Thanks British Gas !!

[falling rain]

I can't go to the moot this year due to some large bills. Sorry to anyone I was going to meet there and promised to do so. I was looking forward to hooking up with some old and not so old faces y' know who you are. :You_Rock_

Maybe next year

I simply can't afford to go, and I'm having a few days camping with my son too. Can't do it all I suppose.

Anyway have fun y'all and hope to see you next time.

 

[Tony]

Ask to speak to a manager and ask them to break it into instalments, most of them are very helpful with stuff like this, communicating with the front line though is often a little pointless. It's a right pain when things just crop up on you like this, it's probably going to get worse as well :-(

 

[falling rain]

No go Tone. They want at least a payment of £150 of the £242 saving me £90 and paying the rest in installments or having a pre-payment meter installed which I refused as they charge more for the gas so I believe with one of these. If I was claiming benifits they could help more apparently.
Nope, just going to pay it and get it out of the way. As you say though...tough times and things are going to get worse.............Just went to Summerfields and saw a can of plum peeled tomatoes for £1........fair enough it was one of those metro-express type summerfields that always charge extortionate prices anyway but even so, £1 for a tin of tomatoes.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway Tony. I'll hopefully make it to the Christmas one.

 

[Andy2112]

I know the feeling Falling Rain, my gas and electric bills were sky high this time. They talk about alternative energy sources like solar power but with the set up costing £3000 who can afford it ? i certainly can't but with a south- ish facing garden it would be ideal. The government will be bring back the window tax next !!

 

[Bootstrap Bob]

Hey Falling Rain, not sure if you saw my car share post but if you are struggling to get to the Moot I have room and I'm going from Oxford.
The only draw back is that I am going Friday to Sunday - need to be back to work on Monday

 

[falling rain]

Moots full. not going after all.

Ididn't read all the blurb and it appears the moot is now full. My own fault for not reading stuff earlier. I thought we could pay on arrival.

Only myslf to blame

 

[gregorach]

No go Tone. They want at least a payment of £150 of the £242 saving me £90 and paying the rest in installments or having a pre-payment meter installed which I refused as they charge more for the gas so I believe with one of these.

Pre-payment meters are a notorious rip-off - avoid them if at all possible. BG will charge you 14% more than a direct-debit customer for the privilege. (Could be worse though - Midlands will charge you a whopping 38% more! How that is legal I'll never know.)

 

[Rhoda]

I can totally sympathise with you, we just had to pay £150 in one hit and now have just received a bill which informs us that our monthly installments have gone up again. I just don't know how the average person can carry on paying their bills with all the increases. The wages down here are terrible too, we work very hard running 3 businesses to just about keep afloat and everyone we know is struggling! We are all in for a rough ride I fear

 

[wingstoo]

BG wanted me to pay extra for my monthly direct debit, it was going to more than double my normal payments, so I phoned them up and said I was not willing to pay their figures and my figures were £120 a year less, so that was all I would be paying, no problem, new DD set at my figure and not theirs. Whilst on the guy said about my leccy bills, they halved those, so well worth the phone call. Just make sure your bills are accurate, work out the total annual cost, divide by twelve and tell them that is what you are willing to pay, Then start looking at ways to save, energy efficiency is the answer, CFL (Compact Flourecent Lamps) in as many places as possible, we have found some G10 types for halogen replacement, turn off anything you are not using, turn the radiators down in the winter months, a few degrees minimum, start wearing a vest and a jumper and socks on your feet, it does make a difference, thick curtains on windows and doors keeps the heat in as well.

Just avoid doing pre-payment and quarterly bill paying, try to get on monthly direct debit, and paperless billing, it can save you loads without changing very much at all.

 

[spamel]

Prepayment meters are a farce. I know, I install them! Not only do they take longer to install due to the faff with the GIST card setting the damned thing up, but they shut off at inopportune moments and you need a service engineer (me again!) to come out and reset the damned thing. That can take anywhere up to three hours. And it's usually knackered so a new one needs to be put in! And they cost more to run and the money runs out on Christmas day just before you put the turkey in the oven! You get the idea!

 

[bikething]

Prepayment meters are a farce. I know, I install them! Not only do they take longer to install due to the faff with the GIST card setting the damned thing up, but they shut off at inopportune moments and you need a service engineer (me again!) to come out and reset the damned thing. That can take anywhere up to three hours. And it's usually knackered so a new one needs to be put in! And they cost more to run and the money runs out on Christmas day just before you put the turkey in the oven! You get the idea!

I take it you're not going for the job in the sales department then?

 

[firecrest]

I know whats like having no money, so I really sympathise. Hopefully you can come to some of the meets?

 

[pothunter]

I look annually at changing providers for both gas and electric, currently with Atlantic. But dont sign up to anything on the doorstep.

Pothunter.

 

[Bodge]

Prepayment meters are a farce. I know, I install them! Not only do they take longer to install due to the faff with the GIST card setting the damned thing up, but they shut off at inopportune moments and you need a service engineer (me again!) to come out and reset the damned thing. That can take anywhere up to three hours. And it's usually knackered so a new one needs to be put in! And they cost more to run and the money runs out on Christmas day just before you put the turkey in the oven! You get the idea!

sorry OT a bit.
Yes spamel, your so correct. I used to own a business with a top up terminal for gas and electric. The whole process from begining to end is a nightmare, for me and the customers.
Overcharging and mysterious debts were very common. I had a pre pay meter in the empty flat above our shop that even though turned off and never used and BG informed, racked up a debt of £200. I told them to whistle for it and they wiped off the debt.

Never go the pre pay route I say. it would be better to keep 1 room warm and let the rest of the house chill.

Bodge

 

[addo]

Ive cut my gas supply off and got a woodburner to power all the Hot water and heating. It was a big decition when i moved house but we knew we were staying there for a long time so it was worth the origonal instalment fee. Plus I get free wood.
The numpties at Npower are still giving me the combined discount on the elec/gas bill even though i informed them what ive done. They said I can keep the discount as long as I leave the meter in doing nothing!
Were still stuggling to pay the bills though, food shop is a nightmere and I dred the mail.

 

[firecrest]

*cough* I know a man who tampered with his gas tap to make it give out less gas. apparently the gas firm deliberatly pump out more gas than you need.
He saved thousands, but was caught and fined several thousand, as its illegal. He did save money in the long run though.

 

[spamel]

No, the regulator on top sets your pressure to give you 21 mbar of pressure, +-2 mbar. This makes sure that even if you have one small appliance on or five appliances, you will still only get the 21 mbar of pressure at all your appliances. Of course, medium pressure gas services work higher, but I have no working knowledge of them as I do not have medium pressure on my ticket. If you tamper with your gas supply, especially the regulator, you could be doing more than saving a bit of gas; incorrect burner pressures can produce carbon monoxide, which as you may know could kill somebody. If you do not know how gas operates and tamper with your supply and consequently kill somebody via your actions, you'll get yourself a free stripey suntan at Her Majesties' Pleasure!

And don't ever make me talk shop in my own time ever again!

 

[falling rain]

Just had a bad time of it recently with various bills and the Gas and elecric bills I could have done without. Mainly the gas coming in at £242................that's a lot of money for me along with everything else.
I'm going away with my lad for a few days in August so that'll be good and I've put aside some money for that. At the end of the day my lad comes first everytime, and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with him.............so it ain't all bad.

 

[Bodge]

Just had a bad time of it recently with various bills and the Gas and elecric bills I could have done without. Mainly the gas coming in at £242................that's a lot of money for me along with everything else.
I'm going away with my lad for a few days in August so that'll be good and I've put aside some money for that. At the end of the day my lad comes first everytime, and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with him.............so it ain't all bad.

I hope things work out for you mate.
You could always try to get to a local meet if there is one close to you.
There is the midlands meet this w/end where you'd be more than welcome, if you can get there.

Best wishes
Bodge

 

[leon-1]

Sorry to hear you won't be making it mate, we'll have to meet on Dartmoor again some time