I have a key meter for my 'leccy cos I keep forgetting to pay my bill.  It 
was working out about £1 a day which was cool.  Friday I came home to find 
that over £3 has come off.  It looks like they have changed my tariff 
remotely.  Of course by the time I got home their customer services number 
was closed.  I am very close to smashing the fucking daft meter off the wall 
with a hammer and sitting in the dark, just to be a c**t about it.  I've got 
all day tomorrow to build up some more anger for the poor bastard who 
answers the phone to me on Monday morning.  I can't afford £90 a month on 
electricity, that's just fucking stupid!
And just to cheer me up a bit more, the fucking TV broke last night! 
Finally got round to hooking up my spare telly to the dig box about 2 hours 
ago.
Combine this all with my codeine withdrawals and I am surprised there aren't 
people all up and down Paisley Road West with sore faces.  Aargh!

On Oct 11, 10:15 pm, "Lachlan - KotU" <hamfish(nospam)@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I have a key meter for my 'leccy cos I keep forgetting to pay my bill.  It
> was working out about £1 a day which was cool.  Friday I came home to find
> that over £3 has come off.  It looks like they have changed my tariff
> remotely.  Of course by the time I got home their customer services number
> was closed.  I am very close to smashing the fucking daft meter off the wall
> with a hammer and sitting in the dark, just to be a c**t about it.  I've got
> all day tomorrow to build up some more anger for the poor bastard who
> answers the phone to me on Monday morning.  I can't afford £90 a month on
> electricity, that's just fucking stupid!
> And just to cheer me up a bit more, the fucking TV broke last night!
> Finally got round to hooking up my spare telly to the dig box about 2 hours
> ago.
> Combine this all with my codeine withdrawals and I am surprised there aren't
> people all up and down Paisley Road West with sore faces.  Aargh!

The leccie folks might have warned you!!...but £90 is a heck of a lot
of money, unless you use it for heating as well...still expensive, but
I pay for leccie and gas heating separately. I only have a small flat,
but probs pay around that each month with the two added together..I
pay by direct debit, so they just adjust the monthly price if I use
more ( eg during winter )...but at least I get some warning about any
price changes. I've had card meters in the past, though..and ended up
huddling under blankets to keep warm when the leccie ran out...not
funny during the coldest wintry nights!
Will avoid Paisley Road West meantime! :)
Isla

Isla  wrote:

[snip]

> The leccie folks might have warned you!!...but £90 is a heck of a lot
> of money, unless you use it for heating as well...still expensive,

It's obscenely expensive even if you have electric heating.  *Obscene*.

But that's how it goes: if you look into it, you'll find that it's the
poor people - or at least those living in the sort of accomadation meant
for not well off people - who get to pay the highest fuel charges, *AND*
have to put up with inefficient appliances, a lack of insulation, and so
on.

> but
> I pay for leccie and gas heating separately. I only have a small flat,
> but probs pay around that each month with the two added together..

Our fuel bill each month is a good deal less than that - and we live in
a house with the heating used far too much (I'm rarely out of the house
and often awake all night).  But that's the benefit of gas heating with
a high efficiency boiler and high efficiency electrical appliances all
round (all except this computer, that is).

>I
> pay by direct debit, so they just adjust the monthly price if I use
> more ( eg during winter )...but at least I get some warning about any
> price changes. I've had card meters in the past,

They're a bloody rip-off.  Higher rates guaranteed that way.  With coin
meters, higher rates makes a sort of sense 'cos they've got to employ
someone to empty the things - but there are no such extra costs to the
supplier with card meters.  It's just a way of ripping off the people
least able to pay and it really gets up my nose.

[snip]

Rowland.

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Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig@flur.bltigibbet> wrote:

> Isla  wrote:
[snip]
> > but
> > I pay for leccie and gas heating separately. I only have a small flat,
> > but probs pay around that each month with the two added together..
> 
> Our fuel bill each month is a good deal less than that
[snip]

<cough>

I just checked.  It *used* to be.  It's not any more.  Oh boy oh boy
it's not any more at all...

Rowland.


