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Antheil
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« Reply #4650 on: 12:51:33, 03-02-2008 » |
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I wait for the bill to come.
What Mort said - if they really want to read your meter they'll come back another time. Trouble is they then estimate your consumption which can lead to your being asked to give them a long-term interest-free loan or (as happened to me) getting several underestimates and a nasty shock when they actually read the meter. But you can phone your meter readings through at any time so wouldn't it make sense to do this every couple of months so you don't get an underestimated/over estimated bill? The last time the meter reader came round it was 6.00 pm which is a more sensible time to call with more chance of gaining access |
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Reality, sa molesworth 2, is so sordid it makes me shudder
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Morticia
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« Reply #4651 on: 12:53:22, 03-02-2008 » |
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Or you can read the meter yourself and contact British Gas etc., direct. They can usually tell you there and then what the bill is up to that point. British Gas can be extremely erratic in sending bills out. At one stage I was receiving one roughly every 5 weeks and then nothing for 5 months. Of course the 5 month one was a hell of a shock! Their excuse was that they sent lots of little bills during the summer so that I wouldn`t get a great big bill in the winter. Huh?? Oops, just crossed with Ants. Great minds and fools, eh?  |
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« Last Edit: 12:54:53, 03-02-2008 by Morticia »
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George Garnett
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« Reply #4652 on: 12:55:24, 03-02-2008 » |
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a nasty shock when they actually read the meter.
I'd definitely change electricity supplier if that happens. |
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George Garnett
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« Reply #4653 on: 13:02:14, 03-02-2008 » |
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But you can phone your meter readings through at any time so wouldn't it make sense to do this every couple of months so you don't get an underestimated/over estimated bill?
Except that if they are underestimating that is working in your favour interest-wise so there is a case for keeping mum about it (while keeping an eye on how much is mounting up so you can cope with it when they eventually catch you in one day). |
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« Last Edit: 13:04:56, 03-02-2008 by George Garnett »
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HtoHe
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« Reply #4654 on: 13:10:08, 03-02-2008 » |
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I wait for the bill to come.
What Mort said - if they really want to read your meter they'll come back another time. Trouble is they then estimate your consumption which can lead to your being asked to give them a long-term interest-free loan or (as happened to me) getting several underestimates and a nasty shock when they actually read the meter. But you can phone your meter readings through at any time so wouldn't it make sense to do this every couple of months so you don't get an underestimated/over estimated bill? The last time the meter reader came round it was 6.00 pm which is a more sensible time to call with more chance of gaining access Quite true But Richard could do that at the same time as checking out the bona fides of Accuread, anyway. My case was actually a combination of two issues. Firstly the meter reader didn't come (estimated bill) then there was a reading but wonderful British Gas ignored it (claiming that the meter reader had entered the details wrongly. I paid on the estimate again but when they tried the same trick again I refused to pay, insisting that as I work from home the chances of them always catching me out were pretty much zero. They got someone round here pdq and my third bill (as amended) was well over double the previous estimates. I've had no further problems - at least as far as meter reading is concerned. As if by magic, they haven't failed to find me at home once since then! |
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marbleflugel
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« Reply #4655 on: 13:10:25, 03-02-2008 » |
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Ah, British Gas- a while back I spent some time helping some fine folk with learning difficulties set up home. It turned out that British Gas had the profounder learning difficulty. In the course of about 7 weeks, eventualy finding a tiny office in Brum who could actually commission a new supply for a previously empty property, I discovered that their software changes the reference numbers of calls to their call centres at random, thus screwing up the audit trail to get them off the hook. This little Brum office was as angry at the general state of their customer service as I was-oneof the very few occasions when I have completely lost my temper with a particularly patronosing(and patronising), officious rep. I wouldnt touch them with a barge pole.
