When does your Prepay electric key meter beep to warn you are running low ??

[#1]

As per title
I was told on the phone by Scottish power that it should be as soon as it hits £0.95, & that as mine had not beeped until it hit less than £0.30 there is a fault & I need the meter replaced.
They sent an engineer round on 31/03/2014 who claimed that the meter(s) do not bleep until it hits £0.15, & did not even check the meter yet alone change the meter as he did not think it was faulty.
This morning before we went out for approx 1hr there was £0.19 credit left on the meter (no bleep) £20.00 on key ready, came back to discover no electric, & after putting the £20.00 on the meter it gave back £19.80.
I phoned Scottish Power, who claimed there was nothing they could do except get someone to ring back by the end of next week (conversation recorded), I advised that it was not good enough as there is clearly a fault with the meter & am concerned that the meter is in the same cupboard as the gas meter & was conveniently cut off.
I have found a Number & email(s) for both the CCO & CEO the number goes to a security control then goes blank for a moment then gets re-directed to Scottish Power
http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=9566
&
http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=86244
Therefore wondering if the email addresses are still active

[#2]

Think mine beeps at 50p, though can't remember the last time I let it run that low.

[#3]

key meters are generally useless and prone to faults that deliver excessive ammounts of cash to the power company's (they get fined for it on a regular basis) unles your in a short term tennency agreement get them swapped over for direct debits,
also they electric shouldn't cut out until you've used up the emergency tenner there supposed to give you, personally I had mine swapped to regular meters before I moved in (my landlord did sign an agreement to allow it as I'm an assured tenant) because I hate having to fish in the drawer for a few quid and then pay twice as much for my leecy than paying after the fact on direct debit ......

[#4]

Now I have had chance to do some research
Under the search criteria (when should a prepay meter beep to let you know it is running low)
Scottish power did not show
[quote= https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/your-account/prepayment/prepayment-paying/prepayment-emergency-credit]Electricity meters and emergency credit
When your electricity meter beeps, it’s a warning that you've got less than £1 of credit left. At this point, we can give you £5 emergency credit (possibly a bit more if you live in a very remote area). To get your emergency credit, just insert your key into the meter and it will transfer your £5 credit.
[quote= https://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/documents/leap/pay-as-you-go.pdf]
If you can’t get to a charging outlet and you run out of gas or electricity, you can use
the emergency credit on your prepayment meter. When your credit is running low, you
may hear a warning bleep. Just insert your key or card to release the emergency credit.
A prepayment meter normally has £6 of emergency credit. (This amount may vary, so
please contact us to check.) You can then pay back the value of any emergency credit you’ve
used the next time you top up your key or card
Under the search criteria (when should a UK pre pay meter beep to let you know it is running low)
Scottish Power did show
[quote= http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/payments/prepayment/]Can I get emergency electricity credit?
If your credit is running low
When your credit drops to £1, your meter will bleep and you will see the letter ‘E’ flashing on the display. You should top up your key as soon as possible.
If you run out of credit and you can’t top up
Don’t worry! If you run out of credit and you can’t top up, just activate your £5 Emergency Credit. Put your key into the meter or take it out and re-insert it. The ‘E’ displayed on your meter will stop flashing but will remain visible and your meter will bleep 3 times to confirm you are using your Emergency Credit.
Remember: you will have to pay back the amount of Emergency Credit you use the next time you top up your credit and insert your key into the meter.
@nanotm
There was no need for us to activate the emergency, there was £0.19 when we left & still showing £0.19 when we got back when we discovered no electricity, where as it should of been £0.00, then to take £0.20p (I know does not sound a lot) for not activating the emergency is a complete rip off

[#5]

Quote from: nanotm

key meters are generally useless and prone to faults that deliver excessive ammounts of cash to the power company's (they get fined for it on a regular basis) unles your in a short term tennency agreement get them swapped over for direct debits,

Source for the above statement. If the power company’s are being fined they should be able to pass on this cost to the designer and manufacturer of the meters as to my knowledge no power company use their own meters.

[#6]

Quote from: TORPC

I advised that it was not good enough as there is clearly a fault with the meter & am concerned that the meter is in the same cupboard as the gas meter & was conveniently cut off.

