PPM going to be fitted.

NorthFin

I have got behind with my electric and gas bills. They say it is over £800 I owe them.

The letters say they will call round to fit PPM soon, I am trying to work something out so they do not have to.

I am suggesting £40 month but they want more than this, I just cant afford anymore.

Any suggestions to hold off them fitting PPM?

Mr_K

Bank loan ?

JJ_Egan

Do you owe that amount or do you not know your past usage .

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

£40 on top of your current usage, yes? So more like £100-£180 total? (dependent on your ongoing usage amounth)

macman

Answered in your other thread posted 15 mins earlier-why duplicate it?
£40 won't cover your ongoing usage, let alone recover an £800 debt-recovery alone on that basis would take 20 months.
What is the additional cost of your ongoing usage, as above, that must be at least another £80pm?
Since you clearly can't budget this, you have no alternative to PPM's.

sheffield_lad

Nothing wrong with PPM's in this instance it's your best bet to have a reduced repayment plan.


Both you and energy co are happy.

Richie-from-the-Boro

NorthFin wrote: »

I have got behind with my electric and gas bills. They say it is over £800 I owe them.

The letters say they will call round to fit PPM soon, I am trying to work something out so they do not have to.

I am suggesting £40 month but they want more than this, I just cant afford anymore.

Any suggestions to hold off them fitting PPM?

You have just come through a very mild winter, and a very warm and everlasting summer [middle of September and all doors and windows open] and cant pay for your energy. You have gone all 'vadoma on this and need to get your head out of the sand' at £800 arrears that's £66 per month DD for a whole year plus your £83 per month DD average annual usage to even break even you need to have a £149 direct debit per month payment over the next year and you can't afford £40. Yet you continue to use energy you can not pay for. Already £12,000,00 in debt and nothing worth selling you have not paid your energy bills for a long long time. I suspect you will continue to avoid PPM long enough to become homeless, by which time your rating will be logged and no one will - even if they could - give you and kind of accommodation without a PPM being installed after your credit rating is assessed.

You have a chance at the moment to protect your children by going PPM and stretching the arrears over 24 months instead of 12 ...... take it while its still on offer to you or they will get a warrant of entry and put a PPM anyway charging you even more on your arrears.

NorthFin

Thanks for the advice everyone, so lest week they fitted the PPM metres. I agreed to everything they did not need a warrant. I have the keys that need topping up, we went to post office and put £10 on each of them.

My thinking is to always have a £10 spare if the one runs out, until I get the other topped up.

So we had it fitted last week and we topped up £10. We did normal TV and PC etc, a little cooking as normal, so today we are sitting there watching TV and browsing the net, and all the lights go out!!!!!!

£10 in a few days, no !!!!!!! way. We have put the other spare £10 top up in but wont be able to top up again until our benefits come through next week.

My phone still works even though no electric in the house. I phoned them up and they said they can give me an emergency power supply because we have kids. But all the icecreams in the freezer are melting.

Is inflation really that bad that utilities are so expensive? I know I am paying off my debts but £10 for a few days is just crazy. I wish it was clear how much I was paying per unit and how much I was using etc, but I hear people say dont get a smart meter.

We are trying to get a DRO through, then we can shop around for the best offer with our PPMs? Is that right once the DRO has gone through I can try and get a better deal with any utility company?

MeterMan

Don't forget that there is a debt on the meter which will come off on a set day every week. You won't have used £10 on electric, you may have only used £4/5 on electric and £5/6 has come off for debt.

I am not entirely which screen is it, but if you put your key in the electric meter and press the blue button(BG meters are blue button'd) it will go through the different screens and will eventually tell you what the weekly debt is, Don't get this confused with the standing charge. Next time I have a job with a prepay electric meter, I shall find out what screen it is and let you know, if this thread is still alive.

[Deleted User]

Hi Northfin, your £10 has probably paid off at least £1.80 for a weeks standing charge, maybe even 2 weeks, also its most likely paid off £4 in emergency credit, so you have only had less than £5 worth of electric. Your tariff ( pence per kwhr ) is on one of the screens . Your weekly standing charge is also on the screen. Check screen "S " also , that has any debt loaded on it and the weekly repayment rate on screen "T "

NorthFin

MeterMan wrote: »

Don't forget that there is a debt on the meter which will come off on a set day every week. You won't have used £10 on electric, you may have only used £4/5 on electric and £5/6 has come off for debt.

I am not entirely which screen is it, but if you put your key in the electric meter and press the blue button(BG meters are blue button'd) it will go through the different screens and will eventually tell you what the weekly debt is, Don't get this confused with the standing charge. Next time I have a job with a prepay electric meter, I shall find out what screen it is and let you know, if this thread is still alive.

Thank you so much MeterMan.

Can I ask you which PPM meter deal is the best in your experience? I am looking for something easy to understand where I can compare the units cost and standing charge without any nonsence like the first this many units cost this than after that it costs this.

And would you recommend a smart meter?