[Tiberius]

..........

[JoeSoap]

@Tiberius

Sorry to hear of your current situation and thanks for sharing your email.

From a recent thread on the same topic, the official line seems to be that unless you have the supply capped and the meter removed then the standing charge will still apply.

It will be interesting to see what reply you receive.

[meldrewreborn]

From October you will get a voucher once a month for 6 months for at least £66. That will more than cover the standing charge.
how you use the money is up to you.
gas is one third of the price of electricity and I would strongly recommend using gas in preference to electricity wherever possible.

[meldrewreborn]

@Tiberius

There isn't a different set of tariffs for prepayment meters - smart or traditional. You cannot escape the standing charge unless you have the supply terminated. While prepayment standing charges are higher than those on Direct debit tariffs, it is in most cases less than £20 per year @ October 2022 prices. [ NOTE: see subsequent posts for further discussion of this figure] We all face standing charges, but prepayment customers pay more and those who pay after bills are raised pay the most Circa £215 per year more.

Since you have to pay the standing charge for gas it makes no financial sense to use electricity in preference to gas (where that is an option) given the price differentials between the two fuels.

It's not your supplier's fault that fuel prices are high - your feelings are real but in directing them at Eon Next is akin to shooting the messenger rather than those who have caused the problem. I fully recognise that people have been struggling with energy costs for some time even before the new prices kick in and in advance of the winter period pushes up our consumption for heating. Prices this winter coming will be approximately twice last Winter's level. Lots of help has already been given, there is more to come from October to March and the government will likely have to revisit aid packages in the future.

The vast majority of the population will take energy saving much more seriously this winter as reality bites home.

[Andy65]

@meldrewreborn - Have you missed a zero off in your post above, towards the end of the second line?

[meldrewreborn]

@Andy65

This is what OFGEM said in their review of prices that has now been overtaken by events.

"Customers who pay by standard credit (cash or cheque) pay an additional £215 based on the higher cost for energy companies to serve them. The 24 million households protected by the price cap includes around 4.5 million prepayment meter customers. These customers pay an additional £59 compared to those on direct debit, which also reflects the higher cost for energy companies to serve them."

The problem being that not everybody on prepayment meters is dual fuel (for example a lot of flats today are more energy efficient and only powered by electricity), and then secondly that the OFGEM price cap data is now replaced by something we don't know. And the difference in prices faced by prepayment meters is weighted towards standing charges rather than unit prices.

But did i leave a 0 off? - no sorry! But i concede it might be closer to £40 rather than £20. Thank you for making me check!

[Bennie_R97]

Originally Posted by Tiberius

I'm one of those low-income people who are seriously struggling to find the means to pay for my gas, never mind the standing charge for being unfortunate enough to have a prepayment meter!
So I have sent an email to the customer care team at Eon. Here's what I wrote 👇👇

"I have less than £3 credit left on my gas prepayment meter and have turned off the gas supply as I, like millions of low income families, can't afford it.
Will I still have to pay for having a prepayment meter even though I won't use it, or will Eon still apply the standing charge which I also can't afford?
Also, if I don't pay the standing charge will you set the bailiffs on me and/or take me to court?
And what about these Smart PAYG meters Eon keeps rattling on about? When will they be rolled out or is Eon just keeping its low-income customers hanging on while the shareholders and management make sure they still get their maximum dividends and £m bonuses?
Just asking!"

I hope they don't mind me asking!

I'll post an update if/when they reply.

Hi @Tiberius, just checking in on you. Did you reach out to our customer service team? Do you have an update? Here to help if you need me. - Bennie

[Andy65]

@meldrewreborn, I may have misunderstood that line. I took it to mean prepayment SCs were less than £20 per year but reading it a few times I think you mean the difference is less than £20 per year. Please accept my apologies.

[meldrewreborn]

@Andy65

I did indeed. I apologise if my wording was open to misinterpretation. But you are completely absolved my son!