Pre-payment meter grrrrrrrrr

charliepink_2

I was with an electricity company for 6 yrs on a pre-payment meter. Last year i swapped having paid off the debt i owed. A couple of months later i received a letter saying i owed just over £150. I called them and was told my pre-payment meter (card) had not been turned up high enough and i was liable to pay £70 of this debt!

I called them in Nov last yr and offered them £1 a week which at first they turned down but agreed.

They said they would send out a payment card and payment schedule in late Nov but so far i have heard nothing what should i do and has anyone else come across this? Thanks

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Not come across that direct situation, but with debt it isn't always cut and dry that if the energy company has not set the tariff high enough you are no longer responsible.

Ultimately the longer you leave it, the longer you are in debt. Best to face up to it, £1 per week is not much, could you offer say £10 per month? That is slightly over £2 per week and would mean you have your debt cleared by the summer. Don't wait to hear from them about a payment card, chase them for it.

charliepink_2

Thank you for your reply this 'debt' dates back to 2004-2005 and they only contacted me last yr about it i didnt even know anything. I did have a debt with them and managed to pay it off and that is why i was puzzled to why they wanted more money off me. I know £1 a week is small and after looking at my finances i can afford a bit more just to get it paid off.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

The important thing is you have reviewed your finances and have seen you can pay a little more off. If you can do this, you'll find a great sense of freedom when you have paid the debt off.

It's hard to keep up momentum though, particularly around and just after Christmas, so I'd bite the bullet today and phone them - I would guess most energy companies will be there to answer calls today.

Good luck, it sounds you are really tackling your finances.

charliepink_2

I am a little annoyed at having to pay this money. At the time my pre-payment meter was fitted in the winter months i was
putting in between £50-£70 a WEEK. My house is all elec but even so that is a lot of money to be putting in. I pay a fraction of that now with the company i am with. They said they are within their rights as have spoken to the ombudsman (without consulting customers) and they have agreed to the £70 being paid back.

taxi97w

I had this problem too. Your supplier is trying it on. It's up to the energy supplier to change the tariff. If their rates go up and they haven't been to change your meter- for years even, well the onus is on them not you.
I contacted energy watch via their website and they sorted it.
My so-called debt was 250 pounds- written off in the end.

charliepink_2

Thank you. I have always let them in my property if the meter needs reading or adjusting. They said they have spoken to the energy ombudsman and they have set this up. I was going to pay the full £150 until i noticed the dates and realised i was on a pre-payment meter. I did owe them money about £700 and i eventually paid it off in January 09 even though it dated back to May 04! after being messed about at one point as i had 2 meters 1 day 1 night i was paying £10 a week just on the debt when i complained i was told they were within their rights to do it. I kicked off so much and had 1 meter a key this time. I finally left in April 09 and my new elec company are great.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Although this is not the answer you want to hear, you cannot absolve debt simply because a wrong tariff has been put on the meter. Watchdog did an investigation into this in 2008, their blog is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/10/the_backdated_bills_for_prepay.html.

Interestingly, they say NPower's policy is to reduce bills to £70 - the figure being quoted here. Charliepink, is this who you are in dispute with and have you been reduced already in some way?

charliepink_2

Yes it is N-power but i am disgusted because if i had not noticed the dates on the bill i would have paid in full. I had to call them to find out what had happened. I had no letter explaining what was happening. And i cant understand why it took them so long to contact me as when they did i was not even their customer anymore!

sweetstudent

Did you have a Token Meter, because if so the £70 debt is the maximum that the customer WILL ever have to pay.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

What was the debt before NPower intervened? If it was significantly more than £70, yes £70 is still £70, but I think you may have to give some credit to them if they reduced your bill.