In debt on a meter. .help??

bazandkatie

I'm currently with southern electric on a pay as you go top up meter for my gas and electric. Southern electric put us on this to help handle our debt. I haven't checked recently but I think our debt is at about £600 on each. The trouble is this seems to be very expensive at the moment, I realise we are paying off debt but I'm also told that using one of these pay as you go meters is one of the most expensive ways to pay?? At the moment our gas and electric is totaling nearly £250 pm for a modest 3 bed house!! Any advice please anyone??

:xmassmile

SwanJon

You need to find out how much you are paying back each week, and how much is left to pay.
You should have been given instructions on how to do this when the meters went in.
Electricity
Press the blue button to change the screens - they each have a letter. You will need to have the key in for the later screens.
F - Weekly standing charge + weekly balance repayment
S - Remaining balane
T - Weekly balance repayment.

Gas
Start with the card out, and the screen showing how much credit is remaining.
Press and hold the red A button until the screen changes. You then press and release the red A button to change the screens. They are all numbered. If you have an older model the numbering starts at 1 and goes in order. If you have a newer model the first screen is 27, then not in numerical order
27 - Balance remaining
25 - Weekly balance repayment

The PP meters cost the same per kWh as paying the bill when it comes in, but more than paying by DD.
You are now effectively paying two bills at the same time, so it will seem expensive.
Find out how much you are paying each week, then call Southern to see if you can negotiate a lower amount. Ask them about energy efficiency too.

macman

Urban myth: PPM's cost the same as Standard tariff.
As above, the reason your cost is so high is that you are paying off the debt as well as for your ongoing consumption.
If you don't know what the exact debt is, or how much it is set to recover, you're never going to manage the debt properly, so find out.
The problem with PPM's is that you will obviously be paying more in winter, unlike with a monthly DD where the amount is balanced out to a year round average.

undaunted

Other than the above, depending on your circumstances, eg whether you could sustain a stable position if an old problem / debt were cleared it might be worth a look at whether you could apply for a charis / energy trust grant to get you out of a hole http://www.charisgrants.com/individuals-families/