Utilities disputes can be quite a common occurrence in shared living spaces such as communes, student digs and amongst flatmates. When a group of people are living together and sharing a space, there are bound to be issues of unfairness, especially when one person uses more electricity or water than the other and come month-end, put up a fuss about settling their portion of the utility bill. When this happens it could put pressure on the other tenants and ultimately becomes the landlords problem. A simple, cost-effective and easy way to solve such problems in shared accommodation spaces are prepaid meters (for both electricity and water).
With a prepaid vending system, payment disputes on utility bills such as electricity and water usage are a thing of the past. Prepaid Meters enable landlords to take control of collecting tenant utility bills and admin intensive usage measurement, while sharing the costs of these on a pay-what-you-use among tenant – resulting in tenant disputes becoming a thing of the past. With tenants paying for their utilities upfront on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, there is reduced risk around bill discrepancies where tenants refuse to pay.
Here are 5 reasons why prepaid meters work well in shared accommodation spaces:
1. Prepaid meters are budgetable
Those who are renting, without prepaid meters, are being charged a lump sum for electricity by their landlord without really knowing how much was true usage. By using prepaid meters, tenants can track how much electricity they are consuming, and purchase electricity on a pay-as-you-go basis instead of paying over funds to landlord or property management agencies blindly. This ensures that they pay only for what they use, and there are no surprise figures in their utility bill. Knowing how much one spends on utilities will enable for better budgeting during the month.
2. Recharging quickly and conveniently
Busy lifestyles influence the buying decisions of consumers on a daily basis and convenience has become expected. Being able to purchase electricity and water tokens has to be as painless as possible, so choose a prepaid metering company that makes the process easy and convenient. Tenants should be able to recharge almost anywhere as well as online and from their mobile devices. Having access to electricity tokens at their fingertips means the lights can always stay on.
3. Real-time tracking
A reputable and innovative prepaid metering company should provide their clients with an easy to use system that allows them to track and manage spending in real time with detailed reports. Convenient features such as online portals allows landlords and tenants to track monthly consumption so that they can note any trends in utility usage which can help them budget for upcoming months.
4. Access to support
Using a company that understands the value in providing support to its customers is very important and something you should look out for when choosing a prepaid meter supplier. Support for any utility enquiries should be easily accessed via telephone, email and even WhatsApp – making it as convenient for the customer as possible.
5. Reliability and trust
When looking to install prepaid meters, it’s crucial to choose SABS approved products which are high quality, reliable and stable. This ultimately means less technical issues for both the landlord and tenant. However something that many customers tend to overlook is the vending system behind the physical product. Working with a prepaid metering company that has a strong technical team means that they are constantly innovating. A company that continuously works on their vending solution to suit the needs and requirements of their clients, is definitely a company you should partner with.
Managing utilities in shared accommodation spaces doesn’t have to be a hassle. Take the admin, frustration and time out of managing utility costs by installing prepaid meters. Did you know that you can switch to Citiq Prepaid at any time? Give us a call on 087 55 111 55 and we’ll explain how switching works.