forced pre-payment meter ban

diystarter7

MattMattMattUK said:

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

In some cases the amount actually being repaid can be really small too - but the very action of trying to sort the issue out shows willingness on the part of the person in debt, and that generally sits well with creditors as for the most part getting any of their money back is a good sign. 

Well, apparently unless you were/are BG, then it was a case of "we don't care what you're trying to pay back, if it doesn't suit us, then we're coming out to smash your door down and force a PP meter on you!  So there!" :-)

Prepayment meters fitted with a warrant do not involve the door being smashed in, they almost always involve a locksmith either picking or drilling the lock. 

Hi

A contradiction in your posting, so are you say they do force open doors or don'T

Quote:  "do not involve the door being smashed in"
" they almost always involve a locksmith either picking or drilling the lock." 

It's a fact that even a locksmith can fail to open/drill a lock and the door has to be forced open and therefore creating damage.

I have no reason to doubt what the poster you quoted stated as it is their personal experience,



Thanks

diystarter7

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

In some cases the amount actually being repaid can be really small too - but the very action of trying to sort the issue out shows willingness on the part of the person in debt, and that generally sits well with creditors as for the most part getting any of their money back is a good sign. 

Well, apparently unless you were/are BG, then it was a case of "we don't care what you're trying to pay back, if it doesn't suit us, then we're coming out to smash your door down and force a PP meter on you!  So there!" :-)

Hi OP

Sorry about that and it must have been very distressing. Let us all hope the new rules stop this kind of unnecessary turmoil.

Thnaks

EssexHebridean

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

In some cases the amount actually being repaid can be really small too - but the very action of trying to sort the issue out shows willingness on the part of the person in debt, and that generally sits well with creditors as for the most part getting any of their money back is a good sign. 

Well, apparently unless you were/are BG, then it was a case of "we don't care what you're trying to pay back, if it doesn't suit us, then we're coming out to smash your door down and force a PP meter on you!  So there!" :-)

Yep - my first paragraph in the post you have snipped from did make very clear that in the case of at least one supplier all usual bets were seemingly off! 

MattMattMattUK

diystarter7 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

In some cases the amount actually being repaid can be really small too - but the very action of trying to sort the issue out shows willingness on the part of the person in debt, and that generally sits well with creditors as for the most part getting any of their money back is a good sign. 

Well, apparently unless you were/are BG, then it was a case of "we don't care what you're trying to pay back, if it doesn't suit us, then we're coming out to smash your door down and force a PP meter on you!  So there!" :-)

Prepayment meters fitted with a warrant do not involve the door being smashed in, they almost always involve a locksmith either picking or drilling the lock. 

Hi

A contradiction in your posting, so are you say they do force open doors or don'T

Quote:  "do not involve the door being smashed in"
" they almost always involve a locksmith either picking or drilling the lock." 

It's a fact that even a locksmith can fail to open/drill a lock and the door has to be forced open and therefore creating damage.

I have no reason to doubt what the poster you quoted stated as it is their personal experience,



Thanks

diystarter7 said:

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

In some cases the amount actually being repaid can be really small too - but the very action of trying to sort the issue out shows willingness on the part of the person in debt, and that generally sits well with creditors as for the most part getting any of their money back is a good sign. 

Well, apparently unless you were/are BG, then it was a case of "we don't care what you're trying to pay back, if it doesn't suit us, then we're coming out to smash your door down and force a PP meter on you!  So there!" :-)

Hi OP

Sorry about that and it must have been very distressing. Let us all hope the new rules stop this kind of unnecessary turmoil.

Thnaks

The other poster said they were joking.

diystarter7 said:
It's a fact that even a locksmith can fail to open/drill a lock and the door has to be forced open and therefore creating damage

Doors do not get smashed in, locks get picked or drilled. If the drilling fails the first time they just get a bigger drill, they have tools to cut chains if they are applied, however chains would only be applied if someone was in and if bailiffs and police arrive at a premises and are serving a warrant then locking the door, putting the chains on and refusing to open the door would be the worst course of action one could take. 

jbond

I was joking about the "smashing the doors in" bit, that usually only happens with police drug raids (not from my experience).
If entry is being refused, I've seen on TV where locksmiths are employed to drill the lock, but I can't remember whether that was due to bills not being paid or rent not being paid, but the same process happens anyway.

brewerdave

Couple of points - the Priority Services Register - you can be included if you are a pensioner but it doesn't need you to be "vulnerable" in the way that many people would think . We are on the register but currently are not in any way ,vulnerable !
Several people have commented on "affordable repayment plans" - the big difference between repaying, say, an existing store card debt over several years with an energy debt is that  you are still consuming energy, so need to offer up more than current consumption. Can't see how this can work if you can't pay the bills already!

