How do I get away from the hell that is British Gas pre-pay?!

justmarried06

After yet another extremely frustrating phone call with British Gas 'customer services' (!) about my gas card that has once again decided to stop working, they have informed me that to get another one they want me to go to a shop and pay £8 for a new one!! I can then send back the one that doesn't work and they will refund 'if the manufacturers say it is faulty' - and whats the likelihood of that?!

I actually quite like being on a meter but can see the benefits of paying on a monthly DD, so my question is how easy is it to change over from pre-pay to monthly payments? Could I use a site like uSwitch?

Thanks for your help on this one

JM x

wowsavings

Hi JM

You will need to get your meter changed to a credit meter before you switch supplier. You can't just choose to switch to a monthly direct debit account with a switching site.

I would suggest you give BG a call and find out how you go about getting the meter changed.

Cardew

I suggest you initially change to BG's on-line account - which is pretty competitive in price and much cheaper than pre-pay.

If you have been a customer of BG with a good record, it shouldn't present a problem.

KTF

When I bought my place it had a prepay gas and electric meter (the previous owner had a poor credit history).

I called up BG and asked them to change it. After a credit check they came out and swapped them both over to 'normal' ones.

justmarried06

What a palaver eh! The prepay was here when we moved in nearly two years ago and I've just been too lazy to look into the options.

I've had a quick squizz on Scottish Power for their switching service and they seem to give the option to be currently on prepay and then to move onto a monthly DD - I'm not in the mood to speak to BG again today but will give them a call tomorrow maybe to see what I need to do!

Thanks to all

JM x

Terrylw1

Justmarried06,

You can either get BGas to change it to a credit meter and then change supplier or change supplier 1st. It makes no real difference, but whatever you do, take your readings on the days these events happen or you may have more problem with incorrect billing/estimates etc.

No matter how you go about it, the meter must be converted or change to remove a pre-pay option. If you had a Smartpower meter, it could be done without a visit as the card picks up the change when you put more on it.