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Prepayment Meter
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Anyone on / Do you know anyone on a prepayment Meter , for gas/electricity
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they pay more
and many people say when told to do a meter
say: I have a bad credit history ( sort of game over)
so put simply the increased charge is a hedge against the real risk. One tear jerker on tv showed her meter and zipped thro the pages and it looked as though she had clocked up £962 energy debt.
The presenter not being on a meter didnt realise she had flciked thro the debt page
they pay more
and many people say when told to do a meter
say: I have a bad credit history ( sort of game over)
so put simply the increased charge is a hedge against the real risk. One tear jerker on tv showed her meter and zipped thro the pages and it looked as though she had clocked up £962 energy debt.
The presenter not being on a meter didnt realise she had flciked thro the debt page
I've had plenty of experience with Prepayment meters, and I personally can't stand them. The benefit to paying on receipt of bill (I don't pay by Direct Debit either) is that you have longer to pay, and if you don't pay your bill, they won't cut you off, not until you pile up a massive amount of debt any way.
With a prepayment meter, if you haven't got any money to top it up, you have no electricity/gas. I get why people have them so that they don't get into debt, however debt to the energy company is interest free (unless they sell the debt to a debt collector that is).
With a prepayment meter, if you haven't got any money to top it up, you have no electricity/gas. I get why people have them so that they don't get into debt, however debt to the energy company is interest free (unless they sell the debt to a debt collector that is).
ZebuSanctuary, at one point that may have been the case.
My SIL used to have a prepayment meter, I think for the reason you mentioned in your post. I'm not entirely sure how much she was in arrears, however I do know that they were taking back an unlawful amount each time she topped up the meter. I looked after their house when they went on holiday and they had left me £20 to top up the meter. I thought, "£20? It doesn't need that much, I'll just put £10 on and spend the other £10 on a bottle of vodka". Oh what a mistake that was. I put the £10 on and it was immediately taken. Every time they topped up, they'd have to add an extra £10 to the amount.
I have since been told that the energy company shouldn't have done that, that they are only allowed to take a certain percentage, and that percentage isn't 50%.
It is one of the reasons why I don't like prepayment meters. Also, if your electric/gas run out at 2am (this has happened to my mate on more than one occasion) and for what ever reason you can't top up the meter online, you're screwed until you can get to the shop in the morning.
My SIL used to have a prepayment meter, I think for the reason you mentioned in your post. I'm not entirely sure how much she was in arrears, however I do know that they were taking back an unlawful amount each time she topped up the meter. I looked after their house when they went on holiday and they had left me £20 to top up the meter. I thought, "£20? It doesn't need that much, I'll just put £10 on and spend the other £10 on a bottle of vodka". Oh what a mistake that was. I put the £10 on and it was immediately taken. Every time they topped up, they'd have to add an extra £10 to the amount.
I have since been told that the energy company shouldn't have done that, that they are only allowed to take a certain percentage, and that percentage isn't 50%.
It is one of the reasons why I don't like prepayment meters. Also, if your electric/gas run out at 2am (this has happened to my mate on more than one occasion) and for what ever reason you can't top up the meter online, you're screwed until you can get to the shop in the morning.
There was one here when I moved in 24 years ago and I've stuck with it. Much prefer to know how much I have got left, rather than building up a bill that has to be paid in one go - and yes I realise I could put money away but realistically that ain't gonna happen. I top up online and the government grant goes on it automatically. I can check how much left and how much being used each day so if getting short I can turn off the immersion if necessary but I use it to heat my bedroom as well.