Claiming back prepay monies....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8099776.stm ?

It doesn't say anyone has actually got a rebate, just that the NHF think it's possible to do.

Edit: it appears the overcharging occurred between 2006 & 2008 only

According to this link (video steaming)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8099968.stm

It suggests people on prepayment meters were overcharged on average by 17%
The person in the report pays £60pm (£720 per year)
It suggests she's been overpaying since she has been in the property (4.5 years), but the EU directive only came in in 2006 and Ofgem ordered the suppliers to comply last year (hence the overcharging was only for 2 years)

Whether it was just the 2 years, or the 4.5 years, I'm not sure why it is being reported that the person possibly has overpaid by £550 in that time.

Can someone explain the maths please?


Edit 2: What they seem to have done is taken the yearly amount spent multiplied this by 4.5 and worked out what 17% of that is.

But that is wrong. If it was 4.5 years, the sum would be:

overpayment = (720 x 4.5) - (720 x 4.5 x 100/117) = £470.77

But as it was only 2 years, then the overpayment should only be:

overpayment = (720 x 2) - (720 x 2 x 100/117) = £209.23

But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

I'm very intersted in this, I have a prepayment metre and am having it taken out tommorow but I monitored the metre a lot over the last 2 years and noticed charges for the metres disapear recently, at the end of last year it was crippling the amount we had to put in, they would even charge for the priviledge of using the emergency button, regardless or not whether you put enough back in to cover before it started using the emergency money itself or not (this seems to have changed now also - aty least on my metre)... I was calling BG as this was airing on the news this morning lol and as you can expect, they new of the bbc news coverage but not much else.

I realy hope people do get a rebate and I will follow it through to the end regardless of what I have to do, as I realy view them as monsters now after what they have done to us.

I came on here hoping to find a thread about this. I have a prepay electricity metre, have had for some 10 years...and I know it drinks money like a fish! I live alone in a modest 2 bed which only has one emmersion heater in the living room and the overnight water heater - both allegedly on economy 7. I must put in on average between £65 - £80 per month. I think that's too much.

Last year they wrote saying that they were abolishing the standing charge but raising the cost of electricity!! Cheek!

I believe I've been paying over the odds for years...now i want to see a breakdown of all my payments to them for the past 10 years.

Although I seem to remember this new stuff in the news is about them being contrary to EU legislation thats only been in force for 2 years.

Any other comments? I'd luv to read some :-)

OuterNet wrote: »

I'd love to know how to reclaim, if anyone finds out how to do so. ...

Here you go, good luck!

http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Melmoneysaver wrote: »

they would even charge for the priviledge of using the emergency button...I was calling BG

I assume that as you were calling BG you are with them?
If so, your comment about being charged for using the emergency credit is not and never has been true. If this were ever to have been the case, it would need to be included in the contract/T&Cs. I'm also fairly sure no other supplier charges extra for usign the emergency credit ofr gas or electricity.
Sometimes it may seem that this has happened, but usually the meter is balancing up when you come out of emergency - overall you will have been charged no more than if you had never used the emergency.