Electricity card meters

[lmairx]

Anyone able to tell me more about card operated electric meters? I am moving into a new house with one and have never come across one before. Where would i buy these cards from? And how do they work?

[CheekyChops]

If possible, get it removed and a normal meter put in, you can pay upto 20% more for your electricity buying it this way. I had a card meter for Gas and Electric when I bought a house 5 years ago and kept them both as I thought they would help me budget better, not realising how much more expensive they were!

Your energy supplier should send you a card (or a key) for use with the meter, which you then top-up with credit at PayPoint or PayZone outlets - usually newsagents, corner shops, petrol stations etc. Again, your energy supplier can tell you where the nearest ones to you are.

Once your credit runs out, the lights go off!! You usually get �5 'emergency credit' which you can use if your money runs out but if you use that up as well, you will be sitting in the dark until your nearest shop opens so you can top-up!

[carrust]

If the house is rented, then the landlord will be very reticent to remove them. CC is correct in all he/she says....they cost a bl--dy fortune to run!

[what..the?]

I had one years ago in a small flat I rented, I bought the cards from a carpet shop across the road who supposedly stocked the cards for the benefit of all the residents of the flats but I think he was selling them at a huge profit to himself to the degree he just laughed everytime I went in to buy one.

It turned out I used a �5 card a day for a tiny 1 bed flat - I was out all day at work and got home late. it did have only electric heating etc and huge gaps in the windows but we could only afford �5 a day so we just put the heater on like 1 hour a day.

The high bills just could have been the meter, the crap cards sold by and con man or the building electrics. The couple who lived above us put a magnet on their meter, as a bet everyone else did, maybe we were paying their bills?

It turned out the landlord had escaped the uk aboard due to crimes and convictions in his name , the flats were through a good local agent though so we didn't know any of this until we moved in. The guy down stairs had a pot farm growing, and in the end we were all moved out because the electrics were so dangerous it was a health hazard.

PMSL the places you live when your strapped for cash, I can look back at it now and laugh.

By the way you buy the cards from a local shop and just swipe them through the meter and the LCD just adds the money on to the display. I recommend you always keep an emergency card in a safe place for the reason 'well you can guess'

Yes it's true the card meters cost loads more it was on 'Watchdog' try your best to get it replaced asap.

[bednobs]

some landlords will let you change, as long as you change back before you move out. A word of warning ARRANGE THIS WELL IN ADVANCE. When we moved out we left it late, then BG wouldnt deal with us because we werent the tennants anymor, they had about an 8 week waiting list and we didnt get out (�1000!!!!) deposit back till it was done

[Sammy Snake]

They don't sell those cardboard tokens/cards anymore, they are all either keys or credit card type things with a chip in them so you can't keep a spare card. They charge �8 now if you lose your card as well so look after it!!

[what..the?]

thanks for the update sammy

[gina32]

my daughter ecently moved and the house had one of these meters, she is having it changed this week, and the place loclally where she tops up hasnt had the electricity top meter working for over 6 weeks now, so he has to travel half way across town to do it!!

[puddicat]

If you go with scottish hydro they have changed the tariff for pre payment now i think, i have a key that i put in,i have a 3 bedroomed house and i get through about �10 a week on the electric depending on how much i use, i dont have the fiver leeway its only roughly a �1 before it starts bleeping!!!