We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Prepayment Meter help
Options
I will try and explain the situation as detailed and concisely as possible, but I am losing the will to live.
We moved into our current property on 8/12. It has pre-payment meters. We are currently awaiting British Gas to take over. The current supplier is N-Power.
There was no card for the Gas meter, so contacted N-Power and arranged a new one.
As of the 8th, the meter reading was:
(m^3): 1063.792
(kWh): 12087.5139
The property is a fairly large 3 bedroom maisonette above a shop. It has a back boiler, with gas fire. The only use for the Gas is heating/water. The gas fire is never used.
As of today at 6pm, the meter reading was:
(m^3): 1402.262
(kWh): 15933.43569
Note, conversion to kWh has been done using N-powers formula on a "How to calculate your bill guide"
As you can see, on average we are using 12.5 m^3 per day !! :eek:
I estimate our bill for this month is going to be over £200 for the Gas alone!! With a usage of around 4200kWh.
On Thursday I inadvertently managed to access a hidden menu with 32 codes. I googled what the codes meant.
It appears the Meter has a debt for £2003.50 on it.
So we rang N-Power. Below is a very brief overview of conversations:
Thurs: Operative explains meter taking 70% of eveything to service debt. Change card and they will refund extra we have paid. Need to collect card Fri morning and ring back with meter reading.
Fri: Ring back with meter reading. Told ring back Sat as have to wait 24 hours.
Sat: Ring back. Only to be told what we told on Thurs is untrue and money we are putting on isn't servicing the debt at all.
Request to speak to manager.
Manager rings back. Explains that on the following dates (pre-moving in):
29/11/2012 : Debt:£2006.50
30/11/2012 : Debt:£2003.50
Explains we aren't actually paying for the debt after all. But the new card is NOW servicing the debt!!
Unfortunately we have no record of what the debt was before the £2003.50 figure.
Before the new card today:
Codes:
25 - £0.00 (GD Week Min)
26 - £0.00 (GD Week Max)
27 - £2003.50
After new Card today:
Codes:
25 - £0.00 (GD Week Min)
26 - £2.65 (GD Week Max)
27 - £2000.85
Can anyone offer advise of what is going on?? We have a 10 month old and 16y/o. We certainly can't afford £200 for gas alone. To say it's causing stress is a slight understatement.
We moved into our current property on 8/12. It has pre-payment meters. We are currently awaiting British Gas to take over. The current supplier is N-Power.
There was no card for the Gas meter, so contacted N-Power and arranged a new one.
As of the 8th, the meter reading was:
(m^3): 1063.792
(kWh): 12087.5139
The property is a fairly large 3 bedroom maisonette above a shop. It has a back boiler, with gas fire. The only use for the Gas is heating/water. The gas fire is never used.
As of today at 6pm, the meter reading was:
(m^3): 1402.262
(kWh): 15933.43569
Note, conversion to kWh has been done using N-powers formula on a "How to calculate your bill guide"
As you can see, on average we are using 12.5 m^3 per day !! :eek:
I estimate our bill for this month is going to be over £200 for the Gas alone!! With a usage of around 4200kWh.
On Thursday I inadvertently managed to access a hidden menu with 32 codes. I googled what the codes meant.
It appears the Meter has a debt for £2003.50 on it.
So we rang N-Power. Below is a very brief overview of conversations:
Thurs: Operative explains meter taking 70% of eveything to service debt. Change card and they will refund extra we have paid. Need to collect card Fri morning and ring back with meter reading.
Fri: Ring back with meter reading. Told ring back Sat as have to wait 24 hours.
Sat: Ring back. Only to be told what we told on Thurs is untrue and money we are putting on isn't servicing the debt at all.
Request to speak to manager.
Manager rings back. Explains that on the following dates (pre-moving in):
29/11/2012 : Debt:£2006.50
30/11/2012 : Debt:£2003.50
Explains we aren't actually paying for the debt after all. But the new card is NOW servicing the debt!!
Unfortunately we have no record of what the debt was before the £2003.50 figure.
Before the new card today:
Codes:
25 - £0.00 (GD Week Min)
26 - £0.00 (GD Week Max)
27 - £2003.50
After new Card today:
Codes:
25 - £0.00 (GD Week Min)
26 - £2.65 (GD Week Max)
27 - £2000.85
Can anyone offer advise of what is going on?? We have a 10 month old and 16y/o. We certainly can't afford £200 for gas alone. To say it's causing stress is a slight understatement.
0
Comments
-
Your post needs some clarification:
Your move in date of 8/12 - Is this August 2012 or 8 December 2012 ?
Did you take the meter readings when you moved in and agree them n'power ?0 -
No need to be so accurate. Just read it as 1402-1063=339*11.36 rounded is 3851kWh...(m^3): 1063.792
(kWh): 12087.5139
As of today at 6pm, the meter reading was:
(m^3): 1402.262
(kWh): 15933.43569
Now...is 4200kWh per month normal...A back boiler generally is inefficient so you might use 20,500kWh per year of gas. Multiply that figure by 60% (the amount of your estimated annual usage used over the coldest 4 months of the year) then divide by 4 months and you get about 3,000kWh per month ....so your figure is a bit high. Do you turn the boiler off each night before going to bed? Residual heat in the property should be enough for overnight....at least turn the boiler right down. Do you turn it down during the day when you are in? I see you said you had a baby. They do not require every room in the house to be too hot and actually prefer a cooler temperature as it's easier for a baby to heat up by snuggling up to blankets more clothes etc rather than cool down baby can't throw balnkets off so set your thermostat no higher than 18 degrees in the morning/daytime and up to 20 in the evening when you're all sitting down watching telly. Turn radiators off in unused rooms. Do you have TRV's on radiators? Is it a combi boiler or do you have a cylinder for hot water. Turn the temperature down on the hot water so the water is hot but does not burn your hands.
Take meter readings more often. Weekly same time would be good.:footie:
Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. 0 -
Hi, have spoken to a freind who deals with gas prepays about your problem, he says that sometimes they send you to a shop for a new card which just makes a copy of the old card and the debt remains on. He suggests getting someone to come out and "decommission " (decomm) the meter and get a new card0
-
sacsquacco wrote: »Hi, have spoken to a freind who deals with gas prepays about your problem, he says that sometimes they send you to a shop for a new card which just makes a copy of the old card and the debt remains on. He suggests getting someone to come out and "decommission " (decomm) the meter and get a new card
This is fully correct, the other option is a debt wipe signal to your card but you have to topup between 3-5 days at the same paypoint to pick it up.Don't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.8K Life & Family
- 257.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards