OT Loading up a leccy key to beat price rise?

[Spun Cuppa]

Hi all. A friend of mine is thinking of charging up her key with six months leccy before the price rise. My query is will the meter be altered to go to the new rate when her key is charged *before the increase comes into effect? Ta in advance

 

[Goldstone1976]

Purely as a guess, I would imagine that the key will be charged at the current rate until the price rise comes into effect, then will be charged at the new, higher rate from that date. Aren't keys essentially the same as e-cash at the AMEX? You're just pre-loading cash onto something that is then charged at the then going rate?

 

[dougdeep]

Isn't it the most expensive way to pay though?

 

[Spun Cuppa]

My concern is when the key is charged at the current lower rate, a 'bomb' will be put on the key, so when it is next put in the meter, it will programme it to charge the higher price from December 1st?

 

[Spun Cuppa]

Isn't it the most expensive way to pay though?

I don't think so now. There was a furore as people were being charged more for paying in advance on a key, with people paying in arrears via DD and quarterly bills paying less

 

[Colossal Squid]

If you could afford to pay for six months of electricity in advance why would you have a pre pay meter?

 

[EDS]

You are not paying in advance as such. Think of it as you are buying phone credit and not a prepaid bundle. You are not paying for 500kw of electricity but rather loading £50 onto your key, today KW's may cost £1 each so you will get fifty at the current price but tomorrow the price may rise to £2 per KW so will only get 25.

 

[Hillian1]

If you could afford to pay for six months of electricity in advance why would you have a pre pay meter?

This.

 

[nordicgod]

Told today by eon that keys and direct debits are charged at the same rate no difference at all

 

[Ludensian Gull]

We have a key meter and there is no diffrence in pricing . Some people such as us move to a property with a meter installed and find it easier to pay as you go so to speak .

 

[Hyperion]

Told today by eon that keys and direct debits are charged at the same rate no difference at all

A perfect example of how little some people know about their energy tariffs.

 

[ElectricNaz]

As said above, no matter how much credit you load onto your Key / Prepayment card, you'll be charged at the relevant unit rate dependent on your supplier. I don't believe anyone offers a fixed tariff for pre-payment customers, so your rates will increase if your suppliers announced a price rise.

In terms of pricing, I believe thanks to OFGEMs retail market review, Prepayment and Credit unit rates are the same, but some companies (maybe all) actually now charge a higher standing charge (as of the date price rises will come into effect) due to the increased cost of running and maintaining a Pre-Payment meter. I'd look into this.

Some companies (I know British Gas definitely do) will change your Pre-payment meter to a credit meter for free (subject to a credit check) if you do notice a significant difference in standing charge costs. However I know other companies can charge anything upto around £60 for this service.

 

[severnside gull]

we moved in to a property with a pre-payment meter and have been quoted £50 to change to direct debit. Given that previously our DD's seemed to be creeping upwards at a higher rate than the fuel price rises and as there is a certain convenience to knowing you neither owe anything nor are you building up credits in the supplier's account rather than your own, we have stayed with the meter.

Given the confusion of rates I suspect we are not necessarily any worse off as long as the standing charges stay generally in line. Due to review it in January when all the increases have gone through and we can assess what's what.

As to the original question, there is no advantage in pre-loading to beat price increases. We load up as needed when we do the shopping

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Told today by eon that keys and direct debits are charged at the same rate no difference at all

You may well be right when comparing it to the standard tariff but when compared to the fixed rates a key holder will pay more.

 

[Ludensian Gull]

We pay £13.97 per Kw +£1.33 a week standing charge .

 

[Westdene Seagull]

We pay £13.97 per Kw +£1.33 a week standing charge .

I'm not sure you've got your Kw charge correct ! Using that measurement I'd be paying £80k+ per year just for my electric.

 

[Hyperion]

We pay £13.97 per Kw +£1.33 a week standing charge .

or in real money, 13.97 pence

 

[Ludensian Gull]

or in real money, 13.97 pence

Yeah thats better

 

[Ludensian Gull]

I'm not sure you've got your Kw charge correct ! Using that measurement I'd be paying £80k+ per year just for my electric.

The way it keeps going up it wont be that long

 

[Spun Cuppa]

I've just checked my friend's meter, and it is still showing the pre-price rise rate and standing charge, meaning she now has four months cheap(er) leccy