Not a good idea possibly  - gas meter (gas leak) & electricity meter (spark)  = BANG

[#7]

We had a key meter in the first place we rented 9 years ago. After three months we requested permission to get a regular meter and our bills dropped quite significantly plus less hassle in realising we'd let it run too low and having to go out in the snow to top up!

[#8]

I am currently in call to them & the young gal needs to ask permission to accept the call being recorded, Her supervisor has come on the line & wont accept the call being recorded from my end as I can make a written request at a charge of £10 to have a copy of the call, however he refuses not to use the copy of the call in a training room.
What are our rights here ?
All companies I deal with have no issue(s) with me recording the call (Why is Scottish Power the only one ??)
We have decided to go back to SWALEC aka SSE & will give them a ring on Monday morning (never had problems with them
Just found
States with Two Party Consent to Record Conversations
From a link in Time Warner Cable: We Can Record You, But You Can't Record Us

Have we got such a thing here in the UK
Interesting article by the Beeb
[quote=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21125291 ]What is certain is that the law differs considerably from country to country. In the UK, Canada, and some states in the US, this so-called 'one party consent' is adequate (but businesses in the UK must tell people that calls are being recorded).
[quote= http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/consumer/advice/faqs/prvfaq3.htm]Do I have to let people know that I intend to record their telephone conversations with me?
No, provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party. If you are you will need the consent of the person you are recording.
But what if it becomes a legal matter & a solicitor needs to hear the recording ?

[#9]

that's not classed as being made for a third party.
the law as it stands means that you can disclose the audio for legal reason to your representative but that it may not be possible to use it for testimony in a court of law, however you cannot use it to play back as an example to a classroom during a lecture or post it online or sell it to someone else.
however if you want to be pedantic the law in Scotland is different so your on a bit of a sticky wicket there .....

[#10]

Is it possible to get two keys? Have the spare one loaded with credit while the other is in the meter. Then if you inadvertently run out of credit on one key it would be possible to swap over to the alternate key without trudging through the Sno'

[#11]

Quote from: nanotm

that's not classed as being made for a third party. the law as it stands means that you can disclose the audio for legal reason to your representative but that it may not be possible to use it for testimony in a court of law, however you cannot use it to play back as an example to a classroom during a lecture or post it online or sell it to someone else. however if you want to be pedantic the law in Scotland is different so your on a bit of a sticky wicket there .....

You mean that if in the unfortunate event that one inadvertently forget(s) to disclose the call is being recorded in their own home to a business, then a solicitor can legally listen to the call, as they are not classified as a 3^rd party ?
@AlaricAdair
The key was already loaded with credit £20.00 in fact, no snow but wet & rainy
We have never left the key in the meter or the card in the gas meter
Come to think of it
I do not know anyone that does either tbh
Just asked SWMBO
&
She says she also do not know anyone that leaves their key(s) or cards in their meters

[#12]

Some do as if the card or key is in the meter they will not get mislaid.

[#13]

My meter beeps at 50p and I have never left the key/card in either meter before.

[#14]

I had one of those pesky things years ago and it was a royal pain in the grass.
First it would cut off at something stupid like 3p, 7p, 14p, and it just continued climbing. Eventually it would start cutting off the sparky with entire pounds left on it - and not just one or two either!
I rang the sparksters and told them RIP it or I'm pulling it off the wall myself for evidence at a court case. Needless to say they chose to let it rest and replaced it with a normal one.. even compo'd me too!

[#15]

@7up
Funny you should mention compo 
[quote= http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_energy_supply_e/consumer_energy_bills_e/consumer_paying_your_energy_bills_e/prepayment_meters_paying_for_energy/your_prepayment_meter_is_faulty.htm]Electricity meters
If you report a problem with an electricity meter between 7am and 7pm on a working day, the supplier must send someone to repair or replace the meter within three hours of you reporting it.
At other times, the supplier must send someone within four hours.
If they don't and the meter turns out to be faulty, the supplier should pay you £22 compensation. This is called a guaranteed standard.
I had to wait 1 week for an engineer to show up, & a further 10 days until the next engineer following my complaint