pre payment meters

deborah43

hi how can i cut the cost of money i am putting on my gas meter??? £10. is only lasting 2 days i dont have the heating on all day either, i can not afford 2 keep puting this amount on. no money is taken off i get the full £10 worth of gas.:(

KimYeovil

£5 a day is about normal. That is if you are getting a morning and evening session for that price. Is that keeping you warm? How many hours? A single room or a whole house?

Remember you will have all that money saved up over summer that you did not have to spend on heating to help you. Haven't you? Oh. Oh dear.

Also, check that you don't have arrears of standing charges built up on your meter - they may be eating in to your top-ups. (I know you said no money is taken off so you have probably already done that.)

You can check if there is an alternative cheaper tariff available on prepayment meters using the comparison sites.

macman

Improve your home insulation to cut down heat loss?

spiro

Check for drafts, turn off raditors in rooms you dont use, keep doors closed, make sure thermostat is only about 20c.

Dizzy_Ditzy

i found this last year/earlier this year- my gas was costing me a fortune so in the warmer months (i refuse to admit we had a summer!!!) i kept putting the same amount on it, and it seems now that the more money i have on there, the less they charge me as I am only getting through about £3 per day and thats a 3 bed house with heating on around about 12 hours a day

Shame I cant say the same for my electricty though- have already put £80 on the last 4 weeks. It seems to be being eaten up!!

fil_cad

We had prepay meters for several years and they were sucking £35 / £40 per week for gas / electricity then we paid £100 to have the prepay meters swapped for the quarterly bill/ monthly direct debit / online saver at first they wanted £250 per month we eventuly got it reduced dramaticly we now pay £80 per month this includes gas/electric and covers our usage! just goes to show how much people on prepay meters are being RIPPED OFF and i feel are due massive refunds with interest my provider refused to refund anything! how do they justify the extortionate costs of prepay metres

C_Mababejive

I would say to everyone who has difficulty in keeping warm that the days of cheap gas and electric are over.

The days of having all of our homes at a nice warm temperature everywhere are ,for many,an unrealistic aspiration.

The best thing to do is to buy long sleeved thermal vests and ,if necessary,thermal long johns.

They are very light cotton construction and so feel comfortable under clothes.

You will feel lovely and warm and best of all,you wont be blowing a fortune on fuel.

I have my long sleeve thermal vest on now and feel very comfortable

Dont buy the short sleeve ones.

lemontart

I swear by my thermals, hot water bottle and wheat bags and lots of layers - have not used central heating for yrs as simply cannot afford to repair blr let alone replace it with modern one.

I only heat room I use,keep door closed, etc ..........keeps the fuel costs down to managable level

daisy_jean

Our prepayment meter seems to barely cost anything compared to some - we're on Atlantic, and pay around £2 a day atm.

That's with hot water - washing up, bathing the baby, etc - the cooker, and having the heating on (1hour in the morning, around 4-5hrs at night).

I put on about £70 a month, so there's always a couple of pounds leftover and to give a little lee-way in case of particularly cold days.

btw, we're in a 2bed terraced house (with kitchen/bathroom extension), but we do have a relatively new boiler/heating system which is probably quite efficient compared to some!

Premier_2

deborah43 wrote: »

hi how can i cut the cost of money i am putting on my gas meter??? £10. is only lasting 2 days i dont have the heating on all day either, i can not afford 2 keep puting this amount on. no money is taken off i get the full £10 worth of gas.:(

Use a comparison site to ensure you are getting the best deal

Stuart_W

Ebico are always worth considering for prepayment customers.

Certainly the easiest tariff to understand, that's for sure.

Simple fixed unit rate, no standing charge, no sliding rate, pay how you like, same price.

Gas is 3.68p per kWh inc VAT. Electricity varies regionally.

https://www.ebico.org.uk/