Prepayment Smart Meter British Gas

roy_harper

I'm still confused about this.
My prepayment electricity and gas meters are with British Gas and I top up. I was down to 12pence on my electricity meter and the £15.00 key top-up wouldn't work - Error Message D1-D2. I had just stocked my fridge and freezer. Phoned BG and they said I needed an upgrade to a SMART meter. Told them about the freezer. Engineer came, but said he couldn't do it that day after all. This gave me time to think..... which I wasn't able to do in a blind panic about my food.
So I've cancelled the new appointment because I need time to think about this before I change to a SMART meter and stay on prepayment. The reason I'm on a prepayment is because I can't cope with D/D on my budget. I don't have any debts. I find change and workers in the house mega-stressful.
So can I just stay as I am and keep the peace, which is to me more valuable than hi-technology?

[Deleted User]

Good question. I have not yet found out if you have the right to refuse a prepayment smart meter. It will be the exact same meter as my credit meter, the Landys and Gyr e470 only it will of course be used in prepay mode. I sincerely hope you cannot refuse one. Your excuse for refusing one seems a bit odd. It only takes 20 minutes or so to exchange the electric meter and any credit can be transferred. Only one person will come to the house and 20 minutes later he will be gone. There is zero stress in this. Once you have this meter it will be simplicity itself to switch you to credit meter mode and thereby onto tariffs 30% less than BG standard/variable/fix and fall, not necessarily with BG.
Sad to say but your electric prepayment meter is the most common meter by a mile to be fiddled and I would like to get all these old key meters binned as soon a possible.
I hope you do not have the right to refuse one, please can you inform me if BG say you do, thanks. For the benefit of people who are daft enough to construe that comment as an accusation of meter fiddling please be assured I am NOT trying to imply you personally of that, or anyone else on this forum, its just the fact that suppliers are losing millions using this old key meter and they need to be binned asap.

roy_harper

Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I'm still confused though.
The BG Engineer said I would have to change my whole prepayment meters to credit meters BEFORE he came back again to fit the SMART meters.
If it was as straightforward as you are stating - then it would be fine, but it seems it's not.
I would like to have things the way you state - Prepayment SMART meter and then able to switch to Credit meter and the savings, but it seems that is not the case in my situation.

[Deleted User]

Something is not right there Roy. Many prepayment meter customers would not pass a BG credit check so that excuse by the engineer does nt sound right to me. These new smart prepayment meters have not been long in use. I saw my first one early this year.They would be a godsend to prepay customers living with these very unreliable old key meters.We are always having to go out to sort the things out with faults like you have.
Having smart prepays is the way to access some really good cheap tariffs . That is what has happened over in Northern Ireland where smart keypad meters rule and they enjoy the cheapest electric tariffs by a long way in the whole of the UK.
Its a long time coming but OFGEM have ruled that the suppliers would have to offer a different range of tariffs to prepays and not just the highest standard/variable rates and this can only happen with smart prepayment meters

roy_harper

I don't understand it either - so confused right now.
Do you have to pay by D/D if you move from Prepayment SMART meter mode to Credit mode? and
Are the D/Ds still estimated and random?
If they were quantifiable, like the Prepayment - then I could budget and happy days!
I will have to ring BG to find about more, especially about the engineer's recommendation.
Oh boy I don't need this.
Thanks for your help.

[Deleted User]

roy_harper wrote: »

I don't understand it either - so confused right now.
Do you have to pay by D/D if you move from Prepayment SMART meter mode to Credit mode? and
Are the D/Ds still estimated and random?
If they were quantifiable, like the Prepayment - then I could budget and happy days!
I will have to ring BG to find about more, especially about the engineer's recommendation.
Oh boy I don't need this.
Thanks for your help.

No you can pay quarterly of course but the best tariffs seem to be d/d. I remember EDF doing a really good tariff which was exactly the same if you paid quarterly or monthly d/d. not sure if they still run this sort of tariff now. A comp site would show this though if you would like to imput both payment methods.

Joyful

Smart Prepayment meters are the way forward for prepayment meters. No more lost cards or errors. You can also see how much you have topped up by looking at the monitor you get. You can also set a budget on how much you want to use and get an alert if you are near it. Most times when an engineer now comes out for a faulty meter he will replace it with a smart meter.

I think there has been confusion from what it appears the engineer said. You just get a PP to PP swap.

[Deleted User]

Joyful wrote: »

Smart Prepayment meters are the way forward for prepayment meters. No more lost cards or errors. You can also see how much you have topped up by looking at the monitor you get. You can also set a budget on how much you want to use and get an alert if you are near it. Most times when an engineer now comes out for a faulty meter he will replace it with a smart meter.

I think there has been confusion from what it appears the engineer said. You just get a PP to PP swap.

Do you know if a customer can refuse the smart prepayment meter, as they can with a smart credit meter ? This is a very important question .I sincerely hope they don`t have a choice but I fear they will be able to just say to BG..no thanks ! I like my present meter.

Joyful

I don't know the answer to that Sacsquacco. It may be that the engineers are only carrying smart meters now. I truly don't know why people refuse. No more stupid errors or lost cards and keys.

roy_harper

So kind of you all to continue interest in this matter.

I think my confusion boils down to this:
some people say it's just a prepayment to prepayment straight swap - okay I understand that, plus I understand that it is good not to lose keys and see your budget. I don't lose keys, and I budget now - so why swap at all?
Some people are saying to me that I should swap to SMART meter because it gives me access to 30 per cent savings and competitive market. I'm not sure that this is true.
If it was a case of getting access to the same perks and competition as a Credit meter, but stay on prepayment, it would be fine, but it seems to be it's just a fancy meter that changes nothing in my life.
Or is it the case that if I get a new prepayment SMART meter, that I shall be able to get access to more competitive rates?
I'm still confused.