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PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters Information

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  • PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters Information

    Pre-payment meter premium(annual)
    BG = £89
    EDF = £30
    NPower = £71
    EON = £65
    Scottish Power =£63

    Are pre-payment meter customers energy suppliers’ poorest customers?
    Yes and Ofgem has acknowledged that pre-payment meter customers are energy suppliers’ poorest customers and yet it continues to allow suppliers to charge them the most for their energy.


    How can suppliers remove the premium?
    Suppliers should absorb the extra cost of pre-payment meters. They should charge pre-payment customers the same as their best quarterly bill prices.


    How does this effect people in fuel poverty?
    Any improvements in pre-payment meter prices would help over a million people in fuel poverty.


    Can the energy market solve this problem?
    Yes, the pre-payment premium does not exist in Northern Ireland. The market has shifted to benefit pre-payment customers. Their PPM customers get 2.5% discount off the standard rate and can buy top-ups over the telephone 24 hours a day.


    Have any suppliers removed the premium?
    Yes, Scottish Power charges pre-payment meter customer less for their energy than bill customers. EDF does not charge a premium for their electricity.







    article from

    The Liverpool Times Prepayment utility meters.




    Why are the poor of the UK being charged a higher rate of electric, gas and water than the middle class and rich?
    “A Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in the West Midlands reported the case of a client, who lives on his own in local authority accommodation, has a low income, and suffers from chronic lung disease. The client wanted prepayment meters installed for his gas and electricity supply to help with budgeting but was unhappy about the fact that he would have to pay more to pay for his fuel in this way. The client considered that this is not fair for those on low income who are trying to budget and avoid debt.” CAB website
    For a lot of poor people in the UK - we either purchase credit to ‘feed’ the gas or electric meter with a prepayment card or key or we freeze. You can ‘top up’ these keys at a variety of outlets, (garages, post offices, shops) all of whom earn a slice of the cash for ‘brokering’ a deal, acting as the middle agent between you and the power supply companies.
    For those better off financially, the benefits of direct debit mean that bills can be lowered by allowing the company to dip into your bank and take what they say you owe them. Those with more money pay a lower rate of tariff. Hence, someone in the suburbs surrounding Liverpool would be paying less to heat a small swimming pool or some giant tropical fish tank, than a pensioner in Kirkby feeding the prepayment meter just to keep alive when the cold spells hit us.
    With prepayment meters, using ‘top up cards’ and now ‘top up keys’ – the cost of electric and gas is higher than the rates paid by customers who get quarterly bills through the post and higher than those who pay by direct debit. This means that the poorest are charged the highest rate through no real fault of our own. This is penalising the poor - in fact, it is killing us and make no mistake about it.


    The CAB website carries figures that point to 3.5 million electricity and 2.2 million gas prepayment meters out of a total of 26 million electricity customers and 20 million gas customers. That’s a lot of people to rip off.
    After all, the electric we pay for is the same that goes into every other home. There is one form of electric` supply for households – but an apartheid class system overrules the market which is easily manipulated just by a few rich people.
    For pensioners who still pay the bills on these pre payment meters, it is an absolute outrage and you’d expect civil disorder to be on the horizon – like the poll tax rebellion or something similar. The police themselves will have to accept that laws can and must be broken if they lead to the premature deaths of our elderly and vulnerable.
    The Old Prejudice, back in our faces!

    Class distinction is just as evil as racial distinction but it seems to be almost accepted that it’s ok to be prejudiced against and to exploit the poor and vulnerable. This prejudice against the poor is part of the mindset of the rich upper classes here. It always has been.
    Imagine, if you will that black people in the UK were all given electric keys which purchased electricity at a higher rate than white people, or if we announced that Jews were to surcharged extra for water or white people were levied an extra charge for the gas. The point I’m making is that exploiting anyone on the basic needs of life just because they are poor is just as evil and wicked as exploiting someone for being another skin tone. We’ve got to make that connection if we ever want to come to an understanding of what civil rights actually means.
    The last great prejudice holding humanity back is the fact that human beings are priced out of basic existence rights and treated like cattle. The people on prepayment meters pay the highest rates and some have been left to freeze to death when the credit runs out. That’s certainly being priced out of basic existence rights.
    Elderly people, double glazing and old electric appliances.

