Question of the week: Prepayment meters

dramaqueen1973

OriginalDisco wrote: »

So, answering my question you've never been in financial problems then? They tend to happen suddenly, and without a lot of warning, just so you know.

How would you have the money to pay for an electricity bill set aside until you know what your quarterly bill comes out at?

I haven't refused to pay for my energy bill, but after being made redundant I then got my quarterly bill through, which since losing my job I was unable to pay as I normally would have (there was no warning that I was going to be made redundant at the time, just went into work one day and was handed a redundancy letter...)

If that my fault?

Have I called up British Gas one day and said "You know what, I've decided not to pay for my energy usage..."?

No.

I've been – and here is the key word – UNABLE to pay, because my regular income was taken away without warning.

You seem to have a very 'black and white' attitude, whereas life is rarely so.

Hiya

Am Glad someone else lives in my world! You know I was almost too embarrased to reply before you did as I thought I would be looked on as a "Thief"

My husband got made redundant without warning, we have had no money for the last 4 months apart from my wages, we have 2 children and are struggling to feed ourselves!!!

so so glad you posted, makes me feel slightly better;)

xxxxxxx

Cardew

KimYeovil wrote: »

I scratch my head, confused. You've left yourself wide open, there. When the-supplier-who-must-not-be-named-outside-their-thread makes such a shoddy guarantee you (rightly) question them!

Likewise I am scratching my head??? Perhaps I have missed something(not about THAT company of course) and I am not sure of the point you are making.

I am not aware that I have mentioned anything about a guarantee. I am merely pointing out that, despite the impression given in this(and other) threads, that pre-pay meters are not that much more expensive than standard tariffs with some companies.

In fact with the BG example I gave, their pre-pay tariff is actually cheaper than their standard tariff when paying quarterly.

Please tell me if I have missed something - I normally 'get' your points!!

catalonia13

I think the best way to know for sure is to find out what the actual rates are, BG charge 28.880 pence per day for those using the night/day time supply with 'pay as you go' meters, regardless of how much electricity you actually use.

markharding557

My gf has a pre-payment meter at her rented flat and it just eats money in the winter.

hi nedksi if your gf puts more gas credit on than she needs in the summer she will build up a reserve for winter.
i have done this for a couple of years now and i was certainly glad i did last winter,i had around £140 credit on when the cold spell hit and i can say a big hole was made in it then.
through this time i never had to put anymore than i did in the summer.

OriginalDisco

KimYeovil wrote: »

Of course I have. But I don't think other people should bail me out or pay extra for the consequences of my behaviour. If I move to a house with wallpaper I don't like I don't expect someone else to pay to change the wallpaper.

Where have I said that I expect other people to pay anything for me?

I don't. Never have.

And your analogy is a very poor one. That would be a personal choice, whereas suddenly not being able to pay for energy used because of a dramatic change in circumstances is no choice at all.

KimYeovil wrote: »

See those metal gee-gaws in the kitchen/hallway with the number dials on them and pipes and cables coming out of? They're called 'meters'. Being poor I have never had the luxury (like you) of not needing to keep an eye on how much I am using.

Ahh, more patronisation...

Don't be such a victim... I've never had the "luxury" of anything.

You really should stop assuming everyone's' circumstances can be grouped together into "will pay" and "won't pay" – as I've said, life isn't black and white. You should at some point entertain the notion of "can't pay".

KimYeovil wrote: »

Not having at least three to six months of total household living expenses set aside in accessible savings is poor housekeeping and is your fault. That gives you a buffer of three to six months to adjust your behaviour and expenditure to fit your new circumstance.

If it was a regular income then you have no excuses for not having savings.

Yes, because we could afford to put money away each month...

No, actually we couldn't. Everything coming in went out more or less straight away, leaving us with money for travel to work and food (and we shop at Iceland and Aldi, so no luxury there either).

So, where would you suggest that we gained money to put into savings?

If you are so 'poor' then I struggle to see how you could afford to have three to six months' worth of cash sat aside. Whenever we've struggled (which is often) we've had to use every last bit of money available just to stay afloat.

I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall with you...

Personally, it's not a question of our usage increasing (i.e. not "living beyond our means") and us not being able to pay for what we've used – it's that the rug was pulled from under us without warning.

KimYeovil wrote: »

One person's 'jobsworthiness' is another person's 'treating everybody equally and fairly'.

So putting those people in financial trouble into more debt is fair, is it?

I'm not saying for one minute that people who use more energy than they can afford, or those who refuse to pay for their usage shouldn't be penalised – of course they should – but you can't group people having trouble paying their supplier because of a change in circumstances in with them. That's just tarring everyone with the same brush.

dramaqueen1973 wrote: »

Hiya

Am Glad someone else lives in my world! You know I was almost too embarrased to reply before you did as I thought I would be looked on as a "Thief"

My husband got made redundant without warning, we have had no money for the last 4 months apart from my wages, we have 2 children and are struggling to feed ourselves!!!

so so glad you posted, makes me feel slightly better

xxxxxxx

That's because there seems to be a total lack of empathy from some on this forum.

Given that I thought these boards were for advice and support, I'm dissapointed that some can't see that when getting into difficulty you pay for the most important things first... a) mortgage, to keep a roof over your head and b) keeping your family fed. Everything thereafter is paid for on an importance-basis.

There's a close-your-eyes-and-put-your-fingers-in-your-ears mentality when someone challenges the very binary viewpoint of there being 'good' energy users and 'bad' ones – with no room for personal circumstances in between.

There's a lot of "I'm better at saving money than you"...

enthrone

tartanmax wrote: »

It's outragous that the poorest in society are paying the most for gas and electricity via these meters and although i understand that if you have managed to run up huge amounts of debt then you are obligated to pay it off , I just don't understand why charging more is going to help matters.

Prepayment meters also have the habbit of costing more for the fact unlike CR meters, PP meter can get faults. eg call help, please wait, card not accepted (faulty cards).
ect.
which in turn your supplier has to pay to get these meters either reset, wind-ons, or exch. trust me these dont come cheap to the suppliers. engineers cost a hell of alot, especially as the engineers can be travelling 4+ hours to do a simple wind-on ( £5 Credit ).
also theft of electric / gas happens frequently on PP meters, but i cant recall it happening on a CR meter.

just a few words

SwanJon

catalonia13 wrote: »

I think the best way to know for sure is to find out what the actual rates are, BG charge 28.880 pence per day for those using the night/day time supply with 'pay as you go' meters, regardless of how much electricity you actually use.

Be careful quoting prices - many vary across the country.
as I work at British Gas I can confirm that they will charge a standing charge on two-rate (aka Economy 7) electricity prepayment meters, but not on one rate electricity or gas meters. Not sure if £2 a week sounds right though...
(NB - some non-standard tariffs, e.g. fixed ones, also have a standing charge beacsue of when they were introduced)

catalonia13

Hi, I agree the unit price can vary but I got that standing charge from their site so should be definate!

Linda

SwanJon

I sit corrected. up to 31.65p inc VAT in some parts of the country.
https://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Standard%20Electricity%20prices.pdf

Meatballs

Just moved into a house with prepayment meters for elec and gas and have a few questions:

a) What are the costs to install prepayment meters and what are the costs to remove them? Landlord isn't keen on swopping but if I can get it done FOC then shouldn't be an issue.

b) What happens when you move? Can you get a refund on the amount on your card or transfer it somehow?

c) What are a tenants rights about energy meters (I know you can change suppliers without worrying about landlord), do you need landlords permission to have them changed?