EssexHebridean

brewerdave said:

Couple of points - the Priority Services Register - you can be included if you are a pensioner but it doesn't need you to be "vulnerable" in the way that many people would think . We are on the register but currently are not in any way ,vulnerable !
Several people have commented on "affordable repayment plans" - the big difference between repaying, say, an existing store card debt over several years with an energy debt is that  you are still consuming energy, so need to offer up more than current consumption. Can't see how this can work if you can't pay the bills already!

In a lot of cases repayment plans work even where someone would say that they couldn't afford the bills in the first place by restructuring budgets and making people aware of what they are spending, where. So someone initially thinks they spend "about £200 a month" on groceries because their weekly shop is about £50 a time. So you ask them how that works in a 5 week month...and then whether they do top up shops, and suddenly they realise that in fact they are spending far more than they thought - so then you start to work out why the top up shops are needed and whether when they happen they just end up as the bottle of milk and loaf of bread that was "needed" - or whether lots of other things get picked up as well...  Instead, could they for example make a meal plan and a shopping list and buy everything needed for the week in a single trip to the supermarket - meaning that the extra impulse buys don't get purchased. Other areas can be things like people overpaying for broadband or mobile bills in spite of being out of contract - they just haven't realised they can easily change and save money; encouraging people to use their car more mindfully - so not automatically jumping in the car for journeys they could easily do on foot or using a bicycle they already own, maybe. In extreme cases too the advice will be to stop paying minimums on unsecured non priority debts to free up money to ensure that priority bills and debts are tackled first. A DMP can make a world of difference to someone who previously thought they had no spare income whatsoever and was using credit for day to day living - as much as anything else because before entering into a DMP they need to actually put a budget in place - and in some cases this isn't anything they've ever done or realised that they need to do. Of course there are always people who are quite simply just right up against it due to circumstances they have no control over, but those people generally speaking are in the minority from what we see on DFW here. 

Sometimes it's not so much "can't pay the bills" as "don't realise how they can pay the (priority) bills" - the number of people who don't realise that paying their utilities bills is way more important than paying credit cards for example is awful - we need more education around this really basic stuff. Priorities for payment of bills is information that people should leave school knowing, IMO. 

jbond

EssexHebridean said:

Sometimes it's not so much "can't pay the bills" as "don't realise how they can pay the (priority) bills" - the number of people who don't realise that paying their utilities bills is way more important than paying credit cards for example is awful - we need more education around this really basic stuff. Priorities for payment of bills is information that people should leave school knowing, IMO. 

Really?  How?
If you don't pay your credit cards, you can end up with a default on your credit file, which lasts for 6 years.  I assume it is the same for utilities?  If not, how does that work?
Yes, you can ultimately be cut-off, but which is worse, being cut-off or getting a default?

MattMattMattUK

jbond said:

EssexHebridean said:

Sometimes it's not so much "can't pay the bills" as "don't realise how they can pay the (priority) bills" - the number of people who don't realise that paying their utilities bills is way more important than paying credit cards for example is awful - we need more education around this really basic stuff. Priorities for payment of bills is information that people should leave school knowing, IMO. 

Really?  How?
If you don't pay your credit cards, you can end up with a default on your credit file, which lasts for 6 years.  I assume it is the same for utilities?  If not, how does that work?
Yes, you can ultimately be cut-off, but which is worse, being cut-off or getting a default?

You will get defaults from the energy companies as well, being cut off would be worse than getting a default but primary utilities (water and energy) will almost never be cut off though. 

Some lenders view utility defaults as worse than card defaults, along the same lines that rent (where recorded) or mortgage defaults are seen as far worse than other defaults. 

Mobtr

Unfortunately at the moment, due to the increased costs in energy, food, fuel etc people need to prioritise their spending. 

I used to work for an energy company where debt was accrued & we would get a list of outgoings from Stepchange or CAB or similar company. It would give the monthly income & the out goings. On a regular basis we would see monthly outgoings of hair, nails, clothes, socialising, several mobile phones & other non necessities & then a bit at the bottom saying they can afford £5 per month towards their energy debt which would be £100’s or even £1000’s. 

I’m sorry, and this may seem harsh, but people need to live according to their means. Just because you’ve always been able to get your hair trimmed every month, or go out several times a month doesn’t mean you still should to the detriment of paying your bills. 

Yes there are genuine people who are really struggling & they need to be helped as much as possible but there are also a lot of people who can pay their bills but prefer to spend the money on other things