Ripping my hair out with BG PrePay elec meter!!

Daveysaff

We've not long bought a house that came with a PPM fitted with a key so cannot be topped up online.
My partner suffers from agoraphobia and I work 60+ hours a week and we have 2 young children at home.
We've been BG customer for over 20 years without incident or issue but since we moved into this address BG are flat refusing to take out the prepay meter and install a standard meter. To date I have contacted them 18 times through emial/live chat/telephone and I'm getting nowhere. I cant ever switch suppliers because of this PP meter. 
Any suggestions? This is the last thing the BG representative said, and I quote:

"The reason the credit meter upgrade is on hold for your property as you have two different mode meter that is (one fuel in credit and other in prepayment) we are unable to upgrade the meters to a smart one, due to which we are unable to change your meter to credit meter. However you can be confident and be assured, we will quickly install the smart meter for your property and get your meter to credit meter"

Apart from not making any sense, does anyone have any suggestions?

Voyager2002

Follow the BG complaints procedure.

Daveysaff

Voyager2002 said:

Follow the BG complaints procedure.

I'm in the throes of doing that now, this whole situation is rediculous

EssexHebridean

What’s the reason you can’t ditch BG and move elsewhere - at which point hopefully you would have more joy getting the meters swapped for smart and thus being able to get a simple change to a credit account?

Daveysaff

EssexHebridean said:

What’s the reason you can’t ditch BG and move elsewhere - at which point hopefully you would have more joy getting the meters swapped for smart and thus being able to get a simple change to a credit account?

I havent rang anywhere yet but none of the comparison site show any deals available to me at all because of this blasted PPM.
I'm in a job where I cannot sit on the phone choosing options for hours on end and sitting on hold so I do (or have historically) done eveything online until I bought this house

SAC2334

These prepay key meters were very common when i was meter reading for BG along with  many other suppliers with people telling me that BG had sent them a "dongle " to use so they could top up very easily and not have to find a paypoint .I dont known exactly how they work but BG can give you details .
Bear in mind that prepay meters now have the lowest rates .You can see all the details of kwh rates on the meter menu . Once these meters are established in a property it will bve difficult to move off them .Previous occupier could well have been in lots of debt .You can check if there is any debt on the meter and a debt repay amount on I think its screens S and T on the menu .Key has to be inserted to see these screens then just press the blue button and scroll through the menu .
Pay attention to the kwh rate its set to as it could well be the lowest rates available on Standard Variable Tariffs for your area .

A  prepay meter is the meter of choice for many people once easy top up is sorted out 

You do not want to be switching away before you at least know what is your current kWh rate and standing charge the meter is set to.

Look on the meter menu by pressing the blue button and scrolling through .
 This is a money saving website after all and you could be paying more switching supplier 
Screen F on the meter shows the standing charge ( might be per week not day ) and screen I shows the unit rate per kWh two very important screens .
If you Google electric prepayment meter screens go to EDF as BG do not want to explain them .They are both the same 

EDIT just found out that BG withdrew the dongle in order to tempt people onto smart prepayment meters .
Key and card top ups at Payzone and Post Offices which are handy for most people 

MattMattMattUK

Daveysaff said:

EssexHebridean said:

What’s the reason you can’t ditch BG and move elsewhere - at which point hopefully you would have more joy getting the meters swapped for smart and thus being able to get a simple change to a credit account?

I havent rang anywhere yet but none of the comparison site show any deals available to me at all because of this blasted PPM.

Ignore the comparison sites, every supplier is within half a percent of each other at the moment for standard tariffs. Pick a supplier and move to them, personally I would pick Octopus, find a friend or family member who is with them and get them to send you a referral link, then you both get £50 credit on your bill. Once the move is complete ask Octopus to install smart meters, problem solved. 

Daveysaff said:

I'm in a job where I cannot sit on the phone choosing options for hours on end and sitting on hold so I do (or have historically) done eveything online until I bought this house

There is no need to phone anyone, either for the complaint or to move supplier.