Anyone got a prepayment gas meter?

ninjabib · 11 Dec 2008 at 16:46

If so how the bugger do they work. It says its got £1.38 emergency credit on it but my bloody hot water wont come on and i can't be bothered to go to the shop as i'm running behind schedule.

Cental Heating is switched on.

This is completely frustrating. PLEASE HELP!

howsertrading · 11 Dec 2008 at 16:48

If you ran out of credit before putting the emergency credit on, the meter will have shut off the gas supply.
If you have run out of credit and then put the emergency credit on and followed the instructions to restart the gas, did you remember to start the pilot light on the boiler, as it will have gone out when the gas was shut off?.

ElectroBlaster · 11 Dec 2008 at 16:48

The meter has money on it so you should be getting gas until that emergency credit has gone to 0.00

Is the boiler switched on at the mains switch, assuming its one of them gas fired jobs?

howsertrading · 11 Dec 2008 at 16:58

My guess is you

1.Ran out of credit
2.You added the emergency credit
3.You held the button to restart the gas
4.But forgot to light the pilot light on the boiler
5.Your boiler is pumping cold water round the house :-)

V4NT0M · 11 Dec 2008 at 17:32

Make sure you pressed the button to restore gas, and/or put the system onto emergency, either that or your pilot light is out...

Oh the good old days of card meters,/sheds a tear.

ninjabib · 11 Dec 2008 at 17:41

Yeah it was the boiler reset, oops! Ever since housemates had this meter put in it's been a pain in the arse.
Cheers!

roadie · 11 Dec 2008 at 17:43

You probably pay more for your energy than other customers. I'd get a proper meter sorted pronto.

arknor · 11 Dec 2008 at 18:16

you only get pre payment if you or someone living at the house before you had trouble paying there bills.

they will never remove the prepayment meter and put a normal one back

St0rmer66 · 11 Dec 2008 at 18:24

Hit it with a hammer, it won't lock it up... honest.

Dup · 11 Dec 2008 at 18:27

Mine has an A at the bottom of it to indecent it's switched on.

I need to figure out how to take a reading from mine. Looking to get the meters switched next year to proper ones. Only British Gas will swap them for free.

St0rmer66 · 11 Dec 2008 at 18:29

British Gas don't swap meters

. They may well pay for it to be done though.

Skeeter · 11 Dec 2008 at 18:31

roadie said:
You probably pay more for your energy than other customers. I'd get a proper meter sorted pronto.

Yes, but for some people, paying a tenner every so often is a lot more convinent than a £200 quaterly bill.

ste_bla · 11 Dec 2008 at 20:30

roadie said:
You probably pay more for your energy than other customers. I'd get a proper meter sorted pronto.

Or you may not pay more, currently we actually pay roughly the same as a "proper" meter as ours doesnt have a standing charge unlike most post pay plans.

arknor said:
you only get pre payment if you or someone living at the house before you had trouble paying there bills.

they will never remove the prepayment meter and put a normal one back

Yes "they" will, depending on the supplier you have to be with them (on pre pay plan) for 6 months [southern electric] or agree to a certain amount of minium contract [powergen] or something along those lines.