    Many elderly who occupy council homes will not have reached the point of double glazing or modern central heating and other energy saving appliances. One notable fact is that you’ll still find ovens, fridges and TVs which are decades old – still going good in many homes in the UK. Whilst its good to see some electrical product manufactured in the U.K. in the 50s or 60s still working, bear in mind the power usage is uneconomical with old TV’s, fridges and freezers and washing machines. Many old folk also use electric fires, notorious for clocking up insane amounts. If you have no double glazing and your home has not been draught proofed, and the loft lagged – it’s unlikely that central heating will keep up with the real cold weather.
    Even the choice of TV could put another £100 or so on your bill, going on the CNET charts which show how much power newer HDTV models use. Even on standby – these devices suck up power. No one seems to advise elderly people on the power consumption estimates of TVs or other appliances. Few salesmen seem to even include that in the sales patter, when it’s a deal maker if you reckon up the savings in electric.
    How your power supplies are cut off in the brave new UK.

    The prepayment meters will cut off your electric or gas the moment the last penny is used. The computerised ‘brain’ kicks in – instead of some worker who might be called to switch off the supply until you pay. He has to look you in the eye before leaving you to freeze or go hungry but the machines don’t give a damn one way or the other. For the very poorest with credit meters – this process of being cut off is now automatic for the people.
    When the last penny is sucked up on a prepayment meter you then have the choice of pressing the ‘emergency’ credit button which gives you the grand sum of £4. This used to be £5 before privatisation – and you have to ask why the *******s took the £1 away. The sum of £4 should see you through to the next day – unless the next day is a holiday, or a weekend or your disabled or under some other set of circumstances which means you cannot get out.
    Just leaving a small electric fire on will eat up the greater part of that £4 in a 24 hr period. After the £4 emergency credit has gone – your power supplies are out.
    You can see exactly how much credit or money is left in the prepayment meters if your eagle eyed enough to read the dimly lit digital display - but amazingly, many of the meters themselves are situated in an awkward position for people to read and operate – often just at the height of a small curious toddler. Safety of the meters is also in question as I’ve seen live wiring merely covered over by some masking tape, when some cover for the wiring was missing. The process of privatisation has meant that money that used to get ploughed back into maintenance and safety is now in the pockets of private shareholders and chairmen on a million pound plus wages.
    A normal power supply meter will not indicate how much money might vanish in a 24 hr period, unlike the prepayment meters. You can work out the rates of course, but few actually do so. Few people even query the bills and many pay at rates which are so numerous that you know people are being robbed left right and centre.
    For another analogy – imagine if you will a café which charged a different rate for the English breakfast depending on your economic status! Imagine being asked “are you on low pay sir” and finding out that some GP in the corner was paying £1.50p less for his scoff. This is pretty much the situation we have.
    The scam of the prepayment key.

    People who lose the prepayment card or key - they won’t have N-Power or any other power company chaperone a replacement out to you by express courier. Remember that without your prepayment card or key, you cannot use any power.
    As for trying to get through to report an emergency by telephone - this is pretty much a trial in itself with the ‘press 1 for this and press 2 for that. If you lose a key and phone up to see what happens next - you’ll be told that the new ‘top up keys’ cost £7 to replace.
    The top up cards (basic plastic credit card) were cheap as dirt and also free to replace – so these new ‘fancy’ keys seem to be just another way to fleece the poorest. All of a sudden millions of people pay out £7 for replacement keys, so someone up there is cashing in on a basic scam that they have managed to incorporate into millions of new prepayment meters. Someone is scamming us big time – these keys cost pennies and it’s not the rich or middle class who will need them replacing. Someone has obviously set up this key making company to steal from the British. What’s new, we ask?
    Below - the prepayment meter and the prepayment key. We need to name the people who are behind this.

    Like mugs, we just assume that this ‘fancy’ key, made in the millions, is worth more than a few pennies. We don’t question the worth of the key and the people who made it certainly played on this English trait of begrudgingly paying over the odds. This new breed of meter is worse than the old coin meters, which you could at least smash open and feed the money back into, if you were actually freezing.
    At least you could hit the poor mans jackpot with the old coin meter.

