How can I get my pre-payment meters changed?

lillyrose4

Hi there, i am new to this forum and I am at the end of my tether with how much I am paying for gas and electric. I have pre-payment meters for both and have just switched on 19th Jan to British Gas for both. When the BG representative came to my house to try and get me to switch he said once the transfer had gone ahead I would be able to have my PPM changed to credit meters and go on direct debit through the bank. I am currently putting £35 per week in my gas meter and £20 in my electric meter and it is a real struggle to keep finding this money every week. Anyway when I phoned a couple of weeks ago after the lady on the phone said that my details weren't on the computer yet so told me to phone back the 2nd week of feb, I told her that I wanted to have my meters changed and she too said it wouldn't be a problem but I would have to wait until i had been assigned a customer account number. I phoned on Monday and my details were on the computer, she said she would have to do a credit check which i agreed to, she then told me that I had failed the credit check and that I didn't meet their criteria and the only thing I could do was pay £500 to have them removed, I couldn't beleive this and said I was never told their would be a credit check when I signed up with them and I was told it wouldn't be a problem to have them removed. I am just so angry that I am now stuck with these meters for life and I have had to press the emergency credit button last night on the gas meter and I only have £3 credit to last me till Tuesday next week when my partner gets paid, I just don't know what to do, i have no one who i can borrow any money from and it is just so cold, I have 3 children and we are all sitting here with layers of jumpers on, I have an electric fire but that just eats electric so I will be in the same position with the electric running out if I have that on for long. I would be grateful if you could give me any advice on what to do and how I can possibly get them to change these meters, It just doesn't seem fair how people on PPM end up paying so much more for their gas and electric, I have gas central heating and a gas hob and a combi-boiler so once my gas runs out I won't even have any hot water. I could just cry at the moment.

Lisa x

Premier_2

The £500 is not a charge, but a security deposit.

See if you can get this waived by agreeing to pay monthly by DD.

... or just switch to ebico who won't charge you any different price whether you pay monthly by DD, quarterly on receipt of bill or use the existing PPMs :T
(at 3.77p per kWh inc vat for every unit of gas used, they'll almost certainly be cheaper than BG using a PPM - you might want to check their competitiveness with electricity though)

Current electricity prices from ebico here:
http://www.ebico.co.uk/html/e_region.php

lillyrose4

Hi there, yes the woman on the phone said it was a security deposit, but I just haven't got that sort of cash at the moment. I did tell her I wanted to pay by monthly DD but she said there was nothing she could do as I failed the credit check. Can I switch to another supplier as I have only been with B.G since 19th January and they may not let me. Are ebico a lot cheaper?

thanks,
lisa

lillyrose4

Thanks for the info, I will look at the website.

Premier_2

As long as you don't owe BG any money, they can't stop you from switching to another supplier.

I've heard some say that you need to be with a supplier 28 days before they will alllow you to switch away (don't know how true that is), but it'll take a least 7 days for any application to switch to reach BG.

I'm not sure if ebico are cheaper than BG. That's why I've posted details of their costs so that you can compare them with the prices you are currently being charged by BG and make your own decision.

Remember, the prices you see on the ebico site are the prices you pay, however you pay; no hidden extras or discounts.

Plushchris

First Utiltiy will change them to smart meters free of charge but will tie you into a 2 year contract with £50 per meter charge if you leave early.

First utility may not be the cheapest for you on DD but if you cant get the money together to pay for the security deposit then this is an option.

Premier_2

Plushchris wrote: »

First Utiltiy will change them to smart meters free of charge but will tie you into a 2 year contract with £50 per meter charge if you leave early.

First utility may not be the cheapest for you on DD but if you cant get the money together to pay for the security deposit then this is an option.

From First Utility's terms & conditions (term 1)

...We reserve the right to reject your request for any reason. Grounds for our rejection could include but are not limited to an unsatisfactory credit score...

15.4 We are entitled to end this contract and/or discontinue any or all of the services to your premises in the case of energy services in line with our Energy Disconnection Policy immediately by giving you notice if:

...
(k) you fail or score low on a credit check that we carry out once the contract is already in force;

17.2 We may use the information you have given to us to make checks with our credit checking agency to confirm your identity as part of our registration process or, where this is not possible, after the contract is already in force. The credit checking agency will check any details we disclose to them against any database (public or private) to which they have access and will keep a record of that check. The credit checking agency will also retain this information and may use it in the future to assist other companies with identity verification. We reserve the right to retain this information for any ongoing credit checking requirements. This helps us to protect you and us from fraudulent transactions. In the event that your registration is not accepted, we may contact you to offer an alternative payment method or service.

http://www.first-utility.com/downloads/Resi_EnergyTermsConditions_0107.pdf

Only a fool of a company will extend credit to someone they don't know without carrying out a credit check first.

TotallyBroke

Wow £500 is extortionate. When I changed a long time ago (years) it was £90. But that may be because of the difference in credit score.
Check your credit information and make sure there is nothing incorrect about it. Even changing to a different supplier could result in the same. All companies will credit check you to see what your payment history is like. The one good thing is that if you can get the money then the £500 comes off the bill after a few months of good payments on time etc.

Have you considered putting the bills in joint you and OH or just OH his credit score maybe better than yours.

Joyful

There is zero difference in the price of electric prepayment meters and £34 per year difference in gas prepayment meters as opposed to quarterly billing meters with British Gas. The price you are paying is the cost of the energy. The best way to cut costs is to make sure you have good insulation and try to reduce your usage.

If you have been with BG for less than a year the figures you were given stand. After a year it is based on consumption so could be more or less than that quoted now.