Are pre-payment meters that bad?

Soleil_lune

I know it's hard to do a comparison Viola, as I said in my last post; I was just wondering if a PP meter is as bad as people think, and it has been said on here that they are OK for some and not necessarily always bad.

Also, re Lozzy. I don't think that having a knackered old boiler that keeps breaking down is a very good example either, as it's obviously going to use a lot of gas. A tenner a day sounds phenomenal, and I would suggest that there was a serious issue with the boiler. Especially if it was only on 3 hours a day!

So it seems that it's not too bad maybe for a PP meter if you have a decent heating system and boiler and good insulation. I mean, with an awful antiquated boiler and heating system, even having bills is going to be a killer surely?

Nada666

The effectiveness of the boiler has nothing to do with the meters. Many direct debit tariffs will be cheaper than the standard tariff - but with the current concertina-ing of tariffs the differences are small. A kWh on an online direct debit tariff will, however, usually be cheaper (even if by a very small amount).

And as already mentioned having to cough up hundreds of pounds every month over a winter period can be tough going. Of course, not having to cough it up can make you whack up thermostats without a thought as the money just disappears without observation on your statements.

Nada666

And how many people do you know have the discipline to still have money left by the start of the fourth week of the month? How many people do you know don't have the discipline to have money left by the fourth day after payday? The disadvantage of a prepayment meter is not, primarily, its cost.

Soleil_lune

Nada666 wrote: »

The effectiveness of the boiler has nothing to do with the meters. Many direct debit tariffs will be cheaper than the standard tariff - but with the current concertina-ing of tariffs the differences are small. A kWh on an online direct debit tariff will, however, usually be cheaper (even if by a very small amount).

And as already mentioned having to cough up hundreds of pounds every month over a winter period can be tough going. Of course, not having to cough it up can make you whack up thermostats without a thought as the money just disappears without observation on your statements.

I would definately 100% disagree with this comment (in bold.) A faulty and/or old boiler will definitely result in higher bills. I thought that was a well known fact. Google it. There are many forums with many many posts complaining about how their faulty or old boiler is causing higher gas bills, and the energy companies will even confirm this themselves.

Soleil_lune

Nada666 wrote: »

And how many people do you know have the discipline to still have money left by the start of the fourth week of the month? How many people do you know don't have the discipline to have money left by the fourth day after payday? The disadvantage of a prepayment meter is not, primarily, its cost.

If people cannot budget sufficiently to be able to afford to pay for things for the whole month just four DAYS after payday, then how on earth can they pay the direct debits when they come out of the account? Indeed, how can they even live?

I don't really get this post to be honest. Of course people will still have money left for a few weeks after payday, otherwise, how will they live? Maybe I am misinterpreting your post.

GwylimT

In our last house we had a prepayment meter for a few months (we moved in October) and we were spending around £350 a month on electric (no gas supply at all), the next year when prices had gone up we were paying around £250 a month. Then the following year we replaced all of the heaters, so we could start paying normal amounts.

Being on a meter you cannot choose your tarif, we also weren't able to spread the costs of our fuel over a year so you need a lot of cash in the winter months, I don't know if its still the case but when we had ours you could only put £50 on your card in one go, so we were topping it up a lot at our nearest pay point shop 16 miles away!

Nada666

Soleil_lune wrote: »

I would definately 100% disagree with this comment (in bold.) A faulty and/or old boiler will definitely result in higher bills. I thought that was a well known fact. Google it. There are many forums with many many posts complaining about how their faulty or old boiler is causing higher gas bills, and the energy companies will even confirm this themselves.

Eh? Of course different boilers have different efficiencies. What I was saying was that different meters do not alter the consumption one particular boiler uses.

Nada666

Soleil_lune wrote: »

If people cannot budget sufficiently to be able to afford to pay for things for the whole month just four DAYS after payday, then how on earth can they pay the direct debits when they come out of the account? Indeed, how can they even live?

I don't really get this post to be honest. Of course people will still have money left for a few weeks after payday, otherwise, how will they live? Maybe I am misinterpreting your post.

Really? You have never gone through a period or met people who do this? You have never been poor? You get your pay, you pay your rent (goodbye more than half your pay), you pay your council tax, you put the money aside for your direct debits - that leaves you a hundred pounds or less to live on for the rest of the month. Most people do not spend £25 per week. They'll spend £50, £75 the first week and then start to panic and stock up on beans and porridge.

With direct debits, your £25 or £50 or £75 is put aside and credited to your account every month safely. With a prepayment meter you somehow have to find three or four or five times that amount in January or you'll be cutting yourself off.

lollipopsarah

I'm dreading the heating going on!
I was dreading the PPM when we moved here 2 years ago but after a few weeks trial and error we got the hang of it and always put £10 on each every week and top up as needed - so far we are still using about £10 a week for the electric but the gas last year was nearer £20 ish when it was really cold (and more even though we tried to keep the thermostat at 16 ish).
That worked out about the same as our old house but then we paid by DD and TBH I probably used the heating more than I needed to but then it's easy to turn it up without thinking, unlike when you are worried about the gas going out and the faffing around it takes to get it going again.
xx

snookey

Hi we have a pre payment meter and I prefer it. My mum has her bills on dd and the payments keep being altered.
I like having control over my bills and this suits us.