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On Oct 12, 2:13 am, real-address-in-...@flur.bltigibbet (Rowland
McDonnell) wrote:
> Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-...@flur.bltigibbet> wrote:
> > Isla  wrote:
> [snip]
> > > but
> > > I pay for leccie and gas heating separately. I only have a small flat> > > but probs pay around that each month with the two added together..
>
> > Our fuel bill each month is a good deal less than that
>
> [snip]
>
> <cough>
>
> I just checked.  It *used* to be.  It's not any more.  Oh boy oh boy
> it's not any more at all...
>
> Rowland.
>
> --
> Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonn...@dog.physics.org
>                                             Sorry - the spam got to mehttp://www.mag-uk.org                           http://www.bmf.co.uk
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I know I haven't actually checked what I'm paying..it all just comes
off eack month, though I remember recent price hike warnings, which
I've avoided looking at!!...my gas central heating is good, despite it
being an old boiler system..I always have plenty of hot water and
place is warm...'cept when the wind blows in the worng direction and
puffs out the flame..then i'm snookered, 'cos it's mighty tricky to
get it going again!
Isla

Isla  wrote:

[snip]

> I know I haven't actually checked what I'm paying..it all just comes
> off eack month, though I remember recent price hike warnings, which
> I've avoided looking at!!...

<shudder>  Look at them.  It'll give you a very nasty shock, a very
nasty shock indeed - but you really do need to know if you want to keep
a handle on your personal finances.

> my gas central heating is good, despite it
> being an old boiler system..I always have plenty of hot water and
> place is warm...

That doesn't mean it's *efficient*.  Constant hot water and keeping the
place warm just means it's a competent heating system: the boiler's
adequately powerful, the radiators are big enough and plentiful enough,
and the hot water tank's big enough too.

You can have all that with very poor efficiency.

If you've got an old back boiler, you can get 50% greater efficiency by
having a modern boiler fitted and the heating circuit cleaned out.  Yes,
the potential to reduce your gas bill by that sort of size chunk really
does exist if you have an old, old back boiler.  Less of an improvement
if you've got a relatively modern `sit on the wall' boiler, but still...

>'cept when the wind blows in the worng direction and
> puffs out the flame..then i'm snookered, 'cos it's mighty tricky to
> get it going again!

Modern high efficiency boilers do not have pilot lights.  They have
electronic ignition, more or less the same as used to ignite the
fuel-air mix in car engines.  Yes, spark plug an' all, although the
spark plug for a gas boiler is not quite the same as what they use in
cars.

And finally: if you do get a replacement boiler, do *NOT* buy one from
Ideal.  We've had two so far - the second one was fitted for free
because the old one was a total lemon.  The second one's pretty crappy
but hasn't actually broken down as such yet - although it's sprung a
leak and doesn't ignite reliably, so we often get a noisy bang as it
starts up.

Rowland.

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On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:57:57 +0100, Rowland McDonnell wrote:

> Our fuel bill each month is a good deal less than that - and we live in
> a house with the heating used far too much (I'm rarely out of the house
> and often awake all night).  

Yes, we noticed. It's rough work, but someone has to compose your numerous,
lengthy, non-supportive, abusive posts.


> But that's the benefit of gas heating with
> a high efficiency boiler and high efficiency electrical appliances all
> round (all except this computer, that is).

Your ancient Mac. Why not give it a rest and stop posting for say.... a few
years?

> 
>>I
>> pay by direct debit, so they just adjust the monthly price if I use
>> more ( eg during winter )...but at least I get some warning about any
>> price changes. I've had card meters in the past,
> 
> They're a bloody rip-off.  Higher rates guaranteed that way.  With coin
> meters, higher rates makes a sort of sense 'cos they've got to employ
> someone to empty the things - but there are no such extra costs to the
> supplier with card meters.  It's just a way of ripping off the people
> least able to pay and it really gets up my nose.

If it's up your nose, why not help with his bill? Or you could use your
persuasive powers to plead Lachie's case.

-- 
"If someone's hurt by my defence, and the person who's hurt is the person
I'm having to defend against on account of them attacking me, then of
course it's bloody justified!"
Rowland McDonnell on Rowland McDonnell - Aug. 28, 2007