Why do people have pre payment electric and gas ?

escortg3

JasX wrote: »

They're basically put in for financial delinquients who never have enough money in their bank account to pay their direct debits....

or people unfortunate enough to move into a property previously occupied by said delinquients who;ve not yet been able to get the meter replaced with a normal one again

My Nan is not a financial delinquient. She has a pre-payment meter because she chooses to. She wont have bank cards etc as she does not trust them. her little savings book does her just fine. why not have a meter. My nan tops hers up by £200 at a time and when it gets down to £50 she tops up again. She has no Direct debits at all. Pays all her life insurance and house and car insurance in cash directly to insurance company. She pays Council tax in one go and also the Water and TV. She is propbably in a better financial position than you and me:rotfl::rotfl:

Premier_2

jackieblack wrote: »

I can see why spinningsheep was upset.




delinquent
/dilingkwnt/

• adjective

...3 [SIZE=-1]chiefly N. Amer.[/SIZE] in arrears.

• noun a delinquent person. [SIZE=-1]— DERIVATIVES[/SIZE] delinquently [SIZE=-1]adverb[/SIZE]. [SIZE=-1]— ORIGIN[/SIZE] from Latin delinquere ‘to offend’.

I can't. :huh:
(unless unaware of the alternative meanings of the word)

HannahIOW

We have a pre pay electric (key) meter at our flat. It's been there from the previous tenants, we are on the lookout for a house in the near future so see no point in faffing around changing it. Plus you know where you stand, chuck 20 quid on the meter and easy to check what's left and how fast you are using it (which prompts me to turn things off that aren't needed).

KimYeovil

Of course the system should be fairer for users like Escort's nan. But for every nan there are twenty [STRIKE]idiots[/STRIKE]customers like SpottyCat who believe they should not have to front the cost of emergency call outs. The bleeding hearts think Escort's nan should have to subsidise SpottyCat instead of SpottyCat having to cough up £35 themself.

Prepayment meters should offer the cheapest (equal) prices and incur additional charges if the customer makes more than twelve payments per year (but that would only be tens of pennies if exceeded); if the customer pays for emergency (sic) call outs; if the customer pays for the installation costs of the meter (there can be some subsidy across all customers there - provided a national flat rate of, say, £60 per meter is charged to the miscreants.); etcetera.

But the bleeding hearts do not want a fair system. They want delinquents to be coddled and to profit from their close-to-professional grifting.

shellsuit

We moved from a house that had PPM for both gas and elec, to now paying monthly.

I'd rather have the PPM to be honest, seeing as monthly payments can go up and down.

In the winter on a PPM for gas, we could put £30 a week on it, but in the warmer months, a fiver would last about 3 weeks.

Oh and I hate direct debits.

Ken68

All credit customers are paying for bad debts,credit control and the billing system, and the change over to new customers and lots more I can't think of.
Pre-pay has got to be cheaper, maybe needs to be upgraded to take other types of card.
Prices would tumble without all that admin cost.
Imagine, one meter per house, pay whatever, a little or a lot.

KimYeovil

spinningsheep wrote: »

JasX, how nasty is that comment. "financial delinquents". Why not just say financial lepers and have done with it! I presume you are someone who has never had a financial problem and solvent so you never have to worry about a minor thing as a debt to a utility supplier. Many people are a victim of circumstance, they certainly would not choose to be in the situation they are in, and miss out on the discounts offered by suppliers on their cheapest credit meter deals. You make it sound as though anyone with a prepaid meter through a debt that prevents them being allowed a credit meter deserves it because they have a less than perfect credit score. If you haven't already, I sincerely hope you do get faced with a financial mess not of your own making and see how you enjoy joining the "financial delinquent" club!:(

It is you who is being nasty. Why do you think the genuinely poor should subsidise lepers?

markharding557

Not everyone with prepay meters are in debt,i have prepay for both fuels and no debt what so ever,in fact between the meters there is about £150 credit so people should not tar every one with the same stereotypical brush:mad:
I just prefer prepay

mumtoj_2

I had ppm after moving in to a house where they were already fitted and just did not get round to changing them as it was only supposed to be a temporary move. I loved them as we got paid in cash weekly so could just nip to corner shop each week and put set amount on card. It was also the best tool ever for teachig my son about the cost of consumption as he could physically see the appliances using up the credit. I have now moved and am on a credit meter. I don't mind either and would happily go back to prepayment.
I also now have a 13 year old boy who turns everything off when he leaves the room and many friends who exclaim how did you get him to do that

Premier_2

markharding557 wrote: »

Not everyone with prepay meters are in debt,i have prepay for both fuels and no debt what so ever,in fact between the meters there is about £150 credit so people should not tar every one with the same stereotypical brush:mad:
I just prefer prepay

Why the mad emoticon?
Has anyone in this thread suggested everyone with prepay meters are in debt?
:huh: