Utilita prepayment metre

Linzimain87

EssexHebridean said:

First thing is try not to panic - instead make sure you’re informed. It’s still scary but at least you can start preparing now for the colder months to come. Read some of the threads here - there are great, knowledgable folk and they’re very good at explaining things and putting a stop to the misinformation that’s out there. Be prepared as has been said for the fact that the £20 you were putting on your meter for the gas last winter will need to be £40 - or actually possibly closer to £50 - this year to keep the house at the same temperature. I’d also, if I were you, be aware that a “hot” house is probably not a luxury you can afford now - make sure you have extra layers to pop on and from when the temperatures start dropping try to use a mindset where you put a thick fleece sweatshirt and a pair of thick joggers on rather than reaching for the heating. Have a think about where you have your heating controls set at the moment, and consider turning the thermostat down. 

From this week, any spare money you have ensure it is stashed away ahead of the increase in prices which will happen in October. That way at least you’ll have a reserve when it reaches the point of being more expensive than you can cope with in normal circumstances. If you are in receipt of any of the qualifying benefits you will hopefully already have received a cost of living payment, with another to come I believe - again make sure those are set aside ready to pay towards the energy bills - with luck you have  already done with with your council tax rebate from earlier in the year? 

Being prepared is without question your best armour against the coming storm - so do some reading, start your preparations, and as you now have this thread feel free to use it to continue asking any questions about anything you’re not sure of on the subject. 

Thanks I'm trying to be prepared as I can I'm due my first cost of living payment this week and one at end of the month if I ended up just paying double a week on my metre it won't be good but I may just survive but I've been scared it's going to be hundreds a month 

Linzimain87

pochase said:

Not sure how you get from 20£ per week at a 4p gas unit rate to £40 to £50 per week at 15.p October cap? That is almost 4 times last years price.

I also advice strongly that it is very unlikely that you are able to afford a nice "hot" house. See calculations below showing the future cost.

October 2021 - £20 - £1.75 (standing charge) = £18.25 = 456.25KWh @ 4p

October 2022 - 456.25 @ 15p = £68.42 + £1.96 (standing charge) = £70.40 per week.

January 2023 (Auxilione forecast Friday 26/08/2022) 456.25 @ 23p = £104.94 + £1.96 = £106.90 per week

The January price is still a lot of guessing, but almost 70% of the observation time for it has already passed, and we see record highs on the markets at the moment. The hope is that it will not get worse, with little chance that it will be less.

Add to that that the £10 needed for electricity will also almost double in October.
 

So I'm looking forward to a cold winter then lol

SAC2334

Linzimain87 said:

pochase said:

If you topped up £20 a week at October cap rate that is about £75 a month after standing charges. AT October 2021 SVT rates gas was about 4p, so usage is 1875KWh, so you are not a low user, I would say you are a bit more than the Ofgem average.

You are aware that the £80 will be near to £300 per month with the October cap, and if the predictions are true over £400 with the January cap?

This is what's worrying me there's so many conflicting reports, and I know alot of it on TV and in the news is just scare mongering, but I dread to see the numbers on my metre come October 

its not "scaremongering " at all  IMO more like  ramming it home to people who have never checked what they are using per month ..More "scaremongering " the better, then they can t complain they were not warned in advance.

Linzimain87

Would it be worth me trying to change to direct debit? Or just keep things as they are I've never paid via direct debit before

EssexHebridean

I'd say leave things as they are for now would be the best course of action for you. For this winter, perhaps keep a notebook with a note of each and every time you top up the meters and by how much - then you will get a proper picture of how much you're spending, and that will help you to budget going forwards. without that information, you'll potential find budgeting for energy bills on a monthly basis with no "indicator" of how fast the cost is clocking up might be even more stressful than your current set up. 

Joyful

You could add more to your meter now weekly to build it up in time for winter.

steven0121

Out of interest, and I have asked my supplier (Bulb), what would happen if my smart prepay meter is close to its max limit (£255), and they try to automatically add the £66, which they say they will do for me (ie not via a voucher). Will the software cope or will it reject the credit.

If anyone knows what would happen please let me know, otherwise, to anyone with a prepay (smart) meter, I suggest topping up but less than £67 away from the upper limit.

I will post if Bulb get back to me.

MWT

steven0121 said:

Out of interest, and I have asked my supplier (Bulb), what would happen if my smart prepay meter is close to its max limit (£255), and they try to automatically add the £66, which they say they will do for me (ie not via a voucher). Will the software cope or will it reject the credit.

If anyone knows what would happen please let me know, otherwise, to anyone with a prepay (smart) meter, I suggest topping up but less than £67 away from the upper limit.

I will post if Bulb get back to me.

I've not seen that question come up before as there is usually no incentive to top-up a smart meter to that extent as the rates will update automatically, so nothing to gain from fully loading it before a price rise.

steven0121

Hi, I budgeted to the end of Feb, literally every pound, including any benefits. If the winter is harsh, I need money on my meter, and have few areas to cut back on. 

Think of it as DD payers building up a credit in the summer to use in the winter.

Prepay suits me, the size of the new bills however, doesn't. 

doesntnotcompute

steven0121 said:

Out of interest, and I have asked my supplier (Bulb), what would happen if my smart prepay meter is close to its max limit (£255), and they try to automatically add the £66, which they say they will do for me (ie not via a voucher). Will the software cope or will it reject the credit.

If anyone knows what would happen please let me know, otherwise, to anyone with a prepay (smart) meter, I suggest topping up but less than £67 away from the upper limit.

I will post if Bulb get back to me.

It will "probably" function something like the Warm Home Discount Scheme, where suppliers are obligated to make at least 2 attempts to get the payment to a customer and attempting to issue a meter credit twice doesn't count as 2 attempts.

For the Warm Home Discount Scheme suppliers have the option to credit a different DD account (if you have one), or as a last resort they can issue cheques or vouchers for cash. The onus being on getting the funds to the customer and limiting opportunities for fraud.