    Below, lest we forget…
    “Social Services could have been alerted to the plight of a south London couple found dead after their gas supply was cut off, information officials said.
    British Gas told an inquest the Data Protection Act stopped them passing on information about George Bates, 89, and his wife Gertrude, 86, from Tooting.
    Information Commissioner Richard Ross said if a significant risk to those involved would allow notification.
    A verdict of death by natural causes was recorded on Monday.
    The couple had been disconnected after a £140 bill went unpaid and they were found dead just weeks later.” (BBC 2002)
    Last edited by Amethyst; 23rd February 2008, 19:44:PM.
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  • #2
    Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

    http://www.housing.org.uk/default.aspx?tabid=774

    Pre-payment meter premium
    £89
    £30
    £71
    £65
    £63















    Poor pay most for energy | This is Money




    Poor pay most for energy

    This is Money
    4 September 2006
    A CALL to energy suppliers to stop charging the poor more for gas and electricity is made today by consumer champion Energywatch, backed by a coalition of charities and consumer organisations.



    Children living in poverty, disabled people, older consumers and the fuel poor are suffering most from rocketing gas and electricity prices, the coalition says.

    Child Poverty Action Group, End Child Poverty, Disability Alliance, Help the Aged, Age Concern, Citizens Advice, National Consumer Council, National Energy Action and Energywatch are so concerned they have united to press for a better deal for struggling households.

    Since 2003 domestic gas prices have risen by 87% and domestic electricity prices by 56%. Millions of low-income consumers and fuel poor households use prepayment meters as a way to help them budget., says Energywatch

    But people with prepayment meters are paying up to £173 a year more for gas and up to £113 more for electricity than quarterly billed (standard credit) consumers.

    The coalition fears that increasing numbers of consumers will disconnect themselves in the coming winter because they will not have enough money to feed their meters.

    In a letter to the six main suppliers, the coalition says while Government energy efficiency measures may help low-income households in the long term, energy suppliers should take the lead now by equalising all prepayment tariffs with standard credit tariffs .

    Energywatch says there are nearly six million prepayment meters in use. Research shows consumers on low incomes, or who are disabled are most likely to use prepayment meters. A third of single parents and the unemployed also have to pay for fuel as they use it.



    Nearly three-quarters (71%) of gas prepayment meters and half (50%) of those for electricity are installed by suppliers to recover a debt. Almost a quarter of all prepayment meter users owe money to fuel companies that may take years to pay off and the coalition is convinced suppliers' pricing policies are making the problem worse.
    The coalition says the high costs of paying for gas and electricity with prepayment meters represent the most vivid example of the poor being expected to pay more for essential services.
    It points out that while some suppliers have equalised either their gas or electricity ppm charges with quarterly bills (standard credit), none of the major suppliers has removed the higher tariffs on both pre-paid gas and electricity.

    Allan Asher, chief executive of Energywatch, said that for a significant number of groups involved with children in poverty, older people and disabled people to form the coalition showed the depth of concern for the injustice of the current practices and the plight of the fuel poor.

    He said: 'We need action now to ease the hardship of the most vulnerable in society. We expect suppliers to do more to recognise their responsibilities and adopt policies which reduce the burden on the poorest who are often paying the most.'
    Last edited by Amethyst; 23rd February 2008, 19:41:PM.
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    • #3
      Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

      Energywatch - Social tariffs consultation
      http://www.energywatch.org.uk/upload..._May_20071.pdf

      ''The NHF response mirrored its current campaign
      on prepayment meter equalisation, stating that “all energy tariffs for low income
      households, whether prepayment or deemed as ‘social’, must be aligned with the energy
      suppliers’ best standard credit rate”.''
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      • #4
        Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

        http://www.energy-retail.org.uk/pape...er%20ANNEX.pdf

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters



          British Gas under fire for charging its prepayment metre customers £400 more - Yorkshire Post





          British Gas under fire for charging its prepayment metre customers £400 more












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          British Gas charges some of its poorest customers £400 a year more for their gas and electricity than those who tend to be better off, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has said.


          An NHF survey found that British Gas customers who use prepayment meters for gas and electricity pay £401 more than those who have set up an online direct debit account.

          The NHF said there are more than three million prepayment meter customers among all the energy companies.

          It said that even though those who use them often come from low income backgrounds, big energy companies tend to charge them more for their power than more affluent people who use different methods of payment.

          According to the NHF's figures, overall British Gas charges prepayment meter customers £89 a year more than those who pay by standard credit, £176 more than direct debit customers, and just over £401 more than those who have set up a direct debit account online.

          It found the average yearly bill for a British Gas prepayment meter customer for both gas and electricity at the moment is at current prices just over £1,143.

          But someone opening an online direct debit account would pay around £742 over the next 12 months, according to the figures.

          According to a table compiled by the NHF, which based its research on figures from gas and electricity consumer watchdog Energywatch, the second worst offender is Npower, which charges prepayment meter customers £226 more than online direct debit customers.

          The next is EDF, which charges £218 more.

          NHF chief executive David Orr branded the British Gas figures a "disgrace".

          He said: "Effectively, British Gas is getting its poorest customers to subsidise discounts for those better able to pay.

          "The company should be ashamed of itself, dip into its £700m profits and offer a better deal to customers with prepayment meters."

          The NHF is urging its 1,300 members to write to Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks and call on him to introduce fairer pricing through the Energy Bill.

          The body represents 1,300 independent, not-for-profit housing associations and its members provide two million affordable homes for five million people.

          Energywatch spokesman Karl Brookes said: "Consumers on prepayment meters are often on the lowest of incomes and most in need of a good deal on ener
          gy."

          Scottish Power latest to raise prices

          Scottish Power yesterday became the latest energy supplier to announce inflation-busting price rises.

          The group, which has 5.2 million customers, said electricity prices will rise on average 14 per cent, with gas prices up by 15 per cent.
          The move follows double-digit price rises last month from rivals British Gas, Npower and EDF.

          Scottish Power said customers with dual-fuel tariffs faced an average increase of 14.8 per cent. The new prices, in force from today, will not impact 1.2 million customers on capped or fixed price deals.

          The Glasgow-based firm, owned by Spanish energy firm Iberdrola, said the increases were due to coal costs rising 97 per cent and wholesale gas prices going up 83 per cent in 12 months.

          Scottish Power said it was still cheaper for combined gas and electricity than British and Scottish Gas.
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          • #6
            Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

            Hey thanks Nelly xxx




            British Gas should use profits to help poorest customers


            21 February 2008


            The National Housing Federation has today said that British Gas 'should feel ashamed' of making a £571m profit, while charging its prepayment meter customers, most of whom come from low income backgrounds, exorbitant sums for their energy.

            According to a league table produced by the Federation, the differential between the charges British Gas makes to its prepayment meter customers in comparison to those who use other payment forms is bigger than for any other major energy firm.

            Despite its profits, British Gas charges prepayment customers who buy gas and electricity from the firm £401 a year more than those who have set up an online direct debit account.

            The Federation, which represents England's housing associations, is campaigning to persuade the big energy companies to equalise the charges they make to prepayment meter customers with those made to people on standard credit.
            Federation chief executive David Orr said: "There is something seriously wrong with the energy market if British Gas can enjoy a 500% rise in profits in one year while charging its poorest customers the highest prices.

            "The company should be ashamed of itself and dip into its £571m profits to bring prepayment meter charges into line with their standard credit tariffs."

            There are more than three million prepayment meter customers around the country. And even though they tend to come from low income backgrounds, most big energy companies charge them more for their power than people who are better off and use different methods of payment.

            The Federation based its league table on figures from Energywatch.
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            • #7
              Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

              Pre-payment meter campaign


              Updated 20 February 2008

              Support our campaign to stop energy suppliers from charging pre-payment meter customers, who are often on low incomes, more for their energy. Find out more about the campaign.



              Take action



              We need your help:If you are a housing association:
              What's new?


              Npower and E.ON have dropped their pre-payment meter prices
              07 January 2008
              In January, Npower recently announced they have reduced their average pre-payment
              meter prices by £40. E.ON recently made a reduction of £20.

              Government shifts policy on pre-payment meters
              08 January 2008
              Malcolm Wicks MP, Energy Minster has announced that he is going to ask suppliers to
              do more about the price difference between the different payment methods.
              About the campaign


              People on pre-payment meters, who are often on low incomes, can pay a premium of up to £90 a year more for gas or electricity than quarterly billed consumers. Too often, the poorest in society end up paying more for the kind of services most people take for granted.

              The pre-payment meter premium is another example of this and it needs to end.
              Housing associations, who provide homes for 5 million people in England are campaigning for energy suppliers to stop charging pre-payment meter customers more than customers who pay by quarterly bill.

              There may be additional costs involved with installing and maintaining meters but that hasn’t stopped some suppliers from aligning electricity tariffs already.
              #staysafestayhome

              Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

              Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                British gas need sorting imho

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                  Ask your MP to toughen the Energy Bill


                  Contact your local MP and ask them to write to Malcolm Wicks MP, Energy Minister, and ask him to use the Energy Bill to end the pre-payment meter premium.



                  Contact your energy supplier


                  Write to the chief executive of your energy supplier and call on him to end the pre-payment meter premium.

                  For a copy of our template letter please email, John Pierce, campaigns executive.

                  Andrew Duff
                  CEO
                  Npower
                  Oak House
                  Bridgwater Road
                  Warndon
                  Worcester R4 9FP


                  Sam Laidlaw
                  CEO
                  Centrica plc (British Gas)
                  Millstream
                  Maidenhead Road
                  Windsor
                  Berkshire SL4 5GD


                  Nick Horler
                  Managing Director
                  E.ON
                  Westwood Way
                  Westwood Business Park
                  Coventry
                  CV4 8LG

                  Ian Marchant*
                  Chief Executive
                  SSE
                  Inveralmond House
                  200 Dunkeld Road
                  Perth PH1 3AQ

                  * SSE has equalised
                  their electricity tariffs.


                  Vincent de Rivaz*
                  Chief Executive
                  EDF
                  329 Portland Road
                  Hove BN3 5SU

                  * EDF has equalised
                  their electricity tariffs.


                  José Luis del Valle*
                  Chief Executive
                  Scottish Power
                  1 Atlantic Quay
                  Glasgow G2 8SP

                  * Scottish Power has equalised
                  their gas and electricity tariffs.





                  For further infomation on this campaign please contact John Pierce, Campaigns Executive, or tel: 020 7067 1027.

                  #staysafestayhome

                  Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                  Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                    http://www.housing.org.uk/default.aspx?tabid=772
                    More news on prepayment meter equalisation campaign



                    (I'll sort all this info out into some kind of order later on)
                    #staysafestayhome

                    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

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                    • #11
                      Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                      Letter for MP's

                      Pre-payment meter consumers, who are often on low incomes, can pay over �100 more for gas and electricity than quarterly billed consumers.

                      Too often, people on low and fixed incomes end up paying more for the kind of services most people take for granted. The pre-payment meter rip-off is another example of this and it needs to stop.

                      The National Housing Federation and housing associations are calling on energy suppliers to align all of their pre-payment meter tariffs with their best quarterly bill rate.

                      Please write to the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks MP, and ask him to use the Energy Bill to protect pre-payment meter customers from this unfair pricing.
                      #staysafestayhome

                      Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                      Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                        I would also like to investigate allegations made by a Meter Reader that E-on are using prepayment meter charges to collect previous tenants debts.

                        Previous Tenants move out and have built up a debit on their account due to non-updating of the meters when price rises are effective. The electricity company then takes a little bit extra from the new tenants per kwh to cover the previous debt.

                        I haven't seen anything on this anywhere other than this allegation made by the meter reader.
                        #staysafestayhome

                        Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                        Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                          I recieved an E-mail from Scottish power yesturday, stating they were forced to increase the cost of both gas and electricity to its customers. They told me my duel fuel charge would go up from £90 per month to £120. I sent them an E-mail in return and switched to another supplier. How can they justify these high prices when they are making such high profits. It's the ugly face of capilalism, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Then to charge those members of society more because they have a pre-payment meter is abhorrent.
                          Borrow money from a pessimist -- they don't expect it back.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                            Maybe even see if this can be taken back 6 years and get the over charges back, what a good do that would be!!!!!!!!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: PrePayment Electricity / Gas Meters

                              npower needs to do more to help customers in debt - R/4


                              Energy regulator Ofgem today (Friday) identified npower as the supplier with the most work to do in improving the way it helps customers who risk falling into debt with their energy bills.


                              Publication Date: 25/01/2008
                              Document (size 69Kb):






                              http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/FactSh.../PovertyFS.pdf
                              What OFGEM reckons its doing to help.






                              Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (England) social tariff consultation response - 9 May 2007
                              Fuel Poverty Advisory group response to "A social responsibility? An energywatch consultation on the nature of social tariffs in the energy market".

                              Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (England) social tariff consultation response - 9 May 2007 (English Version)
                              Last edited by Amethyst; 23rd February 2008, 19:52:PM.
                              #staysafestayhome

                              Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                              Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                              Comment

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