Posted 22nd Jul 2023
How have I managed to get into debt without ever running out of credit, or using emergency credit on my (ex) British gas prepayment meter (£163)
Before I go ranting at BG, thought I'd get some advice from here first
Before I go ranting at BG, thought I'd get some advice from here first
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sorted bySo even if you were topping up regularly and never using all your credit the meter would be fine but your account would be going into debt as you weren’t topping up enough to cover the increase in unit rates and standing charges.
How you were meant to know this when the meter read as in credit is for a layman impossible but then the whole take responsibility for your actions came into it and they said people should check the unit rates in the meter and make sure they were correct as else you would get into debt.
There stuff about it on MSE so maybe it’s to do with that.
Ask for a bill if you haven't received one, you should get one yearly anyhow by law with your annual energy consumption shown regardless of whether you have normal meter or a pre pay.
Also ask for a statement of account this will show all prepayment topups you have made to that meter.
There is also a risk that you may not have had your meter updated with new rates as these are applied periodically via your key but doesn't always work as intended but you may find that your rates changed but if you didnt op up for a period of time it will then change these values when you next insert your topped up key and adjust your bills that way. They cannot take it off your balance but in this instance they have consolidated your account and you were undercharged by some periods. This happens often especially if you top up irregularly and larger amounts in one go than small regular top ups.
Im unsure on how a prepay Meter can acrue debt.
I'm just puzzled by it all