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British Gas & Pre-Pay Meters
OriginalDisco
Posts: 11 Forumite
in Energy
Hi all, new to the boards...
When myself and my fiancee bought our house last May it had (and still has) no central heating, so we have to heat the house using a couple of energy-efficient electric radiators.
I signed up to British Gas Duel Fuel on a capped rate until 2010 and during the sign-up phonecall I went through all our electricity and gas usage (i.e. telling them everything barring the gas hob was powered by electricity) and they estimated our usage.
About a month or so ago I got a letter from them, saying our electricity usage was higher than expected, and they needed to increase our Direct Debit from £35 per month to about £145 per month to cover the arrears...
I called them and told them that an increase of that amount just wasn't going to happen – I was made redundant in January and have been taking on any work I can get from month-to-month – and even if I hadn't been axed from my job I wouldn't be able to afford that anyway.
Now I'm getting the phonecalls from their Collections Dept. and they keep saying that it may be better for me to go onto a pre-payment meter... I've had experience of them before and have categorically told BG that I won't have one installed in my house, as they're extortionately expensive and unreliable.
I have paid them a token payment of £50, and agreed to make another payment of £50 this week (from scraping together some cash by doing some 'cash-in-hand' work) but I'm expecting a call-back from them this week and know that they're going to try and force a meter on me.
Does anyone have any advice for what to respond to them with?
Cheers
When myself and my fiancee bought our house last May it had (and still has) no central heating, so we have to heat the house using a couple of energy-efficient electric radiators.
I signed up to British Gas Duel Fuel on a capped rate until 2010 and during the sign-up phonecall I went through all our electricity and gas usage (i.e. telling them everything barring the gas hob was powered by electricity) and they estimated our usage.
About a month or so ago I got a letter from them, saying our electricity usage was higher than expected, and they needed to increase our Direct Debit from £35 per month to about £145 per month to cover the arrears...
I called them and told them that an increase of that amount just wasn't going to happen – I was made redundant in January and have been taking on any work I can get from month-to-month – and even if I hadn't been axed from my job I wouldn't be able to afford that anyway.
Now I'm getting the phonecalls from their Collections Dept. and they keep saying that it may be better for me to go onto a pre-payment meter... I've had experience of them before and have categorically told BG that I won't have one installed in my house, as they're extortionately expensive and unreliable.
I have paid them a token payment of £50, and agreed to make another payment of £50 this week (from scraping together some cash by doing some 'cash-in-hand' work) but I'm expecting a call-back from them this week and know that they're going to try and force a meter on me.
Does anyone have any advice for what to respond to them with?
Cheers
0
Comments
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Your direct debit will need to be set to cover future usage (to stop you going into further arrears) and another part on top to pay back the arrears over 3, 6 or 12 months. You could try asking them to spread the debt longer to make the payments lower.
If you have cancelled your payment plan you will have a collection case on your file which is causing these phone calls and will ultimately end up with a prepay meter being installed unless you clear your balance.0 -
OriginalDisco wrote: »...About a month or so ago I got a letter from them, saying our electricity usage was higher than expected, and they needed to increase our Direct Debit from £35 per month to about £145 per month to cover the arrears...
I called them and told them that an increase of that amount just wasn't going to happen ...
I have paid them a token payment of £50, and agreed to make another payment of £50 this week (from scraping together some cash by doing some 'cash-in-hand' work) but I'm expecting a call-back from them this week and know that they're going to try and force a meter on me.
Does anyone have any advice for what to respond to them with?
Cheers
You really are urinating in the wind.
You need to agree a repayment plan rather than decide one unilaterally.
Otherwise you will either have to agree to the DD they propose, or pay off the debt completely which will lower the monthly DD (but it wont be £35 as you consume more than that) or ask for a prepayment meter so that the debt can be collected that way.
If times are tough, you need to think about how you can reduce consumption."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Unit prices for PAYG electric with BG are the same as having a credit meter so you don't need to worry about paying more, you would of course lose the discount for paying by DD that's worth about 80p per week.OriginalDisco wrote: »I've had experience of them before and have categorically told BG that I won't have one installed in my house, as they're extortionately expensive and unreliable.
If you do end up with a PAYG meter, once clear of the debt, EBICO are normally cheaper, check out a comparison site.0 -
Above is all good advice, but you could try negotiating a lower payment once you have made a few more ad-hoc ones - this at least shows you are willing to take responsibility.
Also may be worth checking the readings n the bills against your meter to make sure they are only charging you for the electricity you are using.
Unfortunatley heating with electricity is very expensive (It sounds like you don't use storage heaters), so really look at ways to insulate and cut back before winter comes round again.0 -
If times are tough, you need to think about how you can reduce consumption.
We cannot possibly use any less electricity than we do now.
We don't leave lights on, appliances on stand-by, etc.
And we only have a quarter house, which is already pretty well-insulated. If it's cold (which without central heating it does get) we put more clothes on and sit under a blanket rather than over-using our electric heaters.kippen_noedel wrote: »Unit prices for PAYG electric with BG are the same as having a credit meter so you don't need to worry about paying more, you would of course lose the discount for paying by DD that's worth about 80p per week.
If you do end up with a PAYG meter, once clear of the debt, EBICO are normally cheaper, check out a comparison site.
From reading other peoples' accounts of prepaid meters online and from stories on the morning BBC news the other day (plus my own experience of them) they seem to be nothing more than an absolute nightmare!Above is all good advice, but you could try negotiating a lower payment once you have made a few more ad-hoc ones - this at least shows you are willing to take responsibility.
Also may be worth checking the readings n the bills against your meter to make sure they are only charging you for the electricity you are using.
Unfortunatley heating with electricity is very expensive (It sounds like you don't use storage heaters), so really look at ways to insulate and cut back before winter comes round again.
I've made them a couple of ad-hoc payments, and they're calling me back tomorrow to discuss a new Direct Debit. I think we're due another quarterly bill sometime soon so Christ alone knows what they're going to ask for each month...
We've only got the one electric heater, and it's an energy-efficient one at that. If I could afford to get in a couple of storage heaters I probably would for the time being.
Like I've said, there really isn't any way we can use less electricity than we are...
It's all because of my redundancy. Had that not happened I wouldn't be up the creek like I am now, I would've been able to pay this arrears off in one go.
Are there any organisations where I might be able to get some advice on this situation (aside from CAB)?0 -
i am on BG pre payment meters,and have not had any problems with them in the 3 years i have been on them. maybe you could get hold of a gas super ser (i think they are called) £20 for a gas bottle its instant heat . thinking about it surely you are not using any heating this time of year?spanky xx
DFW weight watchers 28lbs to lose
lost so far 11.5 lbs0 -
the problems many have is because meters are not set at the correct rate or they are not using their own card.From reading other peoples' accounts of prepaid meters online and from stories on the morning BBC news the other day (plus my own experience of them) they seem to be nothing more than an absolute nightmare!
this could give you much longer to repay the debt and if you are unemployed you may qualify for a social tariff0 -
...If times are tough, you need to think about how you can reduce consumption.OriginalDisco wrote: »We cannot possibly use any less electricity than we do now....
Perhaps you need to think a little bit harder
You can always reduce consumption unless that consumption is already at zero."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
spankymonkey wrote: »...thinking about it surely you are not using any heating this time of year?
It's actually been getting quite cold on a night in York the past week or so.
Don't need any heating during the day though, even when it's tanking it down it isn't really cold.
Trying not to use the heater at all if I can avoid it.Perhaps you need to think a little bit harder
You can always reduce consumption unless that consumption is already at zero.
All we use the elec for at the moment is heating the water, watching tele, having a light on or cooking.
Do you suggest we don't shower and sit in the dark doing nothing and not eating?
Anyhoo...
After a pitched battle of a phonecall they've put us back on a Direct Debit.0 -
OriginalDisco wrote: »...All we use the elec for at the moment is heating the water, watching tele, having a light on or cooking.
Do you suggest we don't shower and sit in the dark doing nothing and not eating?...
You don't need a TV on to eat or shower
Is your computer steam powered? :rolleyes:"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100
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