British Gas - Payment Metres - What To Expect?

chelle_bell

Hi All,

Sorry i'm bombarding this forum a bit today.

My brother is facing payment metres to be fitted for gas and elec debt. The debt for each is approx £1000 so £2000 in total. The metres will be fitted within the next month and it doesn't look like there is any way around it. What should he expect with regards to how much will be used up by his debt? He was on payment plans which haven't been kept up to date, but on these plans, he was paying approx £140 per month for both gas & elec (consumption and debt) What should he expect when using the payment cards, what would the price difference be compared with payment plan?

Might add that he has 2 children, one of whom is a baby. I believe the person at British Gas told him that they can only take a small amount of debt from cards and also must provide emergency energy for night time (if money on cards runs out) but he cant remember the amount of debt they will take off - eg if he buys a card thing at £10 how much would go to debt.

Thanks

Joyful

When a PP meter is arranged there is an ability to pay conversation. This means your brother will have agreed how much to get taken each week that he can afford. If he has forgotten get him to call and he will be advised. They will also be able to tell him how much gas and electric he uses so that he can budget.( This will also have been advised in the same conversation). Remember though that he will use more gas in the winter so should try and build a credit into the meter before then otherwise it will be hard going.

chelle_bell

Thats brilliiant! Thanks again.

It wasn't an agreement when he phoned, he was just phoning to enquire about the letters, he has to phone back to make an appointment to get metre fitted, i'd imagine the prices ect would be brought up in that convo.

Should he expect to pay roughly what he pays just now with the payment plan? I've heard the horror stories about these metres costing alot more than payment plan.

He remembers them saying that you can pay online. In that case, if he is paid monthly, would he be able to top up/pay online once a month, i know it depends on how much you use, but say if he paid more than what he normally uses in a month, so he has spare to cover it....

Joyful

A prepayment meters costs the same as the standard tariff. You can top up online http://www.britishgas.co.uk/youraccount/discover/home-energy-top-up-service.html but his gas will have to be paid weekly otherwise he will get into problems with the weekly amount to be recovered. It takes the WRR off each top up- not the balance on the meter.The electric will take it off the balance so this can be paid monthly.

macman

Yes, they will cost him a bit more than the cheapest online discount tariff, but with that huge level of debt, fitment of PPM's isn't going to be an option he can decline. If he opposes it then they will obtain a warrant and fit them anyway, and he will incur the court and attendance costs on top. What is surprising is that they've let the debt get that high without already taking action.

chelle_bell

macman wrote: »

Yes, they will cost him a bit more than the cheapest online discount tariff, but with that huge level of debt, fitment of PPM's isn't going to be an option he can decline. If he opposes it then they will obtain a warrant and fit them anyway, and he will incur the court and attendance costs on top. What is surprising is that they've let the debt get that high without already taking action.

Thanks

What do you mean by it will cost a bit more? They assured him it would be around about the same!? It was the essentials tarrif he was on previously.

The debt is so high because he had some carried from his previous address, and I suppose they allowed it to continue because he was making the correct payments (including paying some arrears) for a good year or so without defaulting.

And yes, he's already been told that he HAS to have them installed, only option is them, or pay the debt in full. My mother is taking over the house again and we're not sure what will happen, but just trying to get an idea of what is ahead financially.

macman

PPM's cost the same as the supplier's Standard tariff (the most expensive). But without a credit meter you can't access the cheaper online discount tariffs. Maybe 6% more.

Wywth

macman wrote: »

PPM's cost the same as the supplier's Standard tariff (the most expensive). But without a credit meter you can't access the cheaper online discount tariffs. Maybe 6% more.

Maybe 20%+ more! :eek:

The average household energy bill is just under £1300 a year for a property supplied on a suppliers standard tariff, paying quarterly on receipt of bill.
According to MSE, savings of about £250 could be made if someone in such a situation were to switch to the cheapest available supplier & tariff.

(although the OP's brother will not be able to switch supplier with the amount of accrued debt he has)

chelle_bell

Thanks guys, still a bit baffled by it all. I think I will just go with what BG have told him, that it wont be that much different to what he pays now.

By what you've just said - my brother pays higher than average at the moment then, because he pays just under 1700 a year (thats including his arrears) so he must be on the most expensive tarrif.

spiro

He will have to provide a statement of finances (listing all incomings and outgoings) which is then used to discuss the debt recovery rate. I believe they exclude some outgoings like mobiles phones. As a minimum I think he will be expected to pay £3.50 per fuel per week repaying the debt. How much else he has to pay will depending on consumption.

Emergency credit is just that and only works 'out of hours' to stop you being left in the dark in the middle of the night when the shops are closed.

Hope this helps.

Wywth

chelle_bell wrote: »

Thanks guys, still a bit baffled by it all. I think I will just go with what BG have told him, that it wont be that much different to what he pays now.

By what you've just said - my brother pays higher than average at the moment then, because he pays just under 1700 a year (thats including his arrears) so he must be on the most expensive tarrif.

The ca. £1300 p.a. cost is based an a typical medium usage of 16500kWh of gas and 3300kWh of electricity. It of course does not include any repayment of accrued arrears.