British Gas-taking charges

[DipsyDoo]

I am so :mad: with British Gas we are on pre payment metres for both gas and elec and we stuck with them apparently because there is a debt of £200 on the elec metre from when i moved in till they put me a pre payment metre in now im married my husband is unable to work he is on DLA i am his full time carer we also have 3 children all between the ages of 3-10 this is 1 of the problems im having and ditermined to make them pay but struggling we took a few days out(5days) to go stay with family for a break we left £10 (also£5 emergancy)on the electric metre turned everything off appart from the fridge and freezers we returned on the friday to find NO ELECTRIC British gas had took 2weekly charges from the metre because they said they didnt take it the week before so they took that much off us it turned off which ment my chest freezer and my little freezer all its contents where ruined they was rotted and ruined over £120 worth of food which when ur not working and have 3small children is weeks worth of money insurance say its BG fault BG say its not so how do i make BG pay for what they cost us

many thanks to anyone

[BankFodder]

I'm very sorry but stringing the whole story like this in one unbroken sentence makes it just too difficult to deal with.

 

Many of us have hundreds of stories to read everyday. Please will you help us by structuring your message using sentences and apragraphs so that we can read it easliy. It will then become much easier to offer you some help and advice.

[mattlamb]

DipsyDoo, how much is being paid on the prepayment meter each week towards the original debt of around £200? How long ago was the prepayment meter fitted? Possibly the power went because of the money being paid off through the meter towards the debt (especially if it has been set at something like £10.00 per week). This still gets paid even if virtually no electric is being used. Just a possibility.

 

If it has been set at a high amount, you could contact your supplier and ask for it to be reduced (I believe to as little as £2.50 or £3.00 per week) as you are on benefits. Your supplier should agree to this.

[Clare_L]

The £200 debt from when you moved in, im assuming that is your debt? Just the way you have worded this gives the impression the debt was on the meter when you moved into the property. can you confirm this?

[DipsyDoo]

Sorry was in such a flap when i wrote this.

I asked for a pre payment metre to be fitted becuase im on benefits in the time it took to put the metre in there was a debt of £200 which they placed onto my metre.They are suppossed to take this payment back at £3 per week,I'm not sure how to check this but i put at least £15 on electric.

[maybelline]

pre-payment meterr? is there a maximum they can put on it before you are 'allowed' to buy gas/elec e.g. if you are in receipt of benefits then surely taking £50 on the meter before you can get a supply is taking the XXXX?

[zazen.warrior]

The best way to operate pre payment meters is to apply the credit 'little and often', otherwise if nothing is credited to it one week it will try to take two weeks worth of the debt the next time you add a credit.

 

Having said that you will always get some credit to use for fuel when you pay on to it, it will never take all of your payment for the debt, but I can't remember what the proportions are.

[nottslad]

different supplier have different guidelines, the minimum eon reps have been trained to accept is £3 for people on benefits, £5 for people in work

[Piggybilling]

Pre Pay meters Can cost you Double the price!

[zazen.warrior]

Pre Pay meters Can cost you Double the price!

 

Hello Piggy

 

Could you please supply me with a breakdown of charges to support this statement?

 

Thought not...

Edited September 20, 2009 by zazen.warrior

[IdaInFife]

wouldn't say it was double but I know my MIL is paying a set charge each week for 12 months for hers.

 

 

Ida x

[zazen.warrior]

Would that be for a debt that's being recovered Ida?

[IdaInFife]

no, she switched supplier and they put in a new prepayment meter and has to pay the charge for 12 months and therefore has to say with them for 12 months. I will ask her later when i take her shopping how much it is but think it's £1 odds per week and i'll check who it's with.

 

ida x

[Piggybilling]

Hello Piggy

 

Could you please supply me with a breakdown of charges to support this statement?

 

Thought not...

 

-Well i'm just going of memory ,Of and my own experiences.

As pre-paid meters in most cases are for collecting debts,outstanding balances,bad payers,etc.

So they will have a progamed amount in them, to take of a debt.

-But this may vary, And i'm no expert.

 

BBC NEWS | UK | Pre-pay meter users 'due rebate'

 

Maybe this page can help.

 

There's no way for me to give you a break down of Charges.

As like any machine/computer, it depends on who setup/programmed it.

[maybelline]

BBC - Watchdog: The backdated bills for prepayment meters

 

well, I paid off all my arrears afew years ago via the meter and had it them removed, (around 2006) no one ever came to alter or change the meters in any way, (prior to that, for around 10 years) then started paying quarterly which quickly became very very high, now they are putting meters back in to recover the debt -

 

fair enough, they want the moeny and I have always offered to pay extra to clear it but they want it at a rate of £50 per week BEFORE I can get fuel which equites to a THIRD of my income??? isnt this against the code of practice??? I will have to cut out something else to be able to have fuel or am considering going with out a gas supply altogether.

[Piggybilling]

BBC - Watchdog: The backdated bills for prepayment meters

 

well, I paid off all my arrears afew years ago via the meter and had it them removed, (around 2006) no one ever came to alter or change the meters in any way, (prior to that, for around 10 years) then started paying quarterly which quickly became very very high, now they are putting meters back in to recover the debt -

 

fair enough, they want the moeny and I have always offered to pay extra to clear it but they want it at a rate of £50 per week BEFORE I can get fuel which equites to a THIRD of my income??? isnt this against the code of practice??? I will have to cut out something else to be able to have fuel or am considering going with out a gas supply altogether.

 

-Just keep paying regular.

-Try and avoid having another card meter(pre-pay) put in again.

 

-I believe you can't change supplier if you have an outstanding debt.

-As it gets blocked on the computer systems, When transferring.

Most of the transfers are for Electric & Gas are done by computer.

 

Which means its tuff for people who really need to save.

[zazen.warrior]

It's not blocked on the computer system, it's manually checked, which is why some slip through if they are not checked in time to stop them.

[nottslad]

the supplier are ofering you choices in the repayment of the outstanding balance, they will only allow a certain amount of time to repay an outstanding balance. If you cannot afford what is being requested, they will spread the debt over a longer period through a prepayment meter, taking a small amount each week.

 

My advice would be to stick with the prepayment meter, at least then you know where you are, and there are rates available, even with BG that are the same as their standard tariff, so you wouldn't be paying extra, just for what you use and then an agreed amount for debt

[Piggybilling]

It's not blocked on the computer system, it's manually checked, which is why some slip through if they are not checked in time to stop them.

 

-I was talking more about Business Contracts & Certain Electric companies.

Also the Humans are not conected to the same Computer systems either.

Or have different time scales.

 

Thats why its hard to get A straight answer,

As there will probably be more than one.

Like most things in Life.

 

-Maybe try ofgem or energywatch(if there still going)