Discover out about your rights on refusing a prepayment meter and the foundations suppliers should comply with for set up with out your consent.
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In these powerful instances, with the price of residing disaster biting exhausting, many people are discovering it troublesome to maintain up with our payments, particularly power payments.
A fear for a lot of is being switched to a prepayment meter by their power provider.
However can they actually try this with out your say-so?
Let’s get the information straight.
What’s a prepayment meter?
A prepayment meter, also referred to as a pay-as-you-go meter, is a kind of power meter the place you pay on your gasoline or electrical energy earlier than you utilize it, often by topping up a key or card at a store.
It could actually provide help to handle your power use and spending, however in case you run out of credit score, your power will be minimize off till you high up once more.
You’ll nonetheless must pay standing expenses, and the unit charges of power you utilize are usually a lot greater than commonplace meters.
Once they can’t pressure you to have a prepayment meter
The power provider received’t be capable of pressure you to change to a prepayment meter or change your sensible meter to pay-as-you-go in a number of circumstances:
- you owe lower than £200 for gasoline and fewer than £200 for electrical energy.
- your final invoice was despatched out lower than three months earlier than.
- there’s a disagreement in regards to the billing quantity.
Are you able to be pressured to change?
The reply is, it’s sophisticated.
Your power provider can ask to put in a prepayment meter in case you owe them cash and accomplish that with out your permission.
However, they have to comply with the foundations set out by Ofgem and contemplate your state of affairs.
They need to give you a cost plan you possibly can afford and solely change you to a prepayment meter as a final resort.
The method of switching to prepayment
- Owing cash: For those who owe cash to your power provider, they may recommend a prepayment meter as a strategy to repay the debt. Keep in communication with them.
You’ll be able to ask for:
- a full evaluate of your debt repayments
- a “respiratory area” break of as much as 60 days or a discount in how a lot you pay
- extra time to pay
- assist with entry to hardship funds
- Authorized course of and courtroom warrant: Suppliers often want a courtroom warrant to put in a prepayment meter in case you don’t conform to it. This entails authorized issues, and suppliers should show they’ve taken acceptable steps to resolve the debt situation.
They will need to have made a minimum of 10 contact makes an attempt, have carried out a welfare go to earlier than any set up, and have checked out a strategy to repay any cash you owe.
If a warrant is served, it will possibly value as much as £150 and will be added to any present debt in your power invoice.
- Contemplating circumstances: Earlier than getting a warrant, suppliers should contemplate your private state of affairs.
If in case you have a long-term or extreme sickness, incapacity, or younger youngsters, they need to search for different methods that can assist you pay. They usually have to point out they’ve tried to resolve the problem with you.
If in case you have a wise meter, they will change it to compensation remotely – however solely after they’ve tried to agree funds with you.
Your rights and protections
- Proper to refuse: You’ll be able to refuse the change to a prepayment meter, particularly if it’s not secure or sensible for you.
This might be for:
- Inaccessibility: For those who bodily can’t entry or function a prepayment meter as a result of incapacity or age, you possibly can refuse the change.
- Sensible difficulties: For those who dwell removed from a store the place you possibly can high up, or if there are different sensible the explanation why a prepayment meter isn’t appropriate, you possibly can refuse.
- Well being considerations: If in case you have a medical situation that requires a continuing provide of power, or if a disruption in power provide would pose a well being threat, you possibly can refuse the set up.
- Vulnerability: If there are younger youngsters, aged, or weak people in your family, this can be a sound motive to refuse a prepayment meter.
- Susceptible buyer safety: For those who’re in a weak state of affairs, your provider has to give you additional safety.
This might imply they will’t pressure a prepayment meter on you. Be sure you are registered totally free with the Precedence Companies Register.
- Fee plans: Suppliers ought to work with you to agree on a cost plan you possibly can afford earlier than contemplating a prepayment meter.
- Swap to a brand new provider: If in case you have power debt on an ordinary meter, you possibly can change to a special power provider in case you’ve not had the debt for greater than 28 days.
What occurs in case you disagree?
- Communication with the provider: All the time discuss first along with your provider. Clarify your state of affairs and see if there’s a greater answer.
- Getting recommendation: For those who’re not blissful along with your provider’s choice or really feel they’re not contemplating your circumstances, get recommendation. Residents Recommendation and different organisations can help you.
- Formal complaints: You’ve the suitable to make a proper criticism to your power provider. They’re certain by the rules of Oftem, the power regulator.
For those who’re nonetheless not happy or really feel that you simply’ve not been handled pretty, you possibly can take your criticism to the power ombudsman.
Why it issues
For a lot of, switching to a prepayment meter can imply costlier tariffs and the stress of managing top-ups.
Suppliers are supposed to assist, not make issues more durable for you, but there have been reviews final 12 months of suppliers forcibly making individuals have prepayment meters. A maintain was placed on power firms doing this, however it has restarted for EDF, Octopus and Scottish Energy from January 2024.
Whilst you will be switched to a prepayment meter in case you owe cash, there are steps suppliers should comply with. You’ve rights and protections, particularly in case you’re in a weak state of affairs.
Don’t hesitate to talk up and search recommendation in case you’re going through this situation.
Poverty and power
IT all goes a lot deeper than merely saving cash on power payments. In response to Residents Recommendation, 5.3 million individuals within the UK are in debt to their power suppliers. And the chances are hundreds of thousands of individuals will probably be minimize off from their gasoline and electrical energy this winter.
Sadly, 800,000 individuals went with out gasoline or electrical energy for greater than a day in 2023 as a result of they couldn’t afford to high up.
In October 2023, almost half of the poorest households had been behind on payments, in line with the UK Poverty 2024 report by the Joseph Rowntree Basis.
And it’s not simply payments.
Individuals are going with out necessities; 72% of households miss out on issues they want, and 58% battle to afford meals.
In 2021/22, a surprising 6 million individuals had been in “very deep” poverty, with their earnings approach under the poverty line.
Over the previous few years, over 12 million have skilled this extreme degree of poverty.
Naomi is aware of the burden of residing on little or no and have become debt free by following her personal cash saving suggestions and tips. She is an skilled on saving cash on the grocery store and aspect hustles.
