be added too.
The ones who have had meters fitted unlawfully they should obviously be removed but just everyone going onto credit isn’t the solution as the main saving on credit [switching a tariff] hasn’t even been available through this whole ordeal and won’t be for some time yet. The only real saving is the 5% direct debit discount at the moment isn’t a huge effect overall.
Maybe the people saying this could act as guarantors and pay the bills for people, cos Ive got enough on paying mine
When we moved into our new house with a prepaid gas meter, we had tons os problems just adding credit to it as we requested a switch to a different provider but they did something wrong and switch wasn’t done in time, than came xmas holidays and we ended up with no gas. Contacting The provider during holidays was the most stressful thing ever. We had no way to top up as app didn’t work, we didn’t receive a top up card and the person on the phone told me there wasn’t anything she could do and I had to wait until they were back on the 28th of December. Some other person helped me later on whatsapp by sending me a printscreen of a QR code that would let me top up, now we had to find a place open during xmas holidays. Which we did after 15 min running around town. Anyway. Just wanted to say 20 pounds would last us 2 days of gas. 10 pounds a day, on a top up meter. 🙄
Leave the meter you donuts. Charge standard rate insteads. Don’t need to resurrect Einstein for it.
My mate bought a house with a prepayment meter and they wont remove it, she’s always paid her bills at previous addresses. Its now just an unnecessary complication and expense. They should be being removed from these people at the very least.
Prepayment meters costing more is an absolute joke, that cannot continue, its a literal poor penalty.
But there’s a use case for them..
Some people are just scumbags, and will rack up massive bills, with no intention of paying. There needs to be some way for energy companies to protect themselves against that, or all us normal bill payers will be the ones paying for it.
Company sure as hell won’t take the hit, will they? They’ll just average the losses out over the paying homes.
Just make sure they can’t be more expensive per kwh or standing charge, than normal meters.
Do they also forget that the current prices the past year have been so bad that even people on credit meters have gotten into debt too not just prepay. Though I’ve never understood why the prices are higher for those on prepay as not everyone is on it because of money issues. Though I do give the respect to EDF for allowing them not to do any credit checks. The only one that I think allows you to have credit without one
If you live in a house with prepayment meters but you notice that they cost you a suspiciously low amount and you rarely need to top up. What should you do?
Asking for a friend….
Yes, please god, let me get rid of this thing.
I had years of the energy bill paying itself automatically every month and then I move house and I’m saddled with this archaic system.
The profit margins of wholesale energy suppliers may be huge, but the margins of domestic energy suppliers are wafer thin. They simply cannot afford to subsidize everyone who doesn’t pay their utility bills.
Pre pay meters prevent those with a prior history of patchy payments from getting into debt where their supplier can end up going bust affecting all of their customers.
The real problem with them seems to me to be that they charge a higher unit rate for every supply than normal credit meters.
That one makes financial sense to me if the suppliers are making so much profit from our accounts having a surplus balance that they subsidise our unit price, which I think it’s safe to say is not happening.
The fairest answer seems to be to reduce the prepay unit price to the standard variable tariff.
I like my prepayment meter. It was there when I moved in and I much prefer it to bills that can be unpredictable. I just top iot up for £150 every now and again and have zero problems.
Although, I can see how they can be problematic when you’re struggling financialy.
Fucking A,those things are quite literally a poor tax,well almost,taxes usually don’t go straight into the pockets of BP
12 comments
Prepayment meters themselves aren’t the problem in most cases it’s the charges that go with them. If you move into a home with a prepayment meter or currently live with one and ask for it to be switched you’ll need a credit check (as the meter name says) which probably everyone with money issues will fail.
Giving people who can’t afford their energy a credit meter and building up a debt isn’t the solution. Prepayment needs to be more tightly regulated with how they are installed as we’ve all seen, the prices been to be on par with regular tariffs and as the article suggests a social tariff for the customers who are already classified as vulnerable in the system which isn’t hard to be added too.
The ones who have had meters fitted unlawfully they should obviously be removed but just everyone going onto credit isn’t the solution as the main saving on credit [switching a tariff] hasn’t even been available through this whole ordeal and won’t be for some time yet. The only real saving is the 5% direct debit discount at the moment isn’t a huge effect overall.
Maybe the people saying this could act as guarantors and pay the bills for people, cos Ive got enough on paying mine
When we moved into our new house with a prepaid gas meter, we had tons os problems just adding credit to it as we requested a switch to a different provider but they did something wrong and switch wasn’t done in time, than came xmas holidays and we ended up with no gas. Contacting The provider during holidays was the most stressful thing ever. We had no way to top up as app didn’t work, we didn’t receive a top up card and the person on the phone told me there wasn’t anything she could do and I had to wait until they were back on the 28th of December. Some other person helped me later on whatsapp by sending me a printscreen of a QR code that would let me top up, now we had to find a place open during xmas holidays. Which we did after 15 min running around town. Anyway. Just wanted to say 20 pounds would last us 2 days of gas. 10 pounds a day, on a top up meter. 🙄
Leave the meter you donuts. Charge standard rate insteads. Don’t need to resurrect Einstein for it.
My mate bought a house with a prepayment meter and they wont remove it, she’s always paid her bills at previous addresses. Its now just an unnecessary complication and expense. They should be being removed from these people at the very least.
Prepayment meters costing more is an absolute joke, that cannot continue, its a literal poor penalty.
But there’s a use case for them..
Some people are just scumbags, and will rack up massive bills, with no intention of paying. There needs to be some way for energy companies to protect themselves against that, or all us normal bill payers will be the ones paying for it.
Company sure as hell won’t take the hit, will they? They’ll just average the losses out over the paying homes.
Just make sure they can’t be more expensive per kwh or standing charge, than normal meters.
Do they also forget that the current prices the past year have been so bad that even people on credit meters have gotten into debt too not just prepay. Though I’ve never understood why the prices are higher for those on prepay as not everyone is on it because of money issues. Though I do give the respect to EDF for allowing them not to do any credit checks. The only one that I think allows you to have credit without one
If you live in a house with prepayment meters but you notice that they cost you a suspiciously low amount and you rarely need to top up. What should you do?
Asking for a friend….
Yes, please god, let me get rid of this thing.
I had years of the energy bill paying itself automatically every month and then I move house and I’m saddled with this archaic system.
The profit margins of wholesale energy suppliers may be huge, but the margins of domestic energy suppliers are wafer thin. They simply cannot afford to subsidize everyone who doesn’t pay their utility bills.
Pre pay meters prevent those with a prior history of patchy payments from getting into debt where their supplier can end up going bust affecting all of their customers.
The real problem with them seems to me to be that they charge a higher unit rate for every supply than normal credit meters.
That one makes financial sense to me if the suppliers are making so much profit from our accounts having a surplus balance that they subsidise our unit price, which I think it’s safe to say is not happening.
The fairest answer seems to be to reduce the prepay unit price to the standard variable tariff.
I like my prepayment meter. It was there when I moved in and I much prefer it to bills that can be unpredictable. I just top iot up for £150 every now and again and have zero problems.
Although, I can see how they can be problematic when you’re struggling financialy.
Fucking A,those things are quite literally a poor tax,well almost,taxes usually don’t go straight into the pockets of BP