[jambutty]

Originally Posted by emamum23

thats not a fair statement...many houses already have prepayment meters and they dont like taking them out once they are their..

Sometimes you dont get a choice

If you own your house or rent it from the local authority or a housing association and have not had the card meter put in because of previous debts, the energy company MUST change it upon request providing that it has been in place and used by you for more than 3 months. They will avoid doing so if they can get away with it because they earn more money with them.

You ask them to put in a card meter and they can’t get round quick enough to do it.

A card meter will cost about £180 more in a year for the average house.

The situation is not clear with a private landlord. It all depends on the tenancy agreement.

When moving into a property that has a card meter, the chances are that it will have a debit on it. I’m told that if you charge your card with £1 and insert it, it will wipe off the debt but you lose your pound. Whether this is true or not I do not know but my son was told this when he was viewing a flat rented by a private landlord. Maybe derekgas can confirm if this is true or not.

But it is vital that you get in touch with the energy supplier if the meter has a debt on it. Not tomorrow, not next week but before you move in if you can or at least on the day that you do move in. If there are any meter readings make a note of them and whilst you are in touch with the energy company ask what the actually tariff is.