Cut off

[Gregg500]

I've had a few probs over the last 12 months (understatment) well, one of the things that got dropped down the list was gas bill.

It got to about £700 but i paid £300 thinking/hoping I'd get a bit of breathing space.

Bottom line, got home one day about a month ago and....no gas. Clearly, there has been a court hearing that passed me by.

Anyway, i have been putting a brave face and dealing with it. Told everyone, inc kids at weekend that boiler is broken. The letter stated i would need to pay about £1k to get back on which is just not feesible at moment.

Does anyone know if i could get a card meter at this stage or are they liable to play hardball.

Any advice apprecieted

[blue4ever]

bump

[robinalexander]

Easiest thing to do is just phone them and ask if you can have a Prepayment meter installed. If they do, they'll probably just add the debt to that and recover £x per week.

[Dollydoo]

I'm no expert & this is only my opinion, I would contact energywatch immediately, surely they shouldn't cut you off if you have kids

[Dollydoo]

energywatch: Home Page

[noggsy]

Hey Gregg,
talk to the supplier immediately, as once they are aware there are kids in the house they should put a PPM in. They do have the right to disconnect Gas supplies until October - during the Winter months they are not allowed to for obvious reasons. Yes, there should have been a Court Hearing to allow you to respond, which you should have been notified about. The rules between Gas and Electric are slightly different, as with Electric if there is an outside meter they will just fit a PPM. With Gas, as the Warrant of Entry only covers accessing the meter, if the meter is outside and no-one is at home they cannot install a PPM without "purging" the supply i.e. checking the appliances are working correctly inside the house - which the Warrant does not cover, hence the decision is normally made to disconnect.

[ATD]

Originally Posted by Dollydoo

I'm no expert & this is only my opinion, I would contact energywatch immediately, surely they shouldn't cut you off if you have kids

I'm not saying that it's the right way to do things, but they are still allowed to cut you off even if you have children

Originally Posted by noggsy

Hey Gregg,
talk to the supplier immediately, as once they are aware there are kids in the house they should put a PPM in. They do have the right to disconnect Gas supplies until October - during the Winter months they are not allowed to for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately the Winter Moratorium only applies under certain conditions:

• From 1st October to 31st March if everyone in the home is of pensionable age.
• From 1st October to 31st March if someone in the home is chronically sick or has a disability

As advised above, you really need to contact the supplier to find out why they have actually disconnected as opposed to fitting an ETM, which is standard practise.

[emmaf01]

Gregg500, did you not receive any information from them at all?

It's just a bit unusual- and believe me I've been there.

A PPM can be avoided, depending on your situation.