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Bargain Basement

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Renee » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:28 pm

Sue, I ordered the P3 masks with a valve before I read that they they don't stop the spread of the virus by the wearer, but I have a good supply of P3 masks without a valve which I shall be using. I mostly wanted protection for myself because of my age and the fact that I have been self isolating means that I'm not likely to have the virus.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby jeral » Mon Sep 07, 2020 5:46 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:Aagh! Too late, I've already had my quote

Ignore it and ask for a new quote via Renee's link :)

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby jeral » Tue Sep 08, 2020 2:58 am

Re energy cost saving claims, this one is misleading in my view. A quote yesterday from the Meerkats saying Saving £187 which was puzzling as my spreadsheet showed a small increase over current outlay.

Aha! The saving isn't against my current tariff that it's lined up against, so the implied comparison. It's against the standard tariff of my supplier if I lapse onto it at expiry of fixed term, shown nowhere. It took some time to find that rather essential qualifying detail.

If I build up enough steam, I might find out who to complain to as I'm sure many would be taken in by it. Or being lucky enough not to have been, I could just ignore it.

Incidentally, my best tariff quote for Octopus says I'd have to have a smart meter installed within three months (free) or the tariff wouldn't apply. Could that be a way for Stokey Sue to get one?

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:02 am

I’ve signed up to Octopus (was too far through the process to use Renée’s link :( )

I’ll save £100 pa +/- though their estimate is a bit higher

They will install a smart meter but warn me that because they stopped installation for 4 months they don’t know when. I’ll cross the meter cupboard bridge when I get to it

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Renee » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:27 am

I've never used Meercats jeral. The advert puts me off for a start!! That was very misleading and a lot of people would be taken in by it. I always start off on Martin Lewis' website, because it is so trustworthy.

That is strange about the Smartmeter. I did register my interest to have one and they told me that when the engineers are in my area, it will be fitted. I already had one through EDF and although it is still working and tells me how much energy I'm using, the information isn't now being passed to EDF. Also Octopus asked me to send information about the one that I have and it's not the kind that can be used by them. I like the idea of the Smartmeter, because I don't have to send readings to the energy supplier.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:58 am

It's worth checking - it seems there are 2 standards for smart meters, SMETS1 and SMETS2 but Octopus have now decided they can in fact deal with the older SMETS1 standard, and they won't upgrade them unless there's a problem

The only hitch I had in signing up was that they couldn't find my gas meter on the national database at first, using my name & postcode, I had to give them the registration number(it's on the gas bill) and then they found it, that's probably because it's so old it's not in the sequence of codes they routinely search

Had the same problem with water when I moved in

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby PatsyMFagan » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:03 am

jeral wrote:Incidentally, my best tariff quote for Octopus says I'd have to have a smart meter installed within three months (free) or the tariff wouldn't apply. Could that be a way for Stokey Sue to get one?


My dual fuel energy supplier also promotes free installation of smart meters .. I would like one particularly as I have to virtually empty my pull out larder unit to get to the lecky one (gas is easy )

... so I duely applied and eventually received an appointment for a 'surveyor' to come out. He came, he looked and immediately told me that I would have to have a portion of the larder removed before they could fit the meter. I asked why they (his company) don't ask the client to send photos first. He said he had suggested this. Most of the Surveyors are free-lance, so when a survey doesn't result in an installation, they don't get paid. So a waste of his time and travel and mine too .... :( :evil:

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Earthmaiden » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:26 am

I've regaled you with the tale before of the man arriving to do mine, suspecting the meter (replaced a short time before) was mounted on an asbestos board and refusing to touch it, filling in reams of forms on his laptop, then leaving. The tale continued, suffice to say I don't intend having a Smart meter until I am forced to.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:49 am

I have had asbestos mounting boards removed in the past, but fortunately only when the hallway in quesiton was being stripped out the current one is metal so should be no problem

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:38 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:I've regaled you with the tale before of the man arriving to do mine, suspecting the meter (replaced a short time before) was mounted on an asbestos board and refusing to touch it, filling in reams of forms on his laptop, then leaving. The tale continued, suffice to say I don't intend having a Smart meter until I am forced to.


We had the same. Very common in Edwardian/Victorian houses. We did eventually get smartmeters although I've never looked at them.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Pampy » Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:10 pm

I have absolutely no interest in having a smart meter but keep getting letters from e-on about them.
The first generation smart meters, SMETS1, are generally not transferable between energy suppliers. To maximise interoperability, the government has decreed that "Energy suppliers will be required to take all reasonable steps to replace any unenrolled SMETS1 meters with SMETS2 meters by the end of 2020. This will ensure that by the end of the rollout all consumers with smart meters can retain smart functionality when they switch energy supplier."
Whether this will happen is another matter.
More info here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... art-meters

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby jeral » Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:38 pm

I don't want a smart meter either. *Rant mode on*
The pressure comes from government telling energy companies they have to get everyone onto them "to save energy". Yeah right.

The suppliers know full well when usage spikes are, so my personal usage data is neither here nor there at macro level. So it can only be a variable charging instrument with the upshot that some people are afraid to put the kettle on at a "costly" time. Like water meters caused some to be afraid of flushing their loo.

And why should they know what time I get up, if out or in all day, what time I... etc? Or rule my life by being cost penalised if I use my washing machine at a time not preferred by them? To me it is an erosion of my freedom, freedom that I'll keep until forced to give up. Yes, bordering on conspiracy theory, but I'm not alone.
*Rant mode off*

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby miss mouse » Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:42 pm

jeral wrote:The suppliers know full well when usage spikes are, so my personal usage data is neither here nor there at macro level. So it can only be a variable charging instrument with the upshot that some people are afraid to put the kettle on at a "costly" time. Like water meters caused some to be afraid of flushing their loo.



Exactly. It has to be for variable/dynamic charging.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Earthmaiden » Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:35 pm

I'm with you on the rant jeral. Sadly, there's not much left which doesn't know what we're doing at every minute of the day but introducing more for the hell of it isn't great. I was glad about my asbestos problem when I learned more.

That said, the DSS (or whatever it's called nowadays) used to have permission to interrogate utility readings if they suspected someone undeclared was living with a benefit claimant. It's an effective means of determining such information. In my call centre days I once had a man ranting about his bill and after looking at his records in some detail, pointed out that over the course of five or so years his Bill's had been low between dates A&B, higher between C&D, lower between D&E etc. He went very quiet and said, oh. I had read out the exact dates that various girlfriends had moved on and then left and he had just got a new one :lol:.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby KeenCook2 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:03 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:That said, the DSS (or whatever it's called nowadays) used to have permission to interrogate utility readings if they suspected someone undeclared was living with a benefit claimant. It's an effective means of determining such information.


I'm glad my landlord didn't do that when I was at music college and shared a flat with two other girls - and all our boyfriends :lol:

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Renee » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:40 pm

Oh that's funny EM! :lol: :lol:

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby jeral » Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:28 pm

Hi. Not a bargain particularly, just something new to me: Bleach tablets (Tesco brand), of which 1 tablet in 2.5L water = thin bleach, or per instructions for stronger bleach, soaking etc.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /297774936

I don't like thick bleach for kitchen use, plus much less storage space taken up.

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:57 pm

Ooooh, I must look out for those :thumbsup

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby aero280 » Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:13 pm

Aldi have a drinkable German Weissbier at £1.45 for a half litre bottle. It's called Rheinbacher, but apparently made for Aldi by a different brewery. At that price I almost bought some brown paper bags to drink it from...

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Re: Bargain Basement

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:04 am

I've not come across bleach tablets either. Presumably a great way to stop buying plastic bottles.

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