PAYG Gas Meter "Charge" British Gas

MrSploodge

I recently moved into a new house ( on the 20th June ) that already had a Pre-Payment gas and electricity meter with British Gas.

I took a reading on the 20th and updated the records to BG. Since then I have only used the gas to "test" the cooker as I am decorating and staying at another address untill im finished.

The reading on the 20th for the gas was 11545.908 and the reading today is 11545.914. There is no debt on the meter.

What I have noticed is that twice a day the meter seems to use a total of 58p ( 29p at a time ). I was under the impression that BG dont have a standing charge so gave them a ring..

The person I spoke to was adamant that this is normal as the manufacturers of the meters set them to do this and there is nothing they can do to change it..
I tried to explain that I work away from home quite a bit so to have the meter taking 58p per day when zero gas is being used is just wasting money ( £211.70 a year ). He then told me that if I used gas in that period that the tarrif im on ( 7.402 tier 1 and 3.416 tier two ) would compensate for the charge?

After 45 minutes on the phone trying to get an answer to why its costing 58p a day if they dont have a standing charge and how on earth would the tariff make up £211.70 a year the more gas I use, I gave up and asked if he could have his manager call me ( as she was busy at the time ), she still not rang me back..

Oh the meter is one of these - forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=8690671&postcount=1


Anyway, sorry for the long post, just seeing if anyone here can shed any light on why the meter is taking 58p a day and if its normal or not.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

spiro

Have BG sent you a new key and card since you moved into the house? Its possible the previous occupant was on a tariff that included a standing charge. Even if you have a new device I think for gas that it takes a few vends to update the meter.

MrSploodge

Hi Spiro,

I didnt receive a new card/key. When I rang to update the details on the 20th I was told no new card/key was needed as there was no debt on the old account. The guy I spoke to today said they will send a new card/key but it wouldnt have an effect as there was apparently no standing charge.
The tariff I am on is apparently the correct one.. Same as is listed on the site.

Does anyone know if they have some sort of default charge for not using any gas ( I know BT do/did with their phone charges if you dont use a certain ammount ).

Andy

echoecho_2

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to advise, but I was under the impression that there are certain prepayment meters that physically can't have the standing charge element removed.

BG would normally correct this in the way the primary and secondary tier of units are charged. Unfortunately, I'm not sure in which way this works but hopefully someone will be able to clarify this.

MrSploodge

Thanks for the info echoecho..

I had read on another site that some meters cannot have the charge removed and i sure this is what the guy from BG I spoke to was getting at, he also said the tariff compensates for it..

With that in mind I still cannot see how it compensates, something im sure BG should be able to explain. I am on a standard two tier rate - Tier 1 ( 7.402 ) applies to the first 670 kWh per quarter and all subsequent consumption is charged at Tier 2 ( 3.416 ).

If in a quarter ( 90 days for the example ) I only use 670kWh that would cost me £49.59 - 7.402p x 670, i would not have used any tier 2 tariff. But if the meter continues to take 58p per day that would be an extra £52.20 per quarter. If this continued all year my bill would be £407.16 instead of the £198.36 worth of gas I actually used..

I hope im wrong here and BG have a way to compensate for the s/c but going by the figures I just cannot see it.

NOTE: If any of the math is wrong then sorry in advance. Made sense when I typed it

Regards,

Andy

Joyful

If you were on a credit meter the first 7.5 kw per day gets charges at the higher tier 1 price. Anything after that gets charged at tier 2. On a prepayment meter every unit gets charged at the tier 2 price. Because of that the meter has a small catch up charge added at 2am so that it balances out.

This only becomes obvious to very low users such as the situation you are in now. As soon as the gas is used in a normal way it will all pan out.