Updated 22nd March 2014

I was told by the woman who I spoke to regarding the removal of the gas meter that it might take up to two hours. Yesterday the gas engineer turned up at 8.45am and as the meter is in a shed outside the flat he said that he didn't need access to my flat and that it will only take a few minutes. He was right and he did his job really well. I didn't have to sign any paperwork, the meter had been taken out and the pipe capped and it was still not even 8.50am. A few weeks ago British Gas sent me a bill for just over £12 which was just for a standard charge that I feel I shouldn't have to pay for and at the moment it is still unpaid. Now that the meter has been removed I'm expecting another bill for around £8 to cover the remaining standard charge that officially stopped the day I phoned up British Gas and asked them to remove the meter. They might send me a bill for around £20 to cover both bills but whatever happens I will probably pay the £20 very soon although I think it's a rip off. A standard charge is fine if a person is actually using gas. The engineer told me that he is removing meters at the rate of three a week so maybe in the near future British Gas will do the sensible thing and just leave the meters in place. I'm sure they could cap the pipe without totally removing the meter and these old meters are soon to be replaced with smart meters so they have no real value.

Updated 17th March 2014

As a result of British Gas bringing in a standard charge from January I tried to cancel my account as I don't use the gas and the charge of 26p a day would result in paying them over £90 a year for nothing. I was told on the phone that I could only transfer my account although they would uninstall the meter free of charge for domestic customers and that would end the standard charge. As I am a council tenant I wasn't sure they would let me have the meter removed so I contacted online my local Member of Parliament Jenny Willott. She is a Lib Dem and although I'm not a fan of the present government I still decided to contact her online with my situation and explained how unfair the standard charge was. I received what appeared to be an automated email response and after a week or so I thought nothing else was going to happen but last week I received an email from Jenny Willott informing me that she had spoken to a guy at Cardiff Council and was advised that as I would be the one paying the gas bill it would be okay if I had the meter removed. I have phoned up British Gas using the number Jenny Willott had put in the email and asked them to remove the meter. I was told on the phone that it might take up to two hours but I don't mind two hours if it saves me over £90 a year and hopefully as the meter is in the outside shed they might not have to enter the flat. I'm usually a cautious person and Jenny Willott did state that if I wanted permission in writing for the removal of the meter then to contact a person directly and she did give me the name and phone number but I took the bull by the horns and phoned British Gas to have the meter removed without getting it in writing first. With the election next year and only Libdems or Labour can win the seat where I am, I think the response from Jenny Willott over my situation with British Gas does make it likely that I will vote for her although I feel strongly against a number of policies that this present government have brought in that hammer the poorest. It appears that I will end up with a £20 bill from British Gas to cover the new 26p daily standard charge up to the day I phoned them to arrange the removal of the meter. That shows how such a small amount can quickly run up to a hefty bill. I will update this page at the end of the week to state how long it takes British Gas to remove the meter and if they end up needing access to the flat.

British Gas (Prices)

I have been a British Gas customer for many years and today I received in the post details of the new prices to be charged from next month. For quite a while now I have just been using the electricity that I pay another company for. Usually my British Gas bill states that I'm £7.85 in credit so it has never bothered me but I noticed that British Gas are going to bring in a standard daily charge from next month of 26pence a day. Over a thirty day month that would be £7.80 and in effect a quarterly charge of nearly £24. I wasn't happy about the prospect of forking out £24 four times a year for nothing so I phoned up British Gas to cancel my account. I rang the 0800 number and an automated voice stated that the waiting time was 10 minutes but as I wasn't paying for the call I decided to wait. Eventually a guy answered and I asked to close my account. He told me that I couldn't close my account and had to find another supplier to change to. He also told me that British Gas are charged for meters so the only way was to have the meter removed from the premises. I informed him that I live in a council flat and he suggested that I get permission from them and then contact British Gas to arrange the removal of the meter. He did say that I would not be charged for the removal of the meter. I have a month or so to sort this out or I will end up having to pay over £94 a year just because I have a gas meter. The guy suggested that it was new regulations that forced these new price changes but probably it's British Gas wanting to make more profits. I hope the people who have meters but don't use gas realise that the next British Gas bill they receive won't be a £7.85 credit but a £24 bill. I'm not sure the council would allow a meter to be removed so it is likely that many poor people will have to pay this unfair charge. I do pay a standard daily charge for my electric that I pay a different provider for but at least I use electricity. Maybe someone will do something about this British Gas situation but not many people in power care if the poor are ripped off.