British gas will NOT take pre-paid meter out

mattcanary

Different companies have different policies and credit-check differently

kjsmith7

You can pay a security deposit I think... It's not cheap, but we got offered that option when we moved house a couple of years ago. £120, get it back after one year.

PSNautical

woodess wrote: »

My daughter in law telephoned British gas yesterday to ask to have her pre-paid card meter out as it is costing her a fortune and she is on benefits
they said they had done a credit check and they couldn't take it out
She has a 4 year old daughter and a new born baby and the housing association house they live in is really cold and costs a fortune to heat
Has anyone any suggestions as to what they can do
thankyou in advance

switch to EDF.
they dont do credit checks IME.

wait the required 2 months, then apply for a credit meter.

kjsmith7

Must say though - can your daughter-in-law handle a credit meter? As there is little difference between PPM and Standard Credit tariffs now, her bills won't be that much different unless she does as above and gets on DD and Online/Social tariff. There must be a reason she would fail a credit check?

clayre6173

I agree. With Bg there is no difference between the PP meter and standard meter for gas or ele so no savings to be made. I worry that having a credit meter will result in a pp meter being fitted anyway due to unpaid bills but being fitted for debt.

markharding557

PSNautical wrote: »

switch to EDF.
they dont do credit checks IME.

wait the required 2 months, then apply for a credit meter.

EDF don't do credit checks:rotfl:don't be silly:)

Gurn_2

With all due respect.

Maybe she should try and use less electric and gas, if she gets onto a credit meter, she will just use it as if its on tap, then when the first bill comes in, will not be in a position to pay it, and end up back on PP plus a weekly debt charge to pay.
There are not massive savings to be had between PP and credit.

pops848

If your daughter wants to save money then switch provider, BG are massivley expensive for gas, but cheaper for electric. Southern Eletric (scottish and southern) are the cheapest energy supplier for gas as of 28th March, although its unlikely to get a credit meter (need a credit score of around 700) your DIL will benefit from the cheapest gas price available for PPM's

mattcanary

To everyone saying that OP should keep prepayment meter, I'd be inclined to disagree.

At least if she has a normal quarterly meter, she can have some control over the situation. She can read meter regularly and either pay for what she has used or keep money aside. If a prepayment meter is fitted, control is lost. Customers are reliant upon what the supplier does (ie: what prices are set on the meter, if meter breaks are relaint on supplier coming out in good time to repair or replace it - or else without power).

spankymonkey_2

i like having a prepayment meter, i am with BG on essentials tarrif. i like being in control of how much i spend, as someone else said being on a quarterly bill you may go overboard with useage,and end up in debt!