Pre-pay gas meters?

Question

with the cost of gas about to rise very sharply this winter, would it work if i bought on my pre pay meter £300 of gas now at the current cheaper price and made it last through the winter (with regular top ups until the price does rise).

as far as i know the ammount of gas your meter lets you use is updated from the card when it is inserted so i figure if i don't put the card in the machine all winter, i can carry on using the gas at the lower price.

anyone know any reason why this may not work?

Answer 1

As I undersatdn it, you pay a higher rate for the pre-pay than normal so not sure if you will have any savings.

Answer 2

I think you will still get charged the higher rate.  You get charged for the price of the gas at that time, so your money would just go down quicker.

EDIT: I've been doing a bit of research for you and came across this info, some people have been getting bills for hundreds of pounds.... I don't know if that is all companies or certain ones, but just a word of warning that they let you get away with nothing!!

"When the PP meter is updated with the up to date prices, the suppliers will charge you for the difference in price that you should have been paying from the price increase and this is how you can accrue a debt on a prepayment meter."

Answer 3

you pay a higher rate anyhow with pre-payment meters,i know we had one. we swapped our suppliers from british gas to southern electric and had the meter changed to a normal one,and i tell you know weve seen a massive drop on our gas bills.

edit:........you are way off the mark on your last statement,the gas company can adjust your meter without even having to come out,its all done by computer,and so you will not even know?