Still can't afford to pay my electric bills - any options?

robchap_2

Bloodheart wrote: »

I'm unemployed and have been for two years, I'm getting JSA, housing and tax benefits.

I'm with Npower for my electricity, cannot move to another company and cannot get a pre-payment meter installed.

Backstory;
I had an electricity bill of £500 I couldn't pay, I had been on a £15 per fortnight payment plan, but they raised this to £75 per fortnight to cover this bill. I couldn't afford to pay that much so I ended up getting a debt relief order to put debts on hold - this was the beginning of March (most of my other debts weren't a problem, it was just to deal with Npower).

Currently;
I had a letter through the door last week for an overdue electricity bill - I get my bills quarterly, so this was electricity from a few months prior to the debt relief order - the bill was for around £200.

I cannot afford to pay so I contacted Npower for help, they have put me back onto a payment plan, but this is £33 per fortnight, still too much. I'm basically right back into the same situation again, and I'm going to end up right back in the same situation and end up with my electricity cut off!

Is there anything else I can do to make things easier?
Any benefits I don't know about?
Anything I can do to get away from Npower?

There has to be something - surely it can't be a choice between either not eating or getting your electricity cut off???!!

for what reason can't you have a pre payment meter ?

if it is choice i think you need to rethink it i owe nothing to my gas and elec company but i still had them change the meters to ppm as i like it more i can never get in to debt with them ect i top them up once a month or so never had any issues

kjsmith7

As OP is on housing benefit, it's likely they are a tenant: perhaps the landlord has refused to allow prepayment meter?

Gurn_2

kjsmith7 wrote: »

As OP is on housing benefit, it's likely they are a tenant: perhaps the landlord has refused to allow prepayment meter?

He/she wont have a choice in the matter soon, they will install a pre payment meter under warrant conditions if necessary.

UnderPressure

I got myself in a right mess with the electric peopl around 12 months ago, Swalec were less than helpful and in the end I had a pre-payment meter fitted, you may not like the idea of them but believe me in the long run you will be thankful you had it fitted.

My only problem after this was the amount I owed them around £1500 and also the price I was paying for my electric through the meter, with a partner a 3 young children we were putting the best part of £50 a wekk on the meter to ensure we always had electricity, I was not happy with this at all so contacted OFGEM the energy regulator who told me that ALL energy companies have special social tariff's for people on low incomes, I rang Swalec and applied for the tariff at first it was a nightmare and after 8 weeks I was still no further, then one day I rang the people at Swalec again (it is a dedicate department NPower will have one as well) and I demanded to speak to a manager, I explained my situation and that I had applied for this special social tariff and not heard anything and I was now going to complain to OFGEM, he immediately said sorry and told me he would personally deal with it, he asked me to fax over soem documents to prove the benefits we were on which I did, he rang me back 1 hour later to say it had all be processed and a new key for the meter had been sent to us and we would receive it the next day, he also told me that he had reduced my debt re-payment to £5 per week.

The next day came and the new key arrived I went and topped it up and it "altered" our meter to the new tariff, slashed in half literally, our top up amount fell from £50 per week to £20!!!

It was a big help to us ad something we really needed, there are criteria for the plan I think you have to be spending more than a certain percentage of your income on energy but if your on benefits you should have no problem, ring OFGEM if unsre for further details.

Hope that helps, Chin up

brightonman123

http://www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/grants_to_individuals/index.html

Britisg Gas Energy Trust helped me- may have links to other grants, covering Npower..