Ludicrous meter standing charge...

earthbound_misfit

A friend has just informed me that, to his dismay, he is getting charged 50p a day just for having a gas pre-pay meter. He has just put money on after a month or so without gas (due to v v low income) and it's all been swallowed up by the debt caused by this 50p/day.
Surely this can't be right?
The landlord won't take out the meter, due to problems with previous tenants not paying (can't see why this bothers the LL though - are they liable if tenant doesn't pay?)
I think the company he is with is Scottish Power.
Anything he can do about the situation? It seems utterly ludicrous and horribly unfair, so I came to pick your moneysaving brains!
Thanks

Bark01

Scottish Powers standing charge is 28.7p a day (ex VAT) on their standard tariff. This is fairly standard - cheapest is BG 24.76p, most expensive is npower 32.5p.

Your friend could be paying of a debt and it could be the previous tenants debt, debt is normally paid off at a daily rate. They'll will need to speak to Scottish power to find out if this is the case and get it removed. They will need to tell then date they moved in and possibly supply an official document stating when they moved in.

Wywth

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

A friend has just informed me that, to his dismay, he is getting charged 50p a day just for having a gas pre-pay meter. He has just put money on after a month or so without gas (due to v v low income) and it's all been swallowed up by the debt caused by this 50p/day.
Surely this can't be right?
The landlord won't take out the meter, due to problems with previous tenants not paying (can't see why this bothers the LL though - are they liable if tenant doesn't pay?)
I think the company he is with is Scottish Power.
Anything he can do about the situation? It seems utterly ludicrous and horribly unfair, so I came to pick your moneysaving brains!
Thanks

Check this out

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity

Some suppliers do not apply any standing charge, but ultimately it is the lowest cost that is best, not the manner in which it is applied.

Bark01

Wywth wrote: »

Some suppliers do not apply any standing charge, but ultimately it is the lowest cost that is best, not the manner in which it is applied.

I think everyone charges a standing charge for prepayment gas, all the big suppliers do but not 100% on the smaller ones though.

Scottish_Power

If you need help with this please e-mail us at [EMAIL="social@scottishpower.com"]social@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL] and we will look into it for you. Thanks David

Manchee

Ebico don't charge a standing charge, and everyone who I've told about them who is on a pre payment meter has saved money by switching. Good company https://www.ebico.org.uk/

[Deleted User]

50 p a day standing charge will be an error, debt on prepays is collected by another method, the level of repayment and total debt is set on screens "s "and "t" ( I think ) only viewable with key inserted

Cardew

Manchee wrote: »

Ebico don't charge a standing charge, and everyone who I've told about them who is on a pre payment meter has saved money by switching. Good company https://www.ebico.org.uk/

Agreed; good non-profit making company.

However expensive unless you have well below average consumption.