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'...A celebrity is someone who didn't get the attention they needed as an adult'
Arnold Brown
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Antheil
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« Reply #4656 on: 13:28:32, 03-02-2008 » |
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I switched from British Gas some years ago and use Swalec for gas and electricity. I pay a set amount by monthly direct debit. (Which means you get a discount as well) In fact I pay more than I need to but I work on the premise that if we do have a severe Winter I know there are more than enough funds to cover my consumption.
At the end of the year I always get a rebate for the overpayment.
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Reality, sa molesworth 2, is so sordid it makes me shudder
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increpatio
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« Reply #4657 on: 13:40:15, 03-02-2008 » |
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I wait for the bill to come.
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Kittybriton
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« Reply #4658 on: 15:00:04, 03-02-2008 » |
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yet people all over the world one hundred years later persist in applying it! Mr Barrett for example uses it all the time. He has used it precisely three times since these boards were founded, actually. Honestly boys! If I've told you once, I've told you a million times not to exaggerate! |
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Click me -> About meor me -> my handmade storeNo, I'm not a complete idiot. I'm only a halfwit. In fact I'm actually a catfish. |
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #4659 on: 15:11:26, 03-02-2008 » |
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As companies are now putting up their gas and electric prices by about 15%, beware of one trick. They will deliberately underestimate your bill for the last three months so that next time your bill will be much higher and you will have to pay it at the new, higher rate.
I once got a card through the door to say that some company needed to install a new electric meter. They wanted me to ring them on a premium rate line to arrange a suitable day. They would then expect me to be in from 8am to 8pm, waiting at their convenience. I just ignored it all and I haven't heard anything since.
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #4660 on: 23:06:36, 04-02-2008 » |
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I'm usually pretty lucky finding cheap fares, but now that I've been told that Raymond's funeral is this Friday, I'm having no success whatsoever. I really don't want to have to drive it - 1000 miles (much of it M74 and M6) is not my idea of fun, but at the moment virtually nothing's available for much under £200. I'll keep trying...
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martle
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« Reply #4661 on: 23:12:59, 04-02-2008 » |
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What is WRONG with this country and cheap fares? Surely the whole point of railway privatisation and airline competition was that we'd luck out! They can do it elsewhere (the USA is cheap as chips) - why not here. I guess I know the answers...  |
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Green. Always green.
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Morticia
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« Reply #4662 on: 09:35:09, 05-02-2008 » |
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Right, first grump of the day. Earlier this morning I tried to order some audio equipment on-line. After giving them all the information that they wanted, including the measurement of eldest cat`s right back leg, the site shrieked that there had been a FATAL ERROR (gasp) and that I should check the Stack List to ascertain the problem. After attempting to decipher said list I gave up and decided to use the more traditional method of placing my order using the Graham Bell technique. After selecting my preferred option, well whaddya know? I got through to our old friend Nigel in Mumbai! Oh joy. Nige informed me that I can expect a call from Customer Care with "48 working hours in this regard". Forty eight hours to place an order?? "That is right, ma`m". "But can`t you give me a number for your Sales Team so I can place my order?" "No ma`m. They must go through process and you may expect a call in 48 working hours" "But I won`t be here, I`ll be working". Small lie. "So you will like us to `phone you in this regard?" Weary sigh. "All right". I give up. I think the system has finally beaten me  |
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #4663 on: 10:13:05, 05-02-2008 » |
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I've tried to find an alternative site for that recommendation, Mort, without success. Mart, It's just the short notice of travel which is causing the difficulties; when there's more notice, more affordable fares are far easier to find...  (  ) |
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Ruth Elleson
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« Reply #4664 on: 10:30:13, 05-02-2008 » |
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It's just the short notice of travel which is causing the difficulties; when there's more notice, more affordable fares are far easier to find... ( ) Yes, and funerals tend to be the one commonly-occurring situation where short-notice long-distance travel at ones own expense is required. When my paternal grandmother died, my dad had to fund my mum's and brother's fares from Durham to Leatherhead, as neither of them could have afforded to be there otherwise. |
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Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!
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