pre payment meter.

Kitty777

Hello everyone,

My Mother is getting a prepayment thingy installed for her gas and electric tomorrow due to not paying her bills.

I am totally confused as to what this will cost, and I want to help her out by paying half of the bills.

I know it depends on the tarrif, and also fitting charges/standing charges/paying off debt...but can anyone tell me a rough idea on what we will be spending on gas/electric per week? If anyone has one of these meters. We live in a two bedroom semi detached house, and pretty conservative when it comes to energy usage.

Thanks..

HappyMJ

They don't cost any more than a standard tariff paid by cash.

If you can get a copy of her last few years of bills you should be able to estimate it yourself. Take the bills add them all together and divide by the number of weeks the bills cover then double it to cover the arrears.

If it was my place in winter with outstanding debts equalling about 1 year of energy usage then I would need to top them up by at least £50 per week the few coldest weeks in the depths of winter may cost something like £80 per week and in summer I would need to top them up by about £20 per week maybe £30 per week.

Kitty777

Oh my...I am so naive when it comes to bills.

Looks like it is going to be a winter of hot water bottles and blankets..

HappyMJ

Kitty777 wrote: »

Oh my...I am so naive when it comes to bills.

Looks like it is going to be a winter of hot water bottles and blankets..

It's less than average (£50 times 26) plus (£20 times 26) equals £1,820 divided by 2 (as arrears are being paid back) is £910 per year. £910 will be for standing charges and current usage and £910 will be paid towards the arrears. After one year the deductions will stop. The average dual fuel bill (when paid by cash) is much higher and closer to £1,300 per year.

If that genuinely is unaffordable you can ask for the deduction rates to be reduced to pay back the arrears over more than 1 year...but you'll not be able to switch until the arrears are significantly reduced.

If you are on benefits the deduction rates could be fixed as little as £5 per week (in extreme circumstances even less) per fuel plus standing charges plus current usage.

Kitty777

I may have to ask them about reducing it over a few years, we aren't going anywhere we just want some energy!!

We are not entitled to any benefits, life would be so much easier if we were..

[Deleted User]

Surely the easiest answer, is for you to top it up, then, next time she tops it up, then you, and so on?

Provided you top up by the same amount each time, you will be paying half each.

Kitty777

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Surely the easiest answer, is for you to top it up, then, next time she tops it up, then you, and so on?

Provided you top up by the same amount each time, you will be paying half each.

Of course, but I was asking for a rough guide to what we would both be topping up each time.

[Deleted User]

That's a pretty much impossible question to answer.

It depends on how much energy you use (which will depend on such things as, what appliances you have, how efficient they are, how much you use them, and, for heating, how well insulated your home is), and what percentage of your top up goes to energy, and what percentage goes to paying off the arrears.

You are only going to get an answer, once you start using it.

Monkeyballs

Hi,

Yeah it is a difficult one as some people simply use more energy than others (consider that I wear shorts as often as possible even in the snow but then I don't tend to feel the cold much anyway and if I do get cold I drag the duvet around with me (top tip btw, better than boiling the kettle for a hot water bottle)).

The last time I lived in a house with a prepay meter myself and two other guys would make £5 last for about 3 days through the week but use the same over the weekend - personally, I'd be budgeting for perhaps £20-25 per week and maybe consider chucking a few quid on extra every now and again whenever you're feeling flush

MB

Kitty777

Thank you for your help
Hopefully this is a positive step. I am also pleased now that I have learnt the difference between debt collector and bailiff..not that we have anything they can take lol!!

[Deleted User]

My energy usage is quite low (I pay £372 per year, for both), but that's down to things like:-

Living alone and working 12 hour days.

Having a Combi Boiler and 12" of loft insulation.

Always having laundry drying on the radiators, when the CH is on.

Using energy saving bulbs, all round the house.

Having a counter top stove, rather than a full size one.

Using a laptop, rather than a full size PC.

Using a LED USB lamp on the computer, rather than the main room light.

Not watching TV all evening.

Not leaving things on standby.

You would be surprised how little energy you can